8/9/2021 A few years ago, a major defense facility suffered multiple lost time accidents due to employees slipping on icy sidewalks. And while these incidents took place during Winter and we are currently experiencing record-breaking heat conditions in the middle of Summer, one of these incidents caught my attention and Read more…
5/2/2011 During the late 1970’s, when America experienced its first major energy crisis, and we saw lines of cars wrapped around city blocks waiting over an hour to fill up their cars with precious gasoline (they had leaded in those days!), a number of initiatives (I am hesitant to use Read more…
4/25/2011 This past week in Santa Fe New Mexico, a person that was involved in a multi-fatality car collision and cited for driving under the influence (his blood-alcohol level was twice the legal limit) was found not guilty of manslaughter charges. This is not to say that he was innocent; Read more…
4/18/2011 High pressure lines, whether compressed air hoses, hydraulic lines or water spray operations for daily decontamination, need to be properly managed as they represent an array of hazards to the operator as well as persons within the immediate area. As hydraulic systems become more complex, and pressures and temperatures Read more…
4/11/2011 Prior to 1982, it was assumed that electric shock was the major risk associated with live electrical work. However, it was during this year that Dr. Ralph Lee first identified arc flash, in a paper titled “The Other Electrical Hazard: Electric Arc Blast Burns.” According to this paper, as Read more…
11/23/2020 Just a short message this week. This one is quite sobering. It’s a message that cannot be overstated with the implication of never taking anything for granted. Last week, in the nearby mountains where I work, a young couple, boyfriend/girlfriend, were driving when another car hit them head-on. It Read more…
9/8/2020 It was on a Friday. It was cold and dark…..no, no, no, this is not a mystery novel! But it was on a Friday; and in the morning. One of our employees was working in the field, performing a specific test to analyze for high explosives. The reason for Read more…
6/15/2020 It’s June and we are moving into the Summer months (some places have already hit triple-digit temperatures). And that means we need to ensure our vehicles – company vehicles as well as our personal cars – are properly maintained for extreme heat conditions. Ignoring proper vehicle maintenance can result Read more…
4/27/2020 I know a lot of us must be getting a little stir crazy with staying inside, social distancing and frequent hand washing; although I hope the latter is nothing new (nevertheless the countless times I have seen guys at airport bathrooms leave the urinals and simply walk out and Read more…
3/23/2020 Many of today’s work assignments call for working in remote areas. This may be performing geophysical surveys in a desert environment during the summer months where heat stress is a predominant concern or working at locations where the terrain poses slip, trip and fall hazards. In addition, carrying supplies Read more…