Hazard Analysis

A worker inflating a truck tire was injured when the tire’s sidewall blew out.

A dock leveler's malfunction went unaddressed until it injured a worker.

A worker needed to grind the OD of a part, so he set up a grinder borrowed from another company on the bed of the shop’s lathe

Readers occasionally contact me in response to these columns. I recently corresponded with Michael Fischer of the Kellen Co. about the window-screen problem.

Machine guarding protects people from injury during a machine’s normal operation. There are four basic approaches to machine guarding: barrier guards, guarding devices, guarding by location, and warnings.

A fire this January at a Las Vegas hotel, the Monte Carlo, should have spurred other hotels in the city to review their fire-safety provisions.

Every year in the United States nearly 5,000 toddlers fall out of windows, resulting in casualties up to and including spinal injury, paralysis, and death. About 20 children die annually from this type of fall.

It’s 3:15 on a Thursday afternoon. You’re answering one last e-mail before heading out for your tee time.

The old safety wisdom has been, “If no one is seriously hurt, the workplace must be safe.”

In response to market demand, a tape manufacturer modified its most popular electrical tape to make it fire retardant.

Federal investigators recently released a few preliminary findings about the infamous Minnesota I-35W bridge failure.

I work with an ergonomics expert who has a Ph.D. in experimental psychology and 20-years experience in human factors.

There are many theories, but most lead to the question: “Who was watching the store during repairs?” In past columns, I often refer to hazard analysis, a technique for proactively avoiding product failures and unsafe conditions.