Whether giving or getting arc flash training, have you considered whether the trainer is “qualified,” “effective,” “proficient” or “competent” for the job?  Is the training content “adequate?”  How can we tell?  Does it matter?

Many OSHA standards require employee training, but are vague on trainer qualifications.  HazCom requires only “effective” training.  HAZWOPER specifies that trainers have “the training and/or academic credentials and instructional experience necessary to demonstrate competent instructional skills and a good command of the subject matter.”  The Bloodborne Pathogens standard requires only that the training record include “the names and qualifications of the persons conducting the training.”  No definition of credentials or “effective” training other than by performance failures, i.e., accidents.  “Competent” or “proficient” are often decided by incident investigations or lawsuits.  Remember, paperwork is the first place “they” look!

A Presidential Directive established the National Incident Management System (NIMS) as the “common language” for coordinated multi-agency responses for all Federal, state and local responders, including healthcare.  Hospitals are required by The Joint Commission (TJC) to implement 17 specific NIMS activities ranging from formal adoption to updated EOPs to mutual aid agreements, training and multi-agency exercises.  Coordination, planning and communication are key elements.

In the May 6, 2010 Federal Register, OSHA published a Request for Information (RFI) to collect information from the healthcare industry on “occupational exposure to infectious agents in settings where healthcare is provided.”  This includes hospitals, outpatient clinics, clinics in schools and correctional facilities and “healthcare-related” settings ranging from laboratories that handle potentially infectious materials to medical examiner offices to mortuaries.  OSHA is specifically interested in current infection control strategies and practices and will use the information to “determine what action, if any, the Agency may take to further limit the spread of occupationally-acquired infectious diseases in these settings.”  The deadline for comments is August 4, 2010.  Download our Healthcare Alert for a brief summary.

Hospitals are covered under the OSHA/NFPA 70E requirements.  Arc flash/blast incidents can cause severe employee injury and loss of electrical power to key functions of patient care, while the cost of injury treatment may exceed $1,000,000 per case with permanent disability and probable litigation.  As one Director of hospital engineering services recently told us, “There are systems in the hospital that we just can’t shut down, and must perform our inspections on live parts.”

Dr. Scott Harris has been accepted to present at the 2010 Governor’s Safety and Health Conference in Louisville, KY.  On May 5 Scott will present “Macdona, TX Derailment and Chlorine Release.”  Our web visitors can download an exclusive copy of Scott’s presentation, including audio from 911 and emergency dispatch calls.

So, what happened in Macdona?  On June 28, 2004 a predawn train collision and derailment just outside of San Antonio released 60 tons of chlorine in less than three minutes.  Misunderstood initial 911 calls sent responders on a “smoke run,” nearly killing the first arriving units.  Misinformation, fatalities,

On October 21, 2009 OSHA announced a proposed rule to address combustible dust explosions.  The rule would cover an estimated 16 million employees at approximately 426,000 facilities.  OSHA first addressed this issue in 1987 by promulgating 29 CFR 1910.272 for grain handling facilities.  In the 10 years prior to adopting that rule, there were 20.5 grain handling-related dust explosions per year in the U.S.  For the next 10 years there were 10.3, and from 1998-2007 there were 6.3 per year.

Dr. Scott Harris, PhD, Global Risk Manager for IESO, has been accepted to present at the 2010 ASSE Professional Development Conference in Baltimore, MD.  On June 14 Scott will present “Chalmette, LA: First Katrina, Then the Oil…”  Our web visitors can download an exclusive copy of both Scott’s presentation slides and proceedings paper with the first-hand story right from the front line.  UPDATE: Download the audio of Scott’s presentation.

So, what happened in Chalmette?  Following Hurricane Katrina, over one million gallons of crude oil from the Murphy Oil USA (MOUSA) Refinery in Meraux, LA released into a populated area.  Search and

Do you have structures with lightning protection?  Is it properly installed?  How can you tell?  While conducting a recent mock VPP audit, IESO discovered that a lightning protection system being installed did not comply with NFPA 780, the Standard for the Installation of Lightning Protection Systems.

Down-conductors were exposed inside the structure and improperly bonded to surrounding ground systems, which could have caused a sideflash during a strike.  Anchor points were set in mortar joints,

Philips Lighting in Danville, KY will develop and implement their OHSAS 18001 program using in-part the first-ever Bluegrass State Skills (BSSC) grant awarded for a health and safety management system.  The $25,000 grant from the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development was the product of a cooperative effort between IESO and BSSC and their legal department.  Historically the grant program excluded health and safety from eligibility, but IESO successfully negotiated a great outcome for our client.

IESO, LLC recently published an arc flash article (http://iesollc.com/wordpress/2009/06/22/arc-flash-safety-history-and-requirements/) on our website.  We continue to recommend the rigorous analysis proscribed by IEEE 1584, and warn against “quickie” or generic solutions.  This safety alert illustrates a real-world example of why that is.

An industrial facility recently asked IESO, LLC to evaluate arc flash results from another consultant who reportedly used a customized program developed in-house.  The facility management team was concerned about the lack of time that the consultant spent on-site (less than five hours), the minimal review of electrical components and the generic results.  Labels for all electrical components were identical whether for buss plugs, MCC panels or substation switchgears, and the facility staff had serious doubts that they got what they paid for.