“Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.” — George Bernard Shaw Because of the work we do, we often hear about OSHA requirements that don’t actually exist. Something akin to, “Well, OSHA says you have to…” Occasionally, they are right. More often though, the requirement fulfills someone’s agenda and OSHA is the [...]
“The hardest thing is writing a recommendation for someone we know.” — Kin Hubbard We’ve all heard, over and over, that data without analysis is useless. Well, analysis without recommendations is just as useless. Unfortunately, many young engineers are incredible analysts but then mistakenly believe that their analysis will stand on its own, that the [...]
“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 [...]
“Did you ever notice, there’s no blue food? Whenever I say that, people say, ‘Ha! What about blueberries?’ But no-o-o…blueberries are purple.” — George Carlin My wife loves blue food. She has George Carlin to thank for that. It’s not because George Carlin’s comedy convinced my wife to love blue food. It’s because George Carlin’s [...]
“The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing. If you can fake that, you’ve got it made.” — Groucho Marx My doctor is trying to help me identify a food sensitivity that has been causing me health problems. His list of potential culprits includes sweeteners, and he has advised against any artificial sweetener and [...]
“The love of a dog is a pure thing. He gives you a trust which is total. You must not betray it.” — Michel Houellebecq A week ago, Vader, a police dog in the Arnold Police Department (APD), died from heat exhaustion after his handler found him in a hot patrol vehicle. Arnold is a [...]
“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 [...]
“If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” — often misattributed to Albert Einstein I don’t spend much time in court rooms. I’m not a lawyer. I tend toward law-abiding behavior, so I’ve not been a defendant. I refuse to be an expert witness. (Lawyers seem to want me to follow [...]
“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 [...]
“Space is something you have to define. Otherwise, it is like anxiety, which is too vague. A fear is something specific. I like claustrophobic spaces, because at least then you know your limits.” — Louise Bourgeois A group recently met to discuss locking out a process vessel for entry. They identified the agitator, all of [...]
