Safety & Health Effects of Shift Work - ASSE Members

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CONCLUSION So, what is fact, what is fiction and what is fad By using NFPA 70E to create a strong electrical safety-related work practices program, you can differentiate the fact from the fiction, while emphasizing for yourself and employees that this is not a fad. What is your action plan •established and documented electrical safety training program for all employees; •written electrical safety program; •lockout/tagout program, which includes establishing an electrically safe work condition; •energized work procedures and equipment; •energized work justification and approval; •shock hazard analysis; •flash hazard analysis; •PPE and insulated tools. By leaving behind the “fad factor” and establishing a strong program based on understanding of NFPA 70E, every employee can be afforded a safe work environment. Michael Kovacic is president of TMK and Associates Inc., a Cleveland, OH-based safety consulting firm specializing in electrical and lockout/tagout safety. For questions or comments about this article, call (866) OSHA-ZONE, e-mail Kovacic at mkovacic@oshazone.com or visit www.oshazone.com. Read an Excerpt From Z244.1 The following is an excerpt from the standard, “Control of Hazardous Energy—Lockout/Tagout and Alternative Methods” [ANSI/ASSE Z244.1-2003 (R2008)]. To purchase the full standard, click here. To view all of our standards, click here. 4. DESIGN 4.1 Manufacturer, Integrator, Modifier, and Remanufacturer Responsibilities. Machines, equipment and processes shall be designed, manufactured, supplied, and installed so that the user can comply with the control methodologies of this standard. Modifications affecting energy isolation shall comply with this standard. A risk assessment shall be performed during the engineering design stage of development to determine the need for and design sufficiency of appropriate energy isolating devices and systems. (See Annex A) 4.1.1 Exposure Minimization. Manufacturers, integrators, modifiers, and remanufacturers shall design machines, equipment, and processes to be reliable, therefore requiring a low level of intervention. The machine, equipment or process should be designed so that personnel are not exposed to hazardous energy during routine and repetitive servicing and maintenance activities. NOTE: This can be accomplished by positioning controls outside hazardous areas, adding controls at appropriate locations, providing external lubrication points, or providing guarding. 4.1.2 Partial Energization. For those functions when partial energization is necessary, the manufacturer, integrator, modifier, or remanufacturer shall perform a risk assessment similar to that outlined in Annex A to determine the safest method of machine, equipment or process access. When it is necessary for machines, equipment or processes to remain partially energized (e.g. in order to hold parts, save information, retain heat, or provide local lighting), alternative control methodologies shall be provided for personnel safety. 4.2 Energy Isolating Devices. Machines, equipment and processes shall be designed, manufactured, supplied, and installed with energy isolating devices to enable compliance with the requirements in 5.3. Consideration shall be given to the intended use of the machine, equipment or process. Devices shall be capable of controlling or dissipating hazardous energy, or both. The devices should be an integral part of the machine, equipment or process. When these devices are not integral to the machine, equipment or process; the manufacturer shall include in the installation instructions recommendations for type and location of energy isolating devices. 4.2.1 Location. Energy isolating devices shall be accessible and, when practical, be conveniently located to facilitate the application of lockout devices during service and maintenance. NOTE: Energy isolating devices are best located outside any hazardous areas, at a convenient manipulating height from an adjacent walking area (i.e., not overhead, on ladders, or under machinery). 4.2.2 Identification. All energy isolating devices shall be adequately labeled or marked unless they are located and arranged so that their purpose is clearly evident. The identification shall include the following: a) machine, equipment, or process supplied; b) energy type and magnitude. NOTE: The potential for error will be reduced if personnel are not expected to rely on memory or experience as to which isolating devices apply to which machines, equipment or processes. When machine, equipment or process placarding or posting contains the required energy isolating device identification, individual devices may be marked or coded and their identity referenced on the placard or posting information. Where conditions such as security are warranted, coded identification is acceptable. Examples of labeling or marking (e.g., tags, embossing, engraving, stenciling, etc.) language are as follows: Main Power Press 3 (480V); Natural Gas-Process Line 2; Hydraulic Pump Discharge (800 psi); Bay A Compressed Air (100 psi). Copyright ©2008 by ASSE. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form, in an electronic retrieval system or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. 22 Safely Made www.asse.org 2011
ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION BY JEFF “ODIE” ESPENSHIP Approachability: The Last Domino Nearly every supervisor in the workplace feels they can be approached by others, but are they really “approachable” What does “intervening” in the workplace mean to you as a supervisor or foreman What does it mean to the one being supervised This article examines the final moments of three aviation accidents in an attempt to get at what makes approachability in the field so difficult. How can we become more approachable from the bottom up, from the top down and from peer to peer When the dominoes begin falling, accident investigations often reveal that someone on the job could have intervened with a critical piece of information but either did not speak up or was not listened to. The purpose is to not pick apart each falling domino, but simply to look at the final moments, the end game, “the last domino”—approachability. Reflect inward and ask yourself, what does “approachability” really look like, sound like or feel like in the field What you may find is that being approachable and intervening on the job is not as clear cut as you might think. •Air Florida Flight 90: crashed into the icy Potomac River in January 1982 (74 fatalities). •Comair Flight 5191: departed from the wrong runway in Lexington, KY, in August 2006 (49 fatalities). •PanAm and KLM 747 crash on the island of Tenerife: worst aviation accident in history in March 1977 (583 fatalities). In each example, the pilots (workers) had the power to stop the work before disaster but failed to do so. Why Let us look at the final dominos of Air Florida Flight 90. COCKPIT VOICE RECORDER TRANSCRIPT Co-Pilot: God, look at that thing. That don’t seem right, does it Uh, that’s not right. (Referring to engine gauges) Captain: Yes it is, there’s 80. (Referring to airspeed) Co-Pilot: Naw, I don’t think that’s right. Uhhh, maybe it is. Captain: 120. (Referring to accelerating airspeed) Co-Pilot: I don’t know Now barely airborne, the sound of the “stickshaker” (warns pilots of impending stall) heard continuously until impact. Captain: Stalling! We’re falling! Co-Pilot: Larry! We’re going down, Larry! Captain: I know it! When employees in the field are unsure of what they are seeing or experiencing they either will not speak up for fear of looking stupid, or if they do speak up (which is the case with Air Florida), they may not be able to articulate exactly what they can or cannot see. It is difficult to clearly explain a bad feeling you are having, especially to a supervisor. So beware, approachability in the workplace may look or sound something like: “Hey, this doesn’t seem right, does it” “This light is, uh, isn’t this light usually off The power is off, right” “These uh, are these the right fittings for this pipe” Be on the lookout for the rhetorical question, the vague statement or the unsure utterance. It might be your last domino. In the Comair Flight 5191 accident, three experienced pilots in the cockpit departed from the wrong runway in Lexington, KY, in August 2006, which resulted in 49 fatalities. It is early morning and still dark out as the captain taxis the airplane to depart on Runway 22 (Figure 1). Instead, he mistakenly turns onto Runway 26, a runway that is too short for the required takeoff roll. How could this happen to a highly experienced captain at the tiller, to a normally alert co-pilot sitting next to him and to another pilot sitting in the jumpseat Be on the lookout. Approachability might not come from a person, but from the job itself. We fail to act on numerous nonverbal hints and clues when working. It might be a missing part on a machine; a broken wire; equipment behaving strangely; or lights that are normally on are off. The Comair Flight 5191 crew was no different. Runway 26 had no runway lights on, which Federal Aviation Administration regulations require for night operations. The runway itself was attempting to tell the crew that something was not right. As the crew began the takeoff roll down the unlit, darkened runway, approximately 12 seconds into the work, the first officer said, “That is weird with no lights.” “Yeah,” confirmed the captain. No response from any crew member again until 15 seconds later. The captain exclaimed, “Whoa!” as the end of the short runway appeared. The sounds of the crash followed shortly thereafter. As we read this, we might be thinking, “How could they be so stupid Why didn’t the pilots stop” Intervention is not always cut and dry. Situational awareness is the measuring stick for our perception of reality versus actual reality. Taxiing an air- 23 Safely Made www.asse.org 2011
Page 1 and 2: A TECHNICAL PUBLICATION OF ASSE’S
Page 3 and 4: C O N T E N T S PAGE 4 PAGE 8 VOLUM
Page 5 and 6: EH&S Training Experts since 1981 En
Page 7 and 8: WORKPLACE SAFETY NEMA Launches Prem
Page 9 and 10: Photo 1: Old helmet. DP: There is a
Page 11 and 12: hythms, a 24-hour rhythm that makes
Page 13 and 14: AIR QUALITY BY RICHARD BENNETT, CIH
Page 15 and 16: Safety 2011 MPS Recap Safety 2011 w
Page 17 and 18: tle. Housekeeping programs are the
Page 20 and 21: ELECTRICAL SAFETY BY MICHAEL KOVACI
Page 24 and 25: Figure 1 Blue Grass (LEX) Airport D
Page 26 and 27: Strategic Goal 5 Reduce the number

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