“Near misses and resulting inspections may help prevent an injury or even a fatality, but an investigation cannot take place if the near miss is not reported accurately. Therefore, setting up a successful safety management program to ensure near misses are reported and investigated is an important step in reducing occurrences of serious incidents.”

“OSHA defines a near miss as an incident in which no property was damaged and no personal injury was sustained, but where, given a slight shift in time or position, damage or injury easily could have occurred.”

“Another part of the near-miss system is learning how to encourage employees to report a near miss without feeling that they will get into trouble.”

“Having several outlets to report a near miss will make the process less painful for employees, said Tim Neubauer, safety consultant for the National Safety Council.”

How reporting close calls can prevent future incidents

©2011 ACS Engineering & Safety, LTD 40 Cypress Creek Pkwy, PMB 370 Houston, TX 77090 (281)-353-8224

Balers for Urban Woody Biomass [Go to page 20]

James Dooley and David Lannning

The objective: “make urban woody biomass the next major recyclable!” An urban baler was designed by discussing specifications with potential users. Lab tests measured the pressure density relationships and Poisson forces that would be expected. The prototype as been successfully operated since 2008, and general production will begin in 2013. “For those of us with hay baling experience, crunching sounds from a baler takes some getting used to.”

©2011 ACS Engineering & Safety, LTD 40 Cypress Creek Pkwy, PMB 370 Houston, TX 77090 (281)-353-8224

A methodology to determine pre-crash fuel quantity from post-crash fire thermal damage to an aircraft structure

N. Alvares, Fire Sciences Applications, San Carlos, CA, USA, nalvares@sbcglobal.netAC Fernandez-Pello, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA

An engine failure resulted in the crash of a twin turbo-jet commuter aircraft in Bear Creek Township, Pennsylvania on May 21, 2000 killing 19 people on board.  While the lack of fuel was determined as the cause of the crash, if it was from an empty tank is investigated.  The 70 mm thick aluminum alloy structural members of the plane reached melting temperature (~500 Celcius) in 4 minutes from the jet fuel pool fire  (burn rate ~0.06 kg/m^2/s).  The pool fire had an area of 10 m^2 giving ~130 kg (40 gallons) of fuel burned.  Assuming all of the heat released during the fire was from the jet fuel, this was sufficient fuel for the airplane to reach its destination.

©2011 ACS Engineering & Safety, LTD 40 Cypress Creek Pkwy, PMB 370 Houston, TX 77090 (281)-353-8224

National Safety Council:

Effective prevention is grounded in science. NSC’s focus on cell phones and driving, including a recommendation to ban the use of hands-free and handheld phones while driving, is based on the extensive research available.

Here you’ll find links to abstracts or the complete text of distracted driving, cell phone and texting studies.

©2011 ACS Engineering & Safety, LTD 40 Cypress Creek Pkwy, PMB 370 Houston, TX 77090 (281)-353-8224

