OSHA to Oil Refineries: Comply!

Within the last month, OSHA has issued a stern directive to oil refineries nationwide. The directive came in form of a letter to more than 100 oil refineries about the responsibility to comply with all OSHA standards and the Process Safety Management of Highly Hazardous Chemicals, or HHCs.

According to the press release from the U.S. Department of Labor OSHA, Office of Communications:

"Letters recently were sent to the management of more than 100 oil refineries providing them with data on compliance issues found under OSHA's Refinery National Emphasis Program (NEP) and urging the refiners to comply with their obligations under the process safety management (PSM) standard. The standard requires employers to develop and incorporate comprehensive, site-specific safety management systems to reduce the risks of fatal or catastrophic incidents."

Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA, Jordan Barab, stated that failure of employers to completely implement a safety management system was a recurring problem at refineries everywhere.

The release goes on to remind employers of the catastrophic oil refinery incident in 2005 at the BP Texas City, Texas, as mentioned in the official directive. There, fifteen workers died and 170 workers were injured in disastrous explosion and fire. With this unfortunate incident, lessons were no doubt learned, and a tragedy like this one is something OSHA and any one else never wants to see again. Barab states it simply:

"We found it necessary to remind employers of the importance of compliance with OSHA standards that are designed to save workers' lives."

Read about the catastrophe here: Texas City, Texas BP refinery blast

It continues:

"During the first year of the NEP, OSHA inspectors issued nearly 350 PSM citations to 14 refineries. Some of the citations issued involved employers who failed to address their own process safety findings and recommendations, and failed to establish maintenance procedures for equipment such as pressure vessels and emergency shutdown systems."

Also included was a brief mention of another refinery incident in New Mexico. Here's how OSHA described the incident:

"At the Giant Industries Ciniza Refinery near Gallup, New Mexico, on April 8, 2004, six employees were injured, with 4 of these employees being hospitalized with serious burn injuries when gasoline components were released and ignited. Maintenance workers were removing a malfunctioning pump from the refinery's hydrofluoric acid (HF) alkylation unit when the release occurred. A shut-off valve connecting the pump to a distillation column was to be closed during the maintenance activity. This valve, however was apparently left in an open position, leading to the release of flammable liquids and vapors which caused subsequent explosions."

If you work for an oil refinery, or if you know someone who does, kindly remind him or her of the importance to never compromise safety for any reason. Comply with OSHA and be safe!

Safety: It's All About Perception. Or is It?

In an article entitled "Measuring Safety Culture: Why Perception Surveys are Not Enough" in the April 2009 issue of EHS Today, Terry Mathis describes a time several years ago when he and a business associate were discussing the issue of safety in the workplace. His associate posed to him a question:

"Terry, a recent survey indicates that our workers don't think our managers are serious about safety. If we hire you to help fix this problem, what will be your first step?"

Terry's response was that he would "find out if the perception was accurate or not." In responding the way he did, he elicited a little bit of shock from those who were around when his associate posed the question. They wondered if he was suggesting the perception indeed was accurate. Here is how Terry crafted part of his response:

"If the perception was inaccurate, I would only need to fix the perception. If the perception was accurate, there would almost surely be a larger problem to solve."

What Mathis is saying in this article is that while many managers use perception surveys to measure and manage safety cultures, "there is a basic flaw" in them. Rather than delving into further information based on perception survey findings, organizations sometimes react immediately according to the findings, and a quick-trigger reaction is not the best way to go about it. The "basic flaw" is that perceptions can be inaccurate. "Measuring perceptions only determines if those polled have a perception and if the perceptions of the group are similar or dissimilar," Mathis says.

The article is fantastic and really gets one thinking about this very point. While surveys about work safety can help provide a fundamental understanding of what people are thinking, it might not necessarily be accurate because "perceptions drastically can be changed by events and the flow of information." But how so? One simple example brings this point to light: "Ask everyone if they think this is a safe place to work right after you have announced layoffs."

Also, the proof will be in the puddin'. If significantly improving your perception placement score by 30 percent translates into actual, improved safety performance, then that may provide some solid hints as to the accuracy of perceptions. If significantly improving your placement score percentage does not translate into actual, improved safety performance, then it is quite possible that the change may only need to be made in regards to perception--a much simpler fix.

Mathis' article will really get you thinking about how you measure and manage your safety culture!

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How To Spot Safety Success

Back in the September 2008 issue of Occupational Hazards (today the magazine is called EHS Today), a really good article was written by Terry Mathis, a safety expert who possesses quite the safety-related resume. The article is titled "What Does Safety Success Look Like?" In it, Mathis discusses 10 qualities that "all truly successful safety efforts have... in common." With each additional quality comes a more successful effort. Here they are (with a brief summary):

1. Proactive - To become proactive, one must have first become successfully reactive. "Success in reactive safety generates the necessity for proactive safety." What do you do to plan further improvements once you've met the minimum requirements for safety?
   
2. Focused - While there are many diverse dangers, a focused effort on the most important dangers and needed precautions to avoid them is crucial to success. A helpful hint: create acronyms to memorize a narrowly focused list of the most important dangers and how to prevent them. "Reinforce the list until it becomes second nature or even habitual."
   
3. Transformational - Do not strive more merely modest gains in increased safety. Rather, put the focus on precautions that can truly have a significant impact on accidents. Ask, "What am I currently focusing my personnel on in safety?" and "Will this significantly reduce accidents, or should I focus my efforts on a different precaution?"
   
4. Involves Workers - When attempting to solve organizational problems, "always involve the people who know the most" because "people support what they help create." Let your workers share their knowledge on safety precautions in the workplace.
5. Clearly Communicated - "Effective communication is a trademark of safety success." Managers and supervisors should keep safety-related topics on the forefront of their discussions. Safety is not only a priority but a value. Ask yourself if safety is truly communicated clearly and if all personnel are involved in the communication process.
6. Results Oriented - The important measure of safety combines an understanding of both process metrics and results metrics. You're putting in the effort very well. But are your efforts generating results? That's the bottom line.
   
7. Multi-dimensional - "Safety success is not a one-trick pony." Use a combination of psychology, sociology, behavioral science and other academic disciplines in your safety efforts. Avoid one-dimensional processes.
8. Integrated - Safety efforts should be a part of your day-to-day functions. If they are separate, they will likely fail. "Truly successful safety efforts are not something else you do; they are the way you do everything."
   
9. Practical - Make sure safety efforts are based on workplace realities. "Many who are vaunted as safety experts never have been in the workplace without a visitor's badge and borrowed hardhat."
   
10. Humanistic - Goals should not be strictly financial or to reach some benchmark. Workers are real people with real lives and families. "Safety is about people, not numbers." So while reducing the numbers of hazards, injuries, fatalities and their associated costs is important, what's really important are the people.

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OSHA Safety Signs Poster

OSHA, OSHA, OSHA.

With an expressive display of graphics and colors, Graphic Products released a creative new 18" x 24" OSHA Safety Signs poster today aimed at helping workers understand signal words on safety signs in the workplace. The poster explains how the signal words "DANGER," "CAUTION," "NOTICE," etc. with their associated colors indicate unique hazard situations. This helps employers know what signal word to use when making and displaying safety signs. What's more, the safety signs displayed on the poster reflect the very latest in ANSI Z535 standards (layout of header, safety symbol, and message panel) and include informative captions explaining ANSI requirements for sign making. As OSHA often refers to ANSI requirements, the poster serves as an excellent, eye-catching educational reference.

The OSHA Safety Signs poster is a nice complement to two other highly popular OSHA guides already available from Graphic Products: The “Top 10 OSHA Violations of 2008” guide and the “OSHA Safety Signs Best Practice Guide."

And oh by the way, there are only 2,500 of these limited edition posters, so keep your workplace safe by requesting your free collectible OSHA Safety Signs poster today. Know your OSHA and ANSI safety sign standards!

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Safety: Heat Stress

The May 2009 issue of Occupational Health & Safety discusses one safety hazard that is not often thought of as a hazard in the workplace, but we all feel it: heat. How is heat a hazard? It's not necessarily heat that is the hazard as much as it is the stress associated with heat. Heat stress is a hazard because of what may result if not first assessed and then controlled. And with warmer temperatures already here, now is the time for workers to be reminded of heat stress.

