Attitudes: Are We Too Reckless with Fires?

“That’s what insurance is for, right?”  — Liam Dai (and thousands of others) There was recently a fire at a popular business in south Saint Louis city that was widely reported on the local news. As with many fires that happen here in Saint Louis, someone set up a GoFundMe fund to help the business [...]

By |2026-08-28T14:28:51-05:00August 28th, 2026|Process Safety, Workplace Safety|Comments Off on Attitudes: Are We Too Reckless with Fires?

Management of Change: When Is It Regulated?

“If you want to truly understand something, try to change it.”  — Kurt Lewin All change should be managed; in any endeavor, under any circumstances. When people ask about management of change, however, they are usually talking about the specific regulatory requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and its Process Safety Management [...]

By |2026-08-06T10:47:15-05:00August 6th, 2026|Process Safety, Process Safety Management|Comments Off on Management of Change: When Is It Regulated?

Process Safety: Info We Need from Equipment Manufacturers

“If you don’t live up to somebody’s standards, you get hammered.”  — Anthony Rendon I drive a 2006 Toyota Corolla. When I bought it in 2008, the odometer read 11,499 miles. In 2013, when the odometer crossed the 100,000-mile threshold, I declared my hope to reach 250,000 miles. The car is now closing in on [...]

By |2026-06-25T14:50:58-05:00June 25th, 2026|Procedures, Process Safety, Process Safety Management|Comments Off on Process Safety: Info We Need from Equipment Manufacturers

In the News: The Nippon Dynawave Tank Failure

“Do you fix a wheel that isn’t broken, or do you wait until the cart collapses?”  — Jodi Picoult During the week beginning Thursday, May 21, 2026, and going over the Memorial Day holiday weekend, our phones lit up with queries from friends and acquaintances about a series of chemical mishaps and disasters that got [...]

By |2026-05-28T14:55:57-05:00May 28th, 2026|Chemicals, Current Events, Process Safety, Workplace Safety|Comments Off on In the News: The Nippon Dynawave Tank Failure

Incident Investigations: Not a Trial by Jury

“When you go into court you are putting your fate into the hands of twelve people who weren’t smart enough to get out of jury duty.”  — Norm Crosby During the 15 years I have lived in the city of Saint Louis, I’ve been called for jury duty four times. The most recent was just [...]

By |2026-05-22T08:07:37-05:00May 22nd, 2026|Process Safety, Process Safety Management|Comments Off on Incident Investigations: Not a Trial by Jury

Chemical Incidents: Top Three Reasons

“Always lists to be made, as if writing items in neat vertical rows might stave off randomness and chaos.” — Dani Shapiro People love lists. Top Ten Lists. Top Twelve Lists. Casey Kasem’s American Top Forty. And for those with short attention spans, Top Three Lists. I recently received an email asking if I agreed [...]

By |2026-02-19T10:57:40-06:00February 19th, 2026|Chemicals, Process Safety, Process Safety Management, Workplace Safety|Comments Off on Chemical Incidents: Top Three Reasons

Incident Investigations: When Are They Needed?

“It seems to me that at this time we need education in the obvious more than investigation of the obscure.”  — Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. OSHA requires incident reports. For recordable injuries or illnesses, OSHA requires that a 301 Form, Injury and Illness Incident Report, be completed, per 29 CFR 1904.29(a). For workplaces with PSM-covered [...]

By |2026-02-06T14:52:33-06:00February 6th, 2026|Procedures, Process Safety, Process Safety Management, Workplace Safety|Comments Off on Incident Investigations: When Are They Needed?

Process Safety: When “Normal” Isn’t Normal

“You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.” — Mandy Patinkin as Inigo Montoya from The Princess Bride (1987) I, like many older Americans, worry about my blood pressure enough to check it regularly. And like most people who check their blood pressure regularly, I know what [...]

By |2026-01-29T11:00:03-06:00January 29th, 2026|Procedures, Process Safety, Process Safety Management|Comments Off on Process Safety: When “Normal” Isn’t Normal

Risk Management Plans: How Many?

“I have so much paperwork. I’m afraid my paperwork has paperwork.”  — Gabrielle Zevin One of the key differences between OSHA’s Process Safety Management (PSM) standard and the EPA’s Risk Management Planning (RMP) rule is the RMP rule’s requirement to submit documentation to the EPA. OSHA has no similar requirement for submission. If OSHA wants [...]

By |2026-01-08T12:37:41-06:00January 8th, 2026|Chemicals, Procedures, Process Safety|Comments Off on Risk Management Plans: How Many?

“OSHA Says”: Making a List, Checking It Twice

“You know what’s the greatest part of anything ever in the history of everything? Exaggeration. No wait; it’s correcting yourself. No, better yet, it’s making lists.” — Demetri Martin When Google offers an AI response, it includes a statement: “AI responses may include mistakes.” That was never so obvious to me as when I posed [...]

By |2026-01-14T18:26:57-06:00December 18th, 2025|Craft Distillery Safety, Procedures, Process Safety, Process Safety Management, Workplace Safety|Comments Off on “OSHA Says”: Making a List, Checking It Twice
Go to Top