National Safety Council Online Training Courses

Accident Investigation
Aerial Lift Safety
Air Emissions
Asbestos Awareness
Asegurado/etiquetado (Lockout Tagout – Spanish)
Back Injury Prevention
Back Safety
Benzene
Comportamiento seguro (Safe Behavior – Spanish)
Compressed Gas Cylinders
Comunicación de peligros (Hazard Communication – Spanish)
Concientización sobre la detección de drogas (Drug Testing Awareness – Spanish)
Concrete & Masonry – Construction
Confined Space Emergency Rescue
Confined Space: Permit-Required
Conservación de la audición (Hearing Safety – Spanish)
Construction Safety Orientation
Decontamination Disaster Readiness
Drug Testing Awareness
Electrical Safety Electrical Safety – Construction
Electrical Safety – High Voltage: Awareness
Electrical Safety – High Voltage: Safe Work Practices
Electrical Safety – Shock Proof: Qualified Employee
Electrical Safety – Shock Proof: Unqualified Employee
Employee Safety Orientation
Energized Electrical Work Permit (NFPA 70E)
Entrada en espacio confinado (Confined Space: Permit-Required – Spanish)
Environmental Awareness
Equipo de protección (Personal Protective Equipment – Spanish)
Excavación, Trincheras y Apuntalamientos(Excavations, Trenches & Shoring)
Excavations, Trenches & Shoring
Eye Safety
Fall Protection
Fall Protection – Construction
Fatiga térmica (Heat Stress – Spanish)
Forklift Safety
Formaldehyde
Hand & Power Tools – Construction
Hand Safety
Hazard Communication
Hazard Recognition
Hazardous Materials Transportation: Bulk Transport
Hazardous Materials Transportation: General Awareness
Hazardous Materials Transportation: Non-Bulk Packaging
Hazardous Materials Transportation: Safe Work Practices
Hazardous Materials Transportation: Safety Requirements for Drivers
Hazardous Materials Transportation: Security Awareness
Hazardous Materials Transportation: Shipping Requirements
Hazardous Waste HAZWOPER
Hearing Safety
Heat Stress
Hexavalent Chromium
Hoists & Slings
Hot Work
Hydrogen Sulfide
Safety Incident Investigation
Industrial Ergonomics
Introduction to OSHA
Job Safety Analysis
Lab Safety
Ladder Safety
Laser Safety
Lead Safety
Leadership Skills for Safety
Lockout Tagout
Machine Guarding
Marine Facilities Security
Mobile Crane Safety – Construction
Muscle Strains & Sprains
Off-the-Job Safety
Office Ergonomics
Office Safety
OSHA Recordkeeping
Pendant Controlled Crane Safety
Personal Protective Equipment
Pipeline Safety
Polipastos y Eslingas – Construcción (Hoists & Slings – Construction)
Power Press Safety
Prevención contra incendios (Fire Safety – Spanish)
Preventing Spills
Process Safety Management
Protección de la máquina (Machine Guarding – Spanish)
Radiation Safety
Resbalones, tropiezos y caídas (Slips, Trips, & Falls – Spanish)
Resource Conservation
Recovery Act
Respiradores purificadores de aire (Respiratory Protection: Air Purifying Respirators – Spanish)
Respiradores que suministran aire (Respiratory Protection: Air Supplying Respirators – Spanish)
Respiratory Protection: Air Purifying
Respirators
Respiratory Protection: Air Purifying Respirators – Construction
Respiratory Protection: Air Supplying Respirators
Rigging Safety
Road Rage
Safe Behavior No Regrets
Safety Orientation
Scaffolding Safety
Seguridad al soldar (Welding Safety – Spanish)
Seguridad con la espalda: La conexión ergonómica (Back Safety – Spanish)
Seguridad con los montacargas (Forklift Safety – Spanish)
Seguridad eléctrica (Electrical Safety – Spanish)
Seguridad para las manos (Hand Safety – Spanish)
Sexual Harassment: What Supervisors Need to Know
Sexual Harassment: Understanding and Preventing
Sexual Harassment
Slips, Trips, & Falls
Small Spill Cleanup
Stairways & Ladders – Construction
Static Electricity
Steel Erection – Construction
Stormwater Management
Tirones y esguinces musculares (Muscle Strains & Sprains – Spanish)
TSCA (Toxic Substances Control Act)
Valve Safety
Walking-Working Surfaces
Welding Safety

©2011 ACS Engineering & Safety, LTD 40 Cypress Creek Pkwy, PMB 370 Houston, TX 77090 (281)-353-8224

National Safety Council Safety+Health: Safety in the trenches

“According to OSHA, the fatality rate for excavation work is 112 percent higher than the rate for general construction…Between 50 and 100 workers die in trench collapses each year, according to NIOSH.  Most injuries — 75-95 percent — occur in trenches lacking protective systems…Other trench hazards include accidentally striking an underground utility, exposure to toxic fumes, drowning in a flooded trench, and being hit by equipment or falling loads.”

“OSHA defines a trench as a narrow underground excavation that is deeper than it is wide, and is no wider than 15 feet.  Pre-planning is important for addressing factors such as soil, weather, water, traffic, and utilities.  Workers also need a safe means of entering and exiting the trench, and any excavation in which workers face a potential cave-in must be equipped with one of three protective systems: sloping, shoring, or shielding.”

NIOSH Trench Safety Awareness Training (Free)

Professor Michael Hein’s online tutorial in trench safety based on OSHA standards

“OSHA requires trenches to be inspected by a competent person daily and as conditions change. That person must be able to identify hazards and have the authority to take immediate corrective action. It is important to make sure he or she actually is on-site before and during the project.”

Read more on OSHA’s definition of a “competent person”

©2011 ACS Engineering & Safety, LTD 40 Cypress Creek Pkwy, PMB 370 Houston, TX 77090 (281)-353-8224

Litigator of the Week: Sink Re-Enactment Critical to Win

ACS Engineering and Safety in the news: “Markland says he called an expert witness [Edward Jensen] to the stand who used an actual sink to re-enact the amount of force it would take for a sink similar to the one in the gas station restroom to drop from the wall and injure someone.”

©2011 ACS Engineering & Safety, LTD 40 Cypress Creek Pkwy, PMB 370 Houston, TX 77090 (281)-353-8224