Training for Success

CSB Videos

2011-03-14T09:13:00.000-05:00

While preparing for a class scheduled in the next couple of weeks, I decided to look on the CSB's (Chemical Safety Board) website. They have videos featuring several different chemical accidents that reveiws what happened and how it could have been prevented. These videos are a mix of interviews with employees and experts, video footage and animation of what is believed to have happened. These videos can be a valuable tool to use for training both workers and rescue personell. You can access their website at http://www.csb.gov/

SMART Objectives

2011-03-10T08:56:00.001-06:00

Attended a NIMS ICS-300 class this week. This class discussed the incident command process for larger incidents and events. For the non-Fire service folks, this is basically a resource management process or system. One of the early process steps in dealing with an incident is to develop incident objectives. These objectives guide the mitigation priorities to ensure life safety, incident stabilization and property preservation. The incident objectives state what will be accomplished.
Incident objectives need to be Specific in describing the objective, Measurable, Action oriented, Realistic and Time sensitive. You can use the acronym SMART as a tool in remembering the characteristics for good objectives.

Preparing for Confined Spaces

2011-03-07T11:22:00.000-06:00

Confined space fatalities are totally preventable. Over the last three years, the annual average fatality rate is over 100 deaths. If these deaths are preventable, then why are there still people dying in confined spaces? I believe that there are several key factors as to why. First, there is a "mentality" of the would be rescuer. Believing that one can save another persons life under any condition is naive. Professional rescuers train continuously on a wide range of equipment and potential scenarios. It is unlikely that a "layman" rescuer has the equipment, training or ability to conduct a rescue requiring vessel entry. It is hard to stand by and do nothing, but that is what it takes to save your own life. Your family and friends depend on it. Second, some facilities do not have proper policies or procedures to instruct the worker as to what are acceptable actions. Without guidance, a person will do what he or she believes is the best course of action. Finally, do the workers have the proper training on the procedures and equipment that they are being asked to use. Any loss of life or injury involving confined spaces is tragic; these incidents are totally preventable.

Grain Handling Facilities

2011-03-03T07:25:00.000-06:00

OSHA has sent letters to over 10,000 grain handling facilities last month, warning them of the hazards associated with workers entering storage bins. Over 50 people lost their lives in grain bin accidents in 2010 alone. Several of those were in Illinois. OSHA has a Fact Sheet that outlines some of the hazards and provides recommendations for mitigation. Grain storage bins are dangerous for workers to enter due to bridging and "running" characteristics of the grain. Confined space protocols and proper equipment can protect workers as they enter grain storage bins to perform their duties.

Near Miss Program

2010-03-08T10:06:00.000-06:00

I was working this weekend teaching hazmat. Talking with another instructor, who is a career firefighter, about workplace injuries. Some occupations are inherently risky. Some require employees to take "calculated" risks inorder to save anothers life. During the risk evaluation, we try to evaluate all hazards and come up with a plan to acheive our goal. Sometimes this is formal, sometimes informal. When someone gets injuried during this task, then people sit down to make sure that it doesn't happen a gain. Which is great, but what about the tasks that almost lead to an injury or a Near Miss. If we spend some time looking at the almost injuries, we can reduce our actual injuries. For firefighers, a national reporting system exists, but not many know about it or use it. Here is a link. http://www.firefighternearmiss.com/

Every sector of business can benifit from a near miss reporting program, wether internal or external.

Why pay for Safety?

