Posted by proforma on July 1, 2010 | No Comments
A floorman was struck in the abdomen by either the drill pipe or winch wire and later died of his injuries. In this report, the cause was attributed to a number of factors, including poor communication, lack of competency and inadequate risk assessment.
Tags:accident, fatality, oilfield worker, Workplace Safety
Filed Under: Workplace Safety
Posted by proforma on June 30, 2010 | No Comments
The Chemical Safety Board has issued 18 recommendations to OSHA, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and other agencies that are intended to prevent explosions and fires resulting from using fuel gas to clean or purge gas pipes. These recommendations evolved from its investigations into the Kleen Energy plant explosion and the ConAgra Foods plant explosion. Both explosions were attributed to natural gas released during the installation and commissioning of new piping.
CBS recommends that OSHA pass regulations prohibiting the use of natural gas for pipe cleaning and the venting or purging of fuel gas indoors. IN addition, it urges OSHA to require companies to provide workers and contractors with appropriate procedures and training.
See this moving video put out by the Chemical Safety Board on the Dangers of Hot Work.
Tags:accident, Add new tag, explosion, fatality, Fire, OSHA, training, Workplace Safety
Filed Under: Workplace Safety
Posted by proforma on June 6, 2010 | No Comments
The Deepwater Horizon is a tragedy first and foremost because of the loss of 11 lives, but also because of the continued impact on Gulf of Mexico residents, wildlife, property and businesses, and on the companies, employees and shareholders associated with the spill, including BP, Anadarko Petroleum and Matsui Oil Exploration (minority partners), Transocean, Halliburton and Cameron. All are facing scores of lawsuits for damages and liabilities.
The reputation of BP has sunk precipitously and the affects will be felt by the nation and the energy industry for many years.
Wall Street Journal reported that “BP made choices over the course of the project that rendered this well more vulnerable to the blowout.”
Shareholders have sued the board of BP Plc for failing to monitor safety and exposing the company to liability.
Some Deepwater Horizon workers said that safety was paramount for BP and Transocean. But two workers have charged the companies with cutting corners on safety and neglecting maintenance in favor of higher profits.
On June 1, global jitters sent the Dow dropping nearly 100 points upon news the U.S. Government has initiated a criminal probe.
In his 30-Day Safety Report, Ken Salazar, Secretary of the Interior, has called for aggressive new operating standards and safety requirements.
Tags:accident, fatality, Fire, offshore GOM
Filed Under: Workplace Safety
Posted by proforma on June 1, 2010 | No Comments
“Doubling fines against motorists through work zones is a glorified version of a roadside speed trap – the tactic is geared toward collecting ticket revenue, but does not address the real safety issues.”
EHS Today dispels two common myths about highway construction projects and increased accidents: (1) that construction workers have the highest risk of serious injury, and (2) that vehicular traffic is the major cause. The truth is that motorists and passengers suffer considerably more fatalities, and better traffic routing through the construction zone would decrease accidents.
Tags:accident, driving safety
Filed Under: Workplace Safety
Posted by proforma on April 6, 2010 | No Comments
In light of the recent catastrophic event at the Tesoro refinery in Anacortes, WA, it’s important to review all safety procedures with all personnel. This narrowly avoided incident serves as yet another warning to follow proper Permit to Work (PTW) procedures.
The job involved welding of the tank and piping of a rig accumulator supply tank. The welder was unaware that the tank had not been purged nor cleaned, and the lid was closed and secured. A passing rig site senior mechanic spotted the welder and realized the explosive atmosphere that existed. He immediately called a stop to the operation.
The situation was compounded by the fact that no pre-job safety check off list had been completed. There was not a well defined fire watch, as the designated person was involved in other duties at the time and no replacement identified. A fire extinguisher or pressurized water hose was not within the working vicinity as required by policy and the Permit to Work procedure. And although a PTW document had been issued, the appropriate personnel were not involved. The document had been incorrectly filled out and many details were not followed as required.
Tags:accident, PTW, welding, Workplace Safety
Filed Under: Workplace Safety
Posted by proforma on April 6, 2010 | No Comments
Here’s another instance where miscommunication resulted in a dangerous workplace situation: A floorman signals a crewman using hand signals different from what the crewman was accustomed to. Instead of opening the valves to fill the trip tank, the crewman disengaged the auxiliary brake handle; the drawworks brakes overheated, the driller could not stop the blocks, which then ran into the top drive rail stops. Among the causes cited were the lack of standardized hand signals and understanding of the rig operation and systems.
Tags:accident, communication, offshore rig, oilfield worker, Workplace Safety
Filed Under: Workplace Safety
Posted by proforma on March 30, 2010 | No Comments
In this instance, an oilfield driller didn’t know the correct valve position for water supplied to the auxiliary hydromatic brake. Unfortunately, the valve wasn’t labeled to indicate open or close positions, either. So after accidentally shutting off the water supply to the auxiliary hydromatic brake, he found the drawworks brakes were overheating; the blocks and the elevators struck the rotary table, bending the joint of pipe in the elevators.
Tags:accident, offshore GOM, oilfield worker, Workplace Safety
Filed Under: Workplace Safety
Posted by proforma on March 30, 2010 | No Comments
On February 7, 2008, at about 7:15 p.m., something ignited sugar dust in Imperial’s refinery in Port Wentworth, Georgia, resulting in blasts and subsequent fires that destroyed much of the facility and killed 14 people. This article in the NFPA Journal®,March/April 2010, talks about the tragedy, which the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) described as “entirely preventable.” Poor maintenance, housekeeping, and equipment design were identified as factors in the catastrophe. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) reported scores of “willful” and “particularly flagrant” safety violations. Imperial Sugar has made the commitment to build a safe, modern packaging facility and the solution has been a system and functional design for the new plant that emphasizes the concepts of separation, isolation, and suppression. At Port Wentworth, this has included relocation of the huge sugar storage silos, more stand-alone buildings, and inclusion of fire walls within buildings. Most important, it’s included a major overhaul to employee attitudes toward safety. Click on the link above for details.
Tags:accident, explosion, fatality, Fire, OSHA, safety, Workplace Safety
Filed Under: Workplace Safety
Posted by proforma on February 8, 2010 | No Comments
Failure to notice that a generator was missing part of its radiator guard (see image, bottom of guard) contributed to a minor worksite accident, in which the injured decided to check the temperature of the radiator by touching it with his hand. The equipment had been in use for several months, so the missing part was not noticed. Read details here.
Tags:accident, Workplace Safety
Filed Under: Workplace Safety
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