Risk Management: Are Hurricanes Really Getting More Frequent?

“The head of the hurricane research division, Hugh Willoughby, told me that hurricanologists can predict the behavior of storms if those storms behave predictably.”  — Erik Larson Hurricane season is officially from June 1 to November 30, so it’s not officially over yet. A look at the Atlantic, however, shows no tropical depressions developing and [...]

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?

Restarting a Plant: Do You Really Need a PSSR?

“Although no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.”  — Carl Bard Constellation Energy just signed a 20-year deal with Microsoft to provide clean energy—or at least carbon-free energy—from Unit 1 of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant. The plan is [...]

By |2024-09-26T10:30:31-05:00September 26th, 2024|Chemicals, Current Events, PHA, Process Safety, Process Safety Management, Workplace Safety|Comments Off on Restarting a Plant: Do You Really Need a PSSR?

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

Crossing Streams: Safety During Simultaneous Operations

“Don’t cross the streams.” -Egon from Ghostbusters It doesn’t take much for two tasks to interfere with one another out in general industry. Work environments can be quite hectic as the end of a fiscal year approaches, where multiple goals and tasks are being wrapped up. Plant life is not much different, except some of [...]

By |2023-11-02T09:34:25-05:00November 2nd, 2023|Chemicals, Procedures, Process Safety, Workplace Safety|Comments Off on Crossing Streams: Safety During Simultaneous Operations

…And Their Representatives

“Representation not only reflects, but actually changes reality.”  — Angela Chen OSHA has several regulations that allow or require employee participation in activities regarding workplace safety. For instance, there is employee participation during OSHA inspections and in the development of the elements of the Process Safety Management (PSM) standard. And those regulations don’t stop at [...]

By |2023-08-31T15:37:00-05:00August 31st, 2023|PHA, Process Safety Management|2 Comments

Too Many Players on the Field: PHA Teams

“Meetings should have as few people as possible, but all the right people.”  — Charles W. Scharf Ever been in a Process Hazard Analysis (PHA) meeting where there were over a dozen people? Wasn’t it excruciating? Either you wondered why you needed to be there, or you wondered why some of the other people needed [...]

By |2023-08-24T15:09:17-05:00August 24th, 2023|PHA, Process Safety Management|Comments Off on Too Many Players on the Field: PHA Teams

A Second Wind

“Time is the fire in which we burn.”- Delmore Schwartz A resin and rosin manufacturer in Brunswick, Georgia reignited in the afternoon on April 15th after catching fire that morning. Sources cite changing winds as a possible reason for reignition, a natural occurrence out of human control. Tornados, hurricanes, and earthquakes are consistently on the [...]

By |2023-08-11T16:20:22-05:00April 20th, 2023|Current Events, Process Safety Management, Workplace Safety|Comments Off on A Second Wind

Deadly Explosion…At a Chocolate Factory?

“The fact is the media never gets off the interstate unless there’s a major explosion.”  — Jim Harrison On Friday, March 24, 2023, shortly before 5 pm local time, an explosion leveled the R.M. Palmer Company chocolate factory in West Reading, Pennsylvania, killing seven workers. How does a chocolate factory explode? What are the explosive hazards, [...]

By |2023-08-14T15:45:53-05:00March 30th, 2023|Current Events, Gas, Process Safety|Comments Off on Deadly Explosion…At a Chocolate Factory?

PSM Documents: How Long Do I Have to Keep This Stuff?

“The entire health care system is now being organized around machines instead of human beings. Not prioritized to reduce human suffering, but rather to optimize a computerized recordkeeping system. This is a tragedy.”  — Carolyn Jourdan Imagine for a moment that you are a new PSM coordinator. The person who had the job before you [...]

By |2022-12-01T17:42:35-06:00December 1st, 2022|Process Safety, Process Safety Management|Comments Off on PSM Documents: How Long Do I Have to Keep This Stuff?
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