2010-03-03T16:16:00.000-06:00

A little story about a friend.
My friend was cutting wood with a new chain saw. Everything was progressing well, lots of progress, sharp chain and plenty of wood to cut. My friend had his safety gear on, safety glasses, ear plugs and steel toed shoes. When he was finished cutting the log, as he had done hundreds of times before, he moved the saw, which unfortunately contacted his upper thigh. Luckily, between the insulated coveralls, jeans and the key fob for his truck, there was no injury. A near miss. This is a great lesson learned, but not the only lesson to learn.
After talking with my friend, this is not the first time that this had happened. He has other jeans that bear the jagged rip of the chain saw. Why did he not learn the first time? What was he thinking?
Well, turns out after the first time, he looked into kevlar chaps to protect his legs. But, they were $100. A little more than he wanted to pay. So, you guessed it, no chaps!!
Why is it that when it comes to accident or injury prevention, we are reluctant to pay money up front? I know for sure that if he had actually cut his leg, he would have paid a lot more than $100, and wished he had bought the chaps.
It seems that for some people, they are willing to gamble that "it won't happen to me". In case it does, I have workers comp or insurance to cover it. But what about the non-tangible costs like pain, inconvienence, guilt, lost productivity, mobility etc.
In my book, prevention is a better route to take. It is an easy concept to understand, yet our practice is not what we preach.

Reading Smoke

2010-02-20T19:56:00.000-06:00

I went to a training class this morning called Fire and Smoke. The instructor was with the Illinois Fire Service Institute. He was great. It is amazing how some times the smoke will tell you whats going on, but other times it does not. You may have heard of the terms backdraft and flashover, but what about smoke explosion? A smoke explosion is when there are super heated gases at their ignition temperature, just waiting for an ignition source. These explosions are strong enough to blow firefighters off their feet. To see an example, check out this video clip. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTQWNCeCBvQ
There was really no advance warning for this except for a couple of seconds before the explosion. It is very important to take time to assess the situation.

Sitting by the pool

2009-10-14T07:16:00.000-05:00

Sitting by the pool in a balmy 75 degree morning. Not a bad change from Chicago weather.

When I was on the plane yesterday, I saw a couple with paper respirators on. I did not ask, but were they protecting themselves or the rest of us? With flu season upon us once again, what seemed like weird a couple of years ago is not so weird. How bad is the air quality in a plane traveling at 34,000 ft for two hours? What is on the plane that halfway protects me from getting some bug, if anything? When googling the topic of airplane air quality, I was supprised at what I found. Airplane manufacturers with technical information on cabin air quality, how much extra fuel it takes to supply the passenger cabin with "fresh" air, etc. Pretty interesting how much information you can find if you look, or google. Sifting through the information for what is accurate is sometimes challenging. .

OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard

2009-10-05T10:29:00.002-05:00

More than 30 million workers are potentially exposed to one or more chemical hazards in the workplace. There are an estimated 650,000 existing hazardous chemical products, and hundreds of new ones are being introduced annually. This poses a serious problem for exposed workers and their employers. The Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) is designed to ensure that employers and employees know about hazardous chemicals in the workplace and how to protect themselves. Employers with employees who may be exposed to hazardous chemicals in the workplace must prepare and implement a written Hazard Communication Program and comply with other requirements of the standard.

All employers in addition to those in manufacturing and importing are responsible for informing and training workers about the hazards in their workplaces, retaining warning labels, and making available Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS's) with hazardous chemicals.

All workplaces where employees are exposed to hazardous chemicals must have a written plan which describes how the standard will be implemented in that facility. The written program must reflect what employees are doing in a particular workplace. For example, the written plan must list the chemicals present at the site, indicate who is responsible for the various aspects of the program in that facility and where written materials will be made available to employees. The written program must describe how the requirements for labels and other forms of warning, material safety data sheets, and employee information and training are going to be met in the facility.

The HCS covers both physical hazards (such as flammability or the potential for explosions), and health hazards (including both acute and chronic effects). By making information available to employers and employees about these hazards, and recommended precautions for safe use, proper implementation of the HCS will result in a reduction of illnesses and injuries caused by chemicals. Employers will have the information they need to design an appropriate protective program. Employees will be better able to participate in these programs effectively when they understand the hazards involved, and to take steps to protect themselves. Together, these employer and employee actions will prevent the occurrence of adverse effects caused by the use of chemicals in the workplace.

Information adapted from OSHA Fact Sheet No. OSHA 93-26

It got me thinking....

2009-10-01T21:03:00.000-05:00

I am sitting on my couch, thinking of how I got this cold and wondering how long it will last. Tis' the season for colds and flus and other such ailments. It got me thinking....

