Dust Explosion Safety Video and OSHA Combustible Dust Standard


Written by Phil on December 15, 2009 in Root Cause Analysis, Standards.

CSB Releases New Safety Video, “Inferno: Dust Explosion at Imperial Sugar”

The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) has released a new nine-minute safety video on the combustible dust explosion at the Imperial Sugar refinery in Port Wentworth, Georgia, which claimed the lives of 14 workers, injured 36, and caused extensive property damage on February 7, 2008.
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New Book: What Went Wrong?, 5th Edition Case Histories of Process Plant Disasters and How They Could Have Been Avoided


Written by Phil on August 19, 2009 in Books, Root Cause Analysis, disaster preparedness.

“What Went Wrong? Case Histories of Process Plant Disasters and How They Could Have Been Avoided?” has revolutionized the way industry views safety.

The new edition by Trevor Kletz  continues and extends the wisdom, innovations and strategies of previous editions, by introducing new material on recent incidents, and adding an extensive new section that shows how many accidents occur through simple miscommunications within the organization, and how straightforward changes in design can often remove or reduce opportunities for human errors.

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Stopping Rules for Root Cause Identification


Written by Phil on February 17, 2009 in Root Cause Analysis.

A common problem that Root Cause Analysis teams face when performing a root cause analysis is deciding when to stop pursuing deeper for root causes. The team should work on identifying deeper root causes, because when deeper, underlying causes are identified and addressed, more fundamental, broadly applicable solutions can be developed and implemented.

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Buncefield Investigation Board publishes final report


Written by Phil on January 22, 2009 in Emergency Response, Root Cause Analysis, disaster preparedness.

The Buncefield Major Incident Investigation Board has published its final report and announced the conclusion of its work.

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Basics of Root Cause Analysis


Written by Phil on July 24, 2008 in Root Cause Analysis.

The Basics of Root Cause Analysis

Introduction

Root cause analysis (RCA) is a process designed for use in investigating and categorizing the root causes of incidents with safety, health, environmental, quality, reliability and production impacts.

Simply stated, RCA is a tool designed to help identify not only what and how an incident occurred, but also why it happened. Only when investigators are able to determine why an incident or failure occurred will they be able to specify workable corrective measures that prevent future incidents of the type observed.

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