October 2019 | ISHN Magazine

Among the articles in the October 2019 issue of ISHN Magazine, we have expert insight on preventing human error, OSHA standard compliance, the latest in safety technology, and much more.

NFPA 70E’s focus on preventing human error

All about human performance, error precursors & risk

Dave Johnson

October 1, 2019

The 2018 print edition of NFPA 70E Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace® is 104 pages. Updated every three years by the 70E technical committee, this comprehensive standard covers the latest information about the effects of shock, arc flash, arc blast, dc hazards, and developments in electrical design, PPE.

Humanistic behaviorism: The essence of effective behavior-based safety

E. Scott Geller

October 1, 2019

A Shift in Thinking: Study near-misses to improve safety processes

Rachel Bugaris

October 1, 2019

An unplanned event that did not result in injury, illness, or damage, but had the potential to do so — are common but generally underreported. Knowledge is power, and information provided by near-misses is a tool to evaluate and improve safety.

How to combat alarm fatigue

Do your monitors “cry wolf”?

Kyle Krueger

September 30, 2019

One thing all portable gas detectors have in common is alarm tones. One alarm tone is used to indicate gas hazards, albeit with varied frequency or volume for Low/High/TWA/STEL warnings. An alarm for carbon monoxide sounds the same as an alarm for Lower Explosive Limit, oxygen, and hydrogen sulfide.

Layers of Protection: Designing your gas detection defenses

Angela Sauceda

October 1, 2019

You’ve decided your facility would benefit from the installation and implementation of a gas detection system. This is a big step in protecting your workers and your facility. Now comes the fun part, selecting the right technology to meet the needs of your application.

On human performance & culture

Don’t focus on frailties; don’t mandate culture

Corrie Pitzer

October 1, 2019

The focus on human performance has quickly become no more than human error of yesteryear. I’m amazed at how many “neuroscience solutions” there suddenly are that can fix human (safety) performance.

Hearing Protection Fit Testing: How NIOSH revolutionized practices

Maureen Paraventi

October 1, 2019

When loud noises cannot be reduced or eliminated through engineering controls, workers who are exposed to them must use hearing protection devices (HPDs) to conserve their hearing. This notion is not new, nor is the concept that HPDs require fit-testing to be effective.

New impact gloves offer versatile protection

Blows, bumps & bruises

M.B. Sutherland

September 26, 2019

We tend to think of impact work gloves as something you see on oil rigs or construction sites, where heavy duty impacts and blows are common. But almost any manufacturing process involves some type of rough work that can bump or bruise workers’ hands.

OSHA’s silica dust standard causes compliance woes

Still struggling with Silica: OSHA standard causes compliance woes

Kevin Brown

October 1, 2019

OSHA estimates some two million construction employees are exposed to respirable crystalline silica in more than 600,000 workplaces across the country. To comply, companies need to follow multiple steps that aren’t always as easy as they might seem.

Machine guarding: Compliance problems continue

OSHA’s standard is frequently violated

Dave Johnson

September 30, 2019

Machine guarding once again made OSHA’s top ten list of most-frequently violated standards for fiscal year 2019. Coming in at number eight, OSHA’s machine guarding standard 1910.212 was cited for violations 1,743 times in 2019, compared to 1,972 citations in 2018.

Strategies to train & outfit inexperienced workers

Coping with the labor shortage

Sean Sweeney

October 1, 2019

At the start of September, the number of open jobs exceeded the number of active jobseekers for the 17th consecutive month—a record for the United States economy.

Scarring Exposures: Engineering controls capture silica dust particles

Dave Stock

October 1, 2019

Crystalline silica is one of the most common minerals found worldwide in the earth’s crust. It is frequently used in many industrial processes such as mining, quarrying and stone-cutting. Breathing air contaminated with crystalline silica particles can cause serious respiratory and lung diseases.

