9 Safety Lessons You Should Learn from Hoeganaes Combustible Dust Explosion

Recently, the US Chemical Safety Board (CSB) released a report and animated video about three fires and explosions that happened at Hoeganaes Corp. plant in Gallatin, Tennessee, in 2011. Hoeganaes Corp. is a manufacturer of atomized steel and iron powders.

These accidents caused five people died and three people injured. Fine iron powder was involved in these accidents. These accidents were combustible dust explosion.

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Choosing Safety Shoes Manufacturers

I don’t know how you select safety shoes manufacturers or safety shoes brands for workers. However, I believe one thing that everyone has own preference and style. It is very possible that you and your staff will like different safety shoes manufacturers.

Such situation is very common and may happen in most companies. However, that will become problem if you cannot treat it properly. The procurement process will take long time to complete, since purchasing Department has to wait which safety shoes manufacturers will be selected till all workers agree the selected brands or manufacturers. Read the rest of this entry »

6 Common Mistakes Made in Safety Valve Installation

There are many safety equipments used for releasing or controlling over pressurization in chemical plant operation. One of the most common types is safety valve. Safety valve prevents equipment and piping from damage due to over pressure by releasing certain amount of fluid into the atmosphere.

Safety valves are installed on pressure vessels or high pressure pipe line. They serve as protecting devices. However, because of improper installation, safety valves could do nothing to protect the equipment from over pressurization. So, it is very important to avoid common mistakes made during safety valve installation.

Improper installation of safety valve could endanger plant equipments as well as safety of workers and people inside plant site. You have to know common types of those miss-installations. Here are six common mistakes made in safety valve installation. Read the rest of this entry »

Have You Considered The Need of Explosion Proof Forklift?

I believe that you have recognized potential hazards associated with forklift operation. Physical hazard is the most visible hazard that most of us will give more attention. However, have you evaluated that forklift can cause explosion and fire?

You may ask why. That’s the very basic question. Forklift can potentially generate sparks from electric arc and forks of the forklift. These ignition sources in combination with explosive or flammable atmosphere will create an explosion.

Besides, metal surface such as motor housing and electrical motor enclosure may become hot and reaches auto ignition temperature of the explosive atmosphere. That’s why an explosion proof forklift is required. Read the rest of this entry »

Refresh Your Fire Safety Knowledge by Fire Safety Quiz

Have you ever tested your fire safety knowledge recently? If not, you may be interested to refresh your fire safety knowledge by fire safety quiz. It’s simple but effective enough to refresh your memory.

I have collected some fire safety quiz from the Internet and you can exercise yourself with them. You can use these quizzes for testing other workers’ knowledge about fire safety too. May be these quizzes do not contain all fire safety topics, but it is still useful because your basic fire safety knowledge will be challenged.

Fire safety quiz is more interesting than classroom training. So, I recommend you to use this as an alternative. If the result is more effective then there is no reason not to use it. Read the rest of this entry »

Project Document: Contractor Safety Manual

Contractor safety manual is one of the main project provisions. It is the main reference for every contractor and it should always be available at least one copy at project site. And you, as project owner, have to ensure its availability during the project execution.

A contractor safety manual or construction safety manual shall be able to provide such information as safety guidance for all project works, potential hazards at site, hazard control methods, hazard communication, responsibility level, personal protective equipment, fire protection, fall protection, ladder safety, scaffolding, work assignment procedure, safety permits, etc. Read the rest of this entry »

15 Ideas for Workplace Safety Posters

Workplace safety posters can make a big difference. They can prevent an accident at work to occur. Many people can be prevented from doing unsafe actions after seeing such text and graphical messages.

Workplace safety posters are effective ways to remind people about potential hazards at workplace. They can deliver safety message effectively through text and graphical posters. And the good news is that you have full control on designing workplace safety posters for your workplaces.

However, you may have problem in creating workplace safety posters. There is no idea that comes into your mind. That’s no problem. In this post, I’d like share 15 ideas for workplace safety posters. So, keep reading this article to brainstorm idea. Read the rest of this entry »