Mental Illness: An OSHA Recordable

“I have the normal complement of anxieties, neuroses, psychoses and whatever else – but I’m absolutely nothing special.”— Clive Barker The National Institute of Mental Health reported in 2022 that more than one in five adults in the United States live with a mental illness.  That’s 59.3 million people, or 23.1% of the U.S. population.  [...]

By |2024-11-07T10:06:56-06:00November 7th, 2024|Workplace Safety|Comments Off on Mental Illness: An OSHA Recordable

Office Hazards: Paper Cuts and Paper Cutters

“The first cut is the deepest.”  — Rod Stewart Most of our work regards process safety hazards: the potentially fatal hazards involving chemical fires, explosions, and toxic releases. Frequently, our clients also ask for our help with industrial safety hazards: the potentially fatal hazards involving slips, trips, and falls, and contact with objects. Recently, though, [...]

By |2024-10-24T11:12:14-05:00October 24th, 2024|Workplace Safety|Comments Off on Office Hazards: Paper Cuts and Paper Cutters

Hot Work Permits: Has the EPA Created a New Fire Hazard?

“Paper doesn’t save people. People save people.”  — Dan Peterson I don’t know anyone in a regulated community that likes regulations. Some may accept them because they bring clarity in a confusing situation, but no one likes them. Even with the best of intentions, someone that must comply with a lot of regulations worries that [...]

By |2024-10-10T07:23:20-05:00October 10th, 2024|Current Events, Process Safety, Process Safety Management|Comments Off on Hot Work Permits: Has the EPA Created a New Fire Hazard?

Déjà Vu at BioLab: What Can We All Learn?

“If they knew it was water-reactive, why did they store it in a warehouse with automatic sprinklers?”  — Chris Schmidt, retired pre-school teacher Wikipedia is a “go-to” source for quick information. Regarding the fire at the BioLab facility in Conyers, Georgia, however, it has this disclaimer: “Information may change rapidly as the event progresses, and [...]

By |2024-10-29T14:19:32-05:00October 3rd, 2024|Chemicals, Current Events|Comments Off on Déjà Vu at BioLab: What Can We All Learn?

Process Safety: Proper Maintenance is Essential

“If at any time [federal] inspectors identify something that needs to be addressed, our team does so immediately.”  — Elizabeth Ward, company spokesperson for Boar’s Head Provision Co. I was once a Scoutmaster. One of the most coveted items that my younger Scouts could earn was the Totin’ Chip, which granted them the right to [...]

By |2024-09-19T08:23:35-05:00September 19th, 2024|Current Events, Process Safety, Process Safety Management|Comments Off on Process Safety: Proper Maintenance is Essential

Work-related Fatality Rates: How Low Is Low Enough?

“If you don’t get better, staying the same is probably not good enough.”  — Chris Mullen If a bowler always—always—bowls a perfect 300, they are as good as a bowler can be. If other bowlers also develop that level of skill, they cannot beat a perfect 300. The best they can do is tie. There [...]

By |2024-05-02T13:22:32-05:00May 2nd, 2024|Workplace Safety|Comments Off on Work-related Fatality Rates: How Low Is Low Enough?

Bump Caps: When Are They Appropriate?

“Do nothing that is of no use.”  — Miyamoto Musashi I have been in several facilities recently that used bump caps as head protection. I make it a practice to follow the safety rules of facilities where I am visiting, because I believe it important to set a good example and to show that I [...]

By |2024-03-28T11:57:13-05:00March 28th, 2024|Workplace Safety|Comments Off on Bump Caps: When Are They Appropriate?

“OSHA Says”: Eye Protection

“What we see depends mainly on what we are looking for.”  — John Lubbock Every chemical plant I have ever been in has these minimum requirements for personal protective equipment (PPE): hardhat, safety shoes, and safety glasses with side shields. OSHA tells us that it is the employer’s responsibility to assess the workplace for hazards [...]

By |2024-02-29T11:32:54-06:00February 29th, 2024|Gas|Comments Off on “OSHA Says”: Eye Protection

“OSHA Says”: Hard Hat Colors

“The reason I talk to myself is because I’m the only one whose answers I accept.” — George Carlin I was recently astonished to hear someone talking about OSHA-required hard hat color codes. “Yeah, and green is for any who works in forestry,” they said. I wanted to contradict them on the spot but stopped. [...]

By |2024-02-15T09:56:34-06:00February 15th, 2024|Workplace Safety|Comments Off on “OSHA Says”: Hard Hat Colors

Too Extreme for Work? Cold Snaps and Heat Waves

“Everybody complains about the weather, but nobody does anything about it.”  — Charles Dudley Warner A few weeks ago, we were treated to the sight of icicles hanging from NFL Coach Andy Reid’s moustache during the Chiefs-Dolphins playoff game in Kansas City. That gut punch of arctic air to the Midwest overwhelmed us. Here, our [...]

By |2024-01-25T11:36:35-06:00January 25th, 2024|Workplace Safety|Comments Off on Too Extreme for Work? Cold Snaps and Heat Waves
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