Proforma Safety Blog

Wearing the Correct Safety Footwear Avoids Injuries from Electrical Hazards

Posted by proforma on September 13, 2010  |  No Comments

Do your workers know the differences among the various types of safety footwear so that they wear appropriate protection when working around electricity or in explosive or flammable environments? 

This brief guide describes the three major types of footwear: electrical hazard (EH), that are non-conductive; (2) static dissipating (SD), that reduce static electricity buildup; and (3) conductive (CD), that more quickly dissipate static electricity into the ground.

Replace Not Only the Batteries, But the Device

Posted by proforma on September 9, 2010  |  No Comments

We’re all aware that we need to replace batteries in smoke detectors and CO alarms in our homes periodically. But what many people don’t know is that the alarms themselves need to be replaced.

CO alarms should be replaced after five years. Stand-alone smoke detectors should be replaced after 10. The date of manufacture should be on the back of the alarm.

Cost of these alarms is not significant; a highly rated smoke alarm ranges in the $25; a CO alarm, $40. Consumer Reports recommends dual-sensor models that use both ionization and photoelectric smoke sensors.

CSB Approves Recommendations for Preventing Explosions

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.

Lessons Will Be Learned from the Deepwater Horizon

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.

Useful Lessons From Erskine Platform Shared

Posted by proforma on April 29, 2010  |  No Comments

On April 21, 2010, Chevron gave a presentation at a Step Change in Safety Leadership Meeting in that focused on the Erskine platform where a fire occurred in January of this year. The information is of particular interest regarding Techlok & Graylok seal rings. To view this presentation, click here.

Imperial Sugar Rebuilds Facility on the Ashes of 2008 Catastrophe

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.

Take Time to Investigate Odors

Posted by proforma on January 12, 2010  |  No Comments

Here’s a situation where alarm bells should have sounded at the first sniff. Operations personnel at an offshore Gulf of Mexico location occasionally smelled a gas/condensate odor in the motor control center (MCC) building but did not investigate the source of the odor. Subsequently a fire occurred inside one of the air conditioner evaporator enclosures located on top of the building. Minerals Management Service (MMS) investigated and found that gas had migrated through the AC evaporator enclosure’s drain line and accumulated inside the AC evaporator. Read MMS’s recommendations here.