Plant Safety ; It’s not that simple…

Putting up guard rails and belt guards, providing first aid kits and lockout tags, sending operators to general safety classes, etc. is a first step. This alone does not get the job done.

Through no fault of their own, most company Safety Directors only pay lip service to Plant Safety. Why? The industry has not provided a complete program for Safety Directors to follow.

Safety. It’s what you do that counts. It’s also what you don’t do that counts. Knowing what to do and not to do keeps the catastrophes from happening. Knowledge put to action is the key.

The Asphalt Mix Process is not simple. It takes a lot of energy to blend, dry, heat and load the many ingredients for lay down on the road. All this energy must be controlled at all times. Any uncontrolled release of energy can be most catastrophic.

We must handle all this energy safely while making the mix. Besides operating the plant, the plant must be maintained in order to keep it operating. And this maintenance needs to be performed safely. Maintenance has a set of safety procedures all of it’s own and can be very complex.

It is our duty to operate and maintain a plant safely. We are human and our equipment fails. No matter how diligent we are in our safety program, we are always subject to some degree of hazardous conditions. The inevitable catastrophe striking is just a matter of time. Damage control helps minimize the effect.

Many conscientious people have made the situation worse when forced to make decisions they were not prepared to make. Training would have prepared them. Developing and practicing fire and other catastrophic drills helps people perform properly under pressure.

Accidents still happen. With this fact understood; first aid is very important. Equipment and production loss is one thing, injury and loss of life is most overwhelming. What first aid needs to be performed? Are first aid kits available? Do personnel know how to use them?

Safety Inspections should be made regularly with reports addressing operation and maintenance safety, house cleaning, safety equipment use, first aid kit inventory. Safety Directors should work through maintenance and repair procedures learning and advising the crew as they fix the problem.

Safety Directors should always keep in mind that plants can be most catastrophic. Unsafe things happen at the plant, not in their office. Many plant safety problems are not obvious. Work with the operation people to understand them. Read and obtain training on safe plant operation, maintenance, damage control drills, first aid, etc.

There is another reason we want a safe operation. It is not as important as personnel injury but we must consider it. Companies and their officers are being held accountable for injuries and fatalities more so today than ever before. There is no reason we should expect accountability not to increase in the future.

Why is this happening? We have all seen advertising on TV, radio, billboards, newspapers, etc. alarming the injured public of their accident related compensation rights.

Rumor has it that the U. S. produces 16 lawyers to every engineer. Surely we need lawyers, at that rate many lawyers are looking for work that may not need being done. Lawyers look for victims, deep pockets and over sympathetic juries. Sometimes judgments are made against companies that are not negligent.

Officers are held liable. Insurance sky rockets. Companies fold.

Companies with thorough, enforced, documented safety programs benefit from lower accidents, lower insurance premiums, higher personnel morale and better business

Safety is good business.

Train you Safety and Plant Operation People On-line with the Asphalt Plant Safety Program.

And maybe consider having us provide a safety audit for your operation.

 

Safety Training Program

Safety Directors, Managers, Plant Operators
'The Living Asphalt Plant Certifiable Safety On-Line Training Program'

'On-Line' means it is a correspondence course that can be done at your pace, your place, your convenience. The purpose of this Training Program is to allow safety management and plant operations personnel the means to effectively implement an organized safety program specific to each of their asphalt plants no matter how remote they are from each other.

'Living' means the program is in a continuously improving. Safety is not a destination, it is a journey. Our Workshops are always improving and we should always be learning. Therefore, we make our On-Line correspondence course up-datable, up-gradable and expandable The Program changes with your needs, technology upgrades, and input from you. As the Program evolves, the inter-net program will update course material, track the users progress and certify training of these users for employers, insurance, OSHA, etc.

OSHA Required Employer Provided Lockout/Confined Space Written Procedures A Professional Asphalt Plant Safety Consultant states about the asphalt industry, "Many contractors have not complied to this OSHA requirement. Most of those that believe they comply are significantly misinformed".

This is lack of compliance is a management problem. Either the management does not know they have a problem or they do not know where to go to solve the problem. Management teaches people general safety. The asphalt plant and process is very complex. Employer's safety programs do not cover asphalt plant safety adequately. The plant and process safety procedures are made simple in our program. Our program is a missing link that has not been available to the industry until now.
Management needs to educate their plant operation, maintenance and safety people in many different safety training classes including 'The Living Asphalt Plant Certifiable Safety On-Line Training Program'. It is imperative the plant operation, maintenance and safety people team up to develop plant safety together. This program allows the team to draft procedures and later update and add to them. The program offers choices for them to consider. Simply' click and drag' into place the appropriate choices depending on the equipment and task to be performed. Fill in the rest of the blanks and print out the collection of procedures it takes to maintain the plant. When given the time and tools to do it, the employer's team can develop the OSHA Required Employer Provided Lockout/Confined Space Written Procedures.

Safety Interlocks - Most plants have nearly 40 safety interlocks (burner and material handling). Learn how to easily check most interlocks every time you start and stop your plant. Safety Interlocks help prevent accidents. Don't find out your Interlocks don't work by accident.

Hot Asphalt Oil Burn Prevention and First Aid - Hot Oil Heater and Tank Safety. Everyone experienced in our industry knows people burned by asphalt oil. Sometimes fires and explosions are part of the scenario. Don't be among the few that experience these catastrophes.

Plant Operation and Damage Control Procedures-Know what to do, when to do it and what not to do. As our program develops, users will operate control panels and shut them down under catastrophic conditions. They will be time tested under this panic condition and retrained until they get it right.