Proforma Safety Blog

Test Your Maintenance Expertise

Posted by proforma on February 24, 2012  |  No Comments

Let’s see if your experience and expertise can detect what’s wrong in this picture? How many problems can you find with this chain guide and hoist housing? Click on the link to review what others have found.

Hoses Present Potential for Serious Harm

Posted by proforma on February 24, 2012  |  No Comments

Recent accidents involving pressurized hoses reminds us to check all hoses for wear, incorrectly installed safety clamps and incorrect pressure. When using any kind of industrial hose, ensure
1) it’s strung in an area that won’t present a tripping hazard, or be driven over
2) kinks and bends are avoided to reduce hose damage
3) fittings are properly secured, and safety devices installed
4) it’s secured to fixed objects at short intervals to restrict whipping

Forklift Operator Snags Power Line

Posted by proforma on February 23, 2012  |  No Comments

Rather than putting the forks UNDER the motor to lift it, this forklift operator decided to hoist the motor with a sling and then proceeded to move with the forks elevated. Because no one had scanned the site for hazards or obstacles, the forklift operator snagged a power line, breaking the pole in the process, and dropped the live line on his forklift. Fortunately, he leapt clear in time.

What’s the lesson here? Use the forklift properly for starters, and examine the location in advance before initiating any activity. The report is published on IADC as a safety alert.

Slow Down, to Go Faster

Posted by proforma on February 23, 2012  |  No Comments

Can driving more slowly actually get you to your destination faster? Yes, and there’s evidence to prove it, as detailed in this article in Slate. Complicating matters further, the more deviation in speed among vehicles traveling the highway, the greater the chance of accidents. If you’re thinking that everyone needs to drive faster to reduce bottlenecks, you will be “dead wrong.”

The first concept to address is “rolling speed harmonization,” best illustrated by this example: on Colorado’s I-70 highway, patrol cars — riding in tandem with lights on — slow the average traffic speed down to 55, from 70 mph. This reduces the speed differential among vehicles and increases volume throughput. Most important, it reduces the braking and lane changing that lead to accidents.

Now, let’s address going slower, getting there faster. This is best exemplified by the “rice and funnel” effect demonstrated by former Washington Dept. of Transportation Commissioner Doug McDonald. Cars approaching a traffic jam tend to slow down traffic as it accumulates in front of the bottleneck; cars approaching the bottleneck more slowly actually progress past it more quickly and smoothly.

See the video, lower left on this page, the demonstration by MacDonald demonstrating the rice and funnel concept.

A reminder to employees to safety — their own and their families’ — is timely. A recent report by the Governors Highway Safety Association indicates the number of deaths of 16-17 year old passengers rose during the first half of 2011 over the same period the previous year.

Oil and Gas Expertise Transferable to Wind Energy Industry

Posted by proforma on February 10, 2012  |  No Comments

The offshore oil and gas industry is in good position to be successful in the emerging offshore wind energy industry, says Adrian Gillespie, Director of Scottish Enterprise’s Energy and Low Carbon Technologies. In a report published in September 2011, Gillespie estimates the transfer of skills from oil and gas to wind could reduce wind farm development and operational costs by as much as 20.1 percent.

There are areas in which products and services are transferable, which include the management of offshore construction, design, fabrication and manufacture of components, personnel transfer and other services.

Critical to the wind energy getting off to a good start is the transfer of safety standards and practices.

Filed Under: Workplace Safety