In his article entitled "Heat Stress Assessment and Control," Michael E. Bingham, the Western Area Safety Representative for the North Carolina Industrial Commission, shares valuable insight on assessing the hazard of heat stress, controlling it, and promoting awareness of it. Be sure to read the entire article, but here are the highlights:

1. Job stress and heat stress are synonomous because stress is stress, and our bodies respond to it. According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health's NIOSH Publication No. 99-101: STRESS. . . At Work," "Job stress can be defined as the harmful physical and emotional responses that occur when the requirements of the job do not match the capabilities, resources, or needs of the worker."
2. The first step of assessing the hazard is to recognize potential stressors in the workplace. They may include: our own bodies, clothing, PPE, equipment, lack of shade, heat reflected off pavement, and generated heat from furnaces becoming trapped inside buildings.
3. The second step of assessing the hazard is to take accurate temperature readings (and keep records of them). This allows wokers to quantify the level of danger so appropriate responses to the danger follow. When this is done, the hazard can be defined, and allowable exposure limits can then be set.
   
4. Use the risk equation to help predict the future and control heat hazards: R = exposure x severity x probability (see the article for a detailed explanation on how this is set up).
5. Heat stress hazards can be controlled in a number of ways. Engineering controls disrupt the path heat takes to apply stress to our bodies (barriers, fans, HVAC systems, etc.). Work practice controls limit the time workers are exposed to the heat, prohibit workers working alone in hot conditions, and limit the speed at which workers perform duties. Acclimatization controls follow sound medical advice that allows workers to gradually get used to working in certain environments, allowing for uninterrupted job duties.
   
6. Promoting hazard awareness is critical to safety. Without a solid understanding of the dangers of heat stress, workers won't be able to avoid them. Awareness comes as a result of properly training employees and management in prevention measures.
   

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OSHA Emergency Eyewash/Shower Requirments

Becca Kandler, in her article entitled "Help Is Out There" in the May 2009 issue (Vol. 78 No. 5) of Occupational Health & Safety, discusses some basic OSHA requirements for emergency eyewash/shower stations. The article also provides additional insight into the topic, which should be reviewed by following the link above. However, here are some highlights of her article as they relates to OSHA requirements:

• OSHA requires emergency eyewash/shower stations in regulations like dipping and coating operations; medical services and first aid; pulp, paper, and paperboard mills, formaldehyde; and carcinogens. However, OSHA does not have a clear list saying where they should be placed.

• 29 CFR 1910.151(c) specificies that "where the eyes or body of any person may be exposed to injurious corrosive materials, suitable facilities for quick drenching or flushing of the eyes and body shall be provided within the work area for immediate emergency use."

• Employers are expected to determine the level of potential risk and provide protection to their employees, accordingly. A good way to determine when emergency eyewash/shower equipment is needed is to consult the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS).

• While OSHA does not provide great detail into eyewashes/showers, OSHA directs employers and employees ANSI standard Z358.1 Emergency Eyewash and Shower Equipment for specific requirements.

• The first seconds after an exposure to chemicals are extremely critical, so as a general rule, always have eyewash equipment located as closely as possible to areas where employees may be exposed to hazardous materials.

I might add that not only should emergency eyewash/shower stations be situated close to areas where employees may be exposed to hazardous materials, but these stations should also be labeled properly. A big, green "Emergency Eyewash" sign with the eyewash safety symbol applied in an easy-to-see area next to the eyewash station may be the only thing an affected employee is able to notice when his or her eyes are under duress. This safety sign serves as a guide for the affected employee and will "shorten the distance," in a sense, to the emergency eyewash station.

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New Custom Label Service Launched

A new Custom Label Service is available for convenient online label design and ordering. This new service provided by Graphic Products is available for customs to design labels wherever Internet access is accessible. Simply use the Label Designer Control Panel to design and view your custom label, submit your order, and wait for your custom label designs to arrive at your address!

To learn more about the new online Custom Label Service, click on this link: Custom Label Service

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