Reduce the Risk: Complying with OSHA’s crystalline silica rule

Josie Larsen

October 1, 2019

Crystalline silica is an abundant natural material found in soil, stone and sand. It is also present in many construction materials such as brick, mortar and concrete. It becomes respirable when any of the afore-mentioned materials are cut or broken down into fine particles.

Do you have a plan? Protect workers from lung cancer

Mark H. Stromme

October 1, 2019

Crystalline silica is one of the most common elements on the planet, just behind oxygen. About 2.3 million workers are exposed to it in their workplace. It’s about 100 times smaller than sand and can be found on construction sites in building materials such as concrete, block, stone, sand, and mortar.

If left unmaintained, combustion systems can be catastrophic

Hidden in plain sight…

October 1, 2019

Boilers, dryers, process ovens, thermal oxidizers or other fuel-fired industrial equipment are essential to manufacturing productivity. Regulating the flow and pressure of fuel delivery to this equipment requires a multi-component, highly-engineered device called a “valve safety train”.

Digital Edition Exclusive

For Your Health & Wellness: Catching a quick nap is smart business

October 2, 2019

Sleeping on the job was once considered taboo, but today, more companies are encouraging employees to take a mid-shift snooze. And it’s a wise practice: 29 percent of workers report falling asleep or becoming very sleepy at work, and a lack of sleep costs the United States $63 billion each year in lost productivity.

Digital Edition Exclusive

Brutal ragweed season ahead? Blame extreme weather

October 2, 2019

People who have allergies may be in for a rough ragweed season this summer and fall, thanks to hotter and wetter weather nationwide.

Digital Edition Exclusive

For Your Health & Wellness: Do cell phones pose a health hazard?

October 2, 2019

The weight of scientific evidence has not linked cell phones with any health problems. Cell phones emit low levels of radiofrequency energy (RF). Over the past 15 years, scientists have conducted hundreds of studies looking at the biological effects of the radiofrequency energy emitted by cell phones.

Digital Edition Exclusive

Recent OSHA Enforcement Cases

October 2, 2019

The following are recent OSHA enforcement cases around the country, including a Florida roofing company, an Ohio roofing contractor, a Michigan pipeline company, a Florida tortilla company, a New York frozen foods packager, a Wisconsin manufacturing company, and a Pennsylvania manufacturing company.

Digital Edition Exclusive

A Personal Story of Human Errors

Remember: You can’t change the human condition

Dave Johnson

October 2, 2019

Yes, this is a story about errors - plural - made by one person, me. I’m not going to beat myself up here. James Reason, professor emeritus at the University of Manchester (UK), and one of the seminal authorities on human error, reminds us that most errors are caused by good, competent people who are trying to do the right thing.

Editor's Note

OSHA – the good, the bad, the future

“Our Savior Has Arrived” once said safety pros. That was long ago.

Dave Johnson

October 1, 2019

We’re coming up on an anniversary: in 1970 Congress passed and President Richard Nixon signed into the law the Occupational Safety and Health Act, creating the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, OSHA.

Essentials: ACGIH® TLVs® and BEIs® booklet

Best Practices

Know where your knowledge gaps are

Essentials: ACGIH® TLVs® and BEIs® booklet

Dan Markiewicz MS, CIH, CSP, RMP

October 1, 2019

TLVs® and BEIs® are often recognized as “safe levels” for worker exposures to chemical substances and physical agents. Proper application of TLVs® and BEIs® are essential to today’s practice of industrial hygiene.

Training Strategies

Smart Rewards: Be strategic about your use of safety incentives

Benita Mehta

October 1, 2019

According to OSHA, businesses spend almost $1 billion per week on costs related to occupational injuries and illnesses. “In today's business environment,” according to OSHA, “these costs can be the difference between operating in the black and running in the red.”

Closing Time

What happens in the boardroom affects the front line

Behaviors interlock all down the line

Timothy Ludwig Ph.D.

October 1, 2019

The union steward had just recounted an incident where a supervisor asked one of his workers to step into standing water to work on corroded gauges near the coker. The work needed to be done immediately as it would delay ongoing maintenance on the fractionator to take on different stock feed.