While at a clients, I visited the men's room to wash my hands and noticed a large jug of hand sanitizer setting on the counter. With all the talk about disease transmission, sanitizers are popping up all over the place. I noticed at Home Depot the other night that they have sanitizing wipes at their exit, (maybe it should be at the entrance where the carts are!). There are other public places that also have sanitizers available. This is great for helping to control the spread of easily transmittable bugs. It go me thinking....

Several of my clients are idustrial manufacturers. Even in those environments, everyone seems to be concerned about disease transmition. But what boggles me is that not alot of people are concerned about the chemicals that may be spreading by walking around with contaminated PPE or shoes. This is an area where proper hygiene practices are crucial, especially if the chemicals have highly toxic properties. Selecting the proper PPE and properly donning and doffing that equipment (basically putting on and taking off), is very important steps in protecting ourselves against the hazards of the chemicals they are working with.

When was the last time you washed your hands to make sure there were no chemicals?

I guess that most people are not concerned about chemical exposure

The changing face of OSHA

2009-09-27T21:40:00.002-05:00

OSHA is starting to show teeth!

You may have heard the rumors. OSHA is stepping up their enforcement activities. In addition to increasing the financial cost of civil penalties, they are increasing the criminal penalties for any employer who willfully violates a standard that causes the employee’s death or serious injury.

With the Obama administration comes new faces and directions for the Department of Labor. OSHA is hiring up to 500 new compliance officers and is back in the enforcement business. The days of voluntary programs and alliances are coming to a close.

OSHA is formulating a “Severe Violators Inspection Program” focused on large companies with a violation history, focuses on mandatory follow up inspections, additional locations within the same company now also targeted and enhanced settlement demands.

With the increased enforcement activity, employer’s need to make sure that they are “doing right by their employees” and can document their compliance.

Scenario Role Playing

2009-09-23T19:28:00.000-05:00

I was teaching a group of firefighters this past weekend. We had the final incident for the Hazmat class on Sunday. During this incident, I got the chance, as i try to do for every class, to role play. I am not silver screen quality, but I enjoy myself.

This time I was an owner of a transport company that employed a driver named Fred. Fred started his daily delivery by not only going to the wrong location, but managed to drop off (literally) two drums of hazardous chemicals without knowing he had done so. Fred was probably in the CB radio, since he does not have a phone. He is my sisters cousin, so what's a guy to do!!

While role playing, I got to interact with several of the students with leadership positions in the drill. The more questions they asked, the more information I gave them, most of which had no bearing on the information they were trying to get out of me. I finally gave in and gave them bits of information that they needed for sucessful completion of the drill. It is always interesting to see how people react when they ask you a serious question, and your reply is not only drawnout, but has no bearing on their question. I kept them tied up for 10 minutes with just continuous rambling and off topic discussions.

When role playing, I play particular attention to the questions and terminology that are used. For example, a placard on a truck can either mean the DOT placard for hazmat or to not hazmaters, it could be the signs on the trucks that are used for identification. It depends on the information that you are looking for.

Role playing is a great way to enhance your training and can be used for a variety of topics. It allows the students to put in to practice what they have learned in the classroom.

2009-09-21T20:41:00.000-05:00

I have been studying all day for a professional certification test that is scheduled for later this week. The certification is for a Certified Hazardous Materials Manager. There is a lot of regulations that come into play when dealing with hazardous materials. In addition to their specific language, each regulation has their own terminology for Hazmat. For instance, here is what I mean.

Hazardous Materials (U.S. DOT)
Hazardous Chemicals (OSHA)
Hazardous Substances (CERCLA)
Hazardous Waste (U.S. EPA & DOT)
Extremely Hazardous Substances (U.S. EPA)

It would be much easier if everyone spoke the same language. The chemicals have not changed, just the way each regulatory agency views its' interaction with chemicals.

I am relatively new to blogging, so with time, my posts will include pictures and if I am really ambitious, some videos.

One last thought, before hitting the books. Even though powerpoints as a training tool are a necessary evil, I like to provide my students and clients with hands on skills testing and problem solving. If you have any thoughts or ideas in this area, please let me know. I would love to learn about them.

Thanks to ckempt for a blog mention. His blog is on my blog roll, "life under the lights". Check it out

Stay safe,

Basic Chemistry for the First In Crews

2009-09-20T17:08:00.000-05:00

Responding to day to day emergency incidents can sometimes turn into scenes involving release of hazardous materials. Recognition of these scenes may not always be obvious. Occupancy and location signs such as industrial, commercial or transportation can give clues as to what types and quantities of hazardous materials may be involved. Once on the scene has been isolated, the next step is to try to identify the product or products involved. Communication with property owners, law enforcement and eye witnesses involved can aid in identification. Basic resources such as the Emergency Response Guidebook (ERG) can give important basic information including health and fire precautions and evacuation distances, but are not always chemically specific. Another key component of hazmat determination is basic chemistry of the material that is released.

If the chemical is known, the basic chemistry of the product must be determined and understood. One of the first pieces of information to gather is whether the material is a solid, liquid or gas. By determining the state of matter, the path of exposure can be predicted, monitoring protocol can be established and the proper PPE can be selected. A solid that is spilled will usually stay where it was spilled, with only the weather factors such as wind and rain effecting the spread. Liquids tend to following the contour of the land and takes on the shape of their containers. Gasses want to dispererse or mix with the air and will be effected by wind currents. Gases will be the most mobile of the states of matter.

When dealing with solids, chemical properties of solubility, bulk density and melting point will help to determine if weather factors of rain, wind or temperature will effect the spread. Water is known as the universal solvent. A chemical that is soluble in water will dissolve when exposed to rain. Simply covering the material may allow for isolation until the material can be removed. The bulk density of a product relates how much a known volume of the product weighs, and can be expressed in pounds per cubic feet. For instance, a material such as flour, with a low bulk density, will be easily spread by a light wind. A material such as sand that has a high bulk density, will not. The melting point is the temperature at which a solid will become a liquid. Those substances with low melting points may be solids in the winter, but liquids in the summer. An example of this is water.

For spills involving liquids, land contour may allow the material to run and pool to low places. Chemical properties like solubility, specific gravity, vapor pressure and pH can aid in determining who to mitigate the problem. Solubility, as expressed in percent (%), is the amount of the material that can be dissolved in water. Specific gravity, when compared to water where water is given the value of one, will determine if the material will sink or float with respect to water. A liquid with a specific gravity of less than one will float on water, such as gasoline. Vapor pressure relates to how much vapor will be given off by the liquid from the surface. The larger the surface area of the spill, the greater the potential for vapors to be given off before the spill is mitigated. The pH of a liquid, which is a measure of corrosivity, determines whether the material is an acid or base. This is very important to know prior to monitoring, since corrosive vapors can wreak havoc on sensitive electronic instruments.

Vapor density and flammable range are useful for characterization of spills involving gasses. The vapor density of gases is similar to the specific gravity of liquids, only the comparison is air. Gasses with a vapor density greater than one will sink, where as gases with a vapor density of less than one will rise, with respect to air. Flammable ranges, which can used to characterize the vapors given off from a flammable liquid or a gas. The flammable range is defined as the difference between the upper and lower flammability limits. If the concentration is too lean to burn, it is below the lower limit. If the concentration is too rich to burn, it is above the upper explosive limit.

The chemical characteristics of pH and Flammability can be measured on scene with the appropriate instruments. Other properties such as vapor density, specific gravity and boiling point, to name a few, can be found in resource material such as the NIOSH pocket guide.

Knowing what material you are dealing with and understanding some of the basic chemical properties will enable the first in engine or responders to make a more informed decision as to initial isolation and personal protection.

For more information, contact us at our website, http://www.allrisktraining.com/

Training

2008-01-17T19:27:00.000-06:00

Just because someone says they "know how to do it", doesn't always mean that when the time comes, they can.
Training and practice is like an insurance policy. You train for the worst, hoping that when you need to perform, you will. It is just like sports. Athletes train for hours, days, weeks, years for performances that last sometimes only minutes.
Can we say that about our careers?