R&R Insurance Blog

Here are five examples of deadly incidents that were caused by dust, and ways businesses can eliminate the risk of a dust explosion happening in their facility.

1. In February 1999, a deadly fire and explosion occurred in a foundry in Massachusetts killing 3 and injuring 9. A fire initiated in a shell molding machine from an unknown source and then extended into the ventilation system ducts by feeding on heavy deposits of phenol formaldehyde resin dust. A small primary deflagration occurred within the ductwork, dislodging dust that had settled on the exterior of the ducts. The ensuing dust cloud provided fuel for a secondary explosion which was powerful enough to lift the roof and cause wall failures.
2. In January 2003, devastating fires and explosions destroyed a North Carolina pharmaceutical plant that manufactured rubber drug-delivery components. Six employees were killed and 38 people injured. An accumulation of a combustible polyethylene dust above the suspended ceilings fueled the explosion. The CSB was unable to determine what ignited the initial fire or how the dust was dispersed to create the explosive cloud in the hidden ceiling space.
3. In February 2003, a Kentucky acoustics insulation manufacturing plant was the site of a dust explosion killing 7 and injuring 37 employees. The likely ignition scenario was a small fire extending from an unattended oven which ignited a dust cloud created by nearby line cleaning. This was followed by a deadly cascade of dust explosions throughout the plant.
4. In October 2003, an Indiana plant where aluminum auto wheels were machined experienced an incident which killed one and injured one employee. Aluminum dust was involved in a primary explosion near a chip melting furnace, followed by a secondary blast in dust collection equipment.
5. February 10, 2008 a deadly explosion ripped through a sugar refinery blast killing at least 6 workers and sent 62 to the hospital. “As far as we know it was a sugar dust explosion,” authorities said the day after the explosion. The blast occurred in a storage silo where refined sugar is stored until it is packaged. Sugar dust is combustible. Static electricity sparks from metal tools, or a cigarette can ignite explosions.

Elements Needed for a Dust Fire (the familiar "Fire Triangle"):

1. Combustible dust (fuel);
2. Ignition source (heat);
3. Oxygen in air (oxidizer);
4. Dispersion of dust particles in sufficient quantity and concentration;
5. Confinement of the dust cloud

There are several ways these explosions can take place. Two primary scenarios are:

1. A dust cloud (diffused fuel) is ignited within a confined or semi-confined vessel, area, or building, and burns very rapidly or explodes. The safety of employees is threatened by the ensuing fires, additional explosions, flying debris, and collapsing building components.
2. An initial explosion in an area were fugitive dust has accumulated may shake loose more accumulated dust, or damage a containment system (such as a duct, vessel, or collector). As a result, if ignited, the additional dust dispersed into the air may cause one or more secondary explosions. These can be far more destructive than a primary explosion due to the increased quantity and concentration of dispersed combustible dust.

What action can employers take to reduce their exposure?

If one of the elements of the explosion pentagon is missing, a catastrophic explosion can not occur. Two of the elements in the explosion pentagon are difficult to eliminate: oxygen (within air), and confinement of the dust cloud (within processes or buildings). However, the other three elements of the pentagon can be controlled to a significant extent.

OSHA Fact Sheet on Combustible Dust Explosions

On Nov. 7, 2013, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced a proposed rule to require certain employers to submit injury and illness reports electronically. The proposed rule does not create additional recordkeeping or reporting duties for employers. Rather, it would dictate how this information must be submitted to OSHA. Summary of OSHA's proposal to require electronic submission of injury and illness reports.

Even though this is only in the proposal stage, you can believe that the information will be used to generate inspections in an attempt to “help”, and will create more targeting of "compliance assistance and enforcement"! The importance of completing the 300 log ACCURATELY will never be more important if/when mandatory submissions start. The main point we stress in our OSHA 300 Log webinars is that most companies are actually over-reporting their injuries on the 300. This was bad to do in the past, but would really be problematic if we get to the point where EVERYBODY is submitting their 300 log to OSHA. (currently not the case)

300 Log webinars:
Gain control over your OSHA 300 Log! Basic questions about the OSHA 300 log will be answered along with tips to keep your recordkeeping compliant and accurate. R&R offers free annual webinars - click here to register.

Originally published November 2013; last updated August 2015

According to OSHA, the importance of recordkeeping is a critical part in employer's safety and health efforts for a few reasons:

1. Keeping track of work-related injuries and illnesses can help you prevent them in the future.
2. Using injury and illness data helps identify problem areas. The more you know, the better you can identify and correct hazardous workplace conditions.
3. You can better administer company safety and health programs with accurate records.
4. As employee awareness about injuries, illnesses, and hazards in the workplace improves, workers are more likely to follow safe work practices and report workplace hazards. OSHA compliance officers can rely on the data to help them properly identify and focus on injuries and illnesses in a particular area. The agency also asks about 80,000 establishments each year to report the data directly to OSHA, which uses the information as part of its site-specific inspection targeting program. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) also uses injury and illness records as the source data for the Annual Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses that shows safety and health trends nationwide and industrywide.

To help guide you through OSHA recordkeeping, R&R Insurance provides a complimentary guide to the OSHA 300 Log.

Additional OSHA 300 Log resources:

• The effects of over recording in the OSHA 300 log
• What is the OSHA 300 Log and why do I need to comply?
• Public sector employers are NOT exempt from OSHA reporting

Email our knowledgebroker OSHA expert John Brengosz for additional information.

There has been another round of fraudulent letters issued to U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) contractors and potential contractors purporting to be issued by DOT.  This new string of letters appears to be from the "U.S. Department of Transportation Procurement Office" and signed by a fictitious name of "Julie Weynel – Senior Procurement Officer."

The letters are attempting to obtain banking information from the targeted companies. These fraudulent letters request that current or potential contractors register by submitting their company's financial information on a release form entitled, "Authorization to release financial information".  Please note that DOT does not require any financial information to be submitted in order to be eligible for procurement.

Please be aware of this fraudulent financial data collection activity and be suspicious when banking information is requested from you.

You can also find more information at the following USDOT OIG Web sites listed below:

http://www.dot.gov/ost/m60/fraudulent_letters.htm
http://www.oig.dot.gov/fraud-alert

Three key fleet safety elements all revolve around the driver: Distracted Driver Policies; Driver Selection and Defensive Driver Training.

Distracted Driver Policies:
Texting, talking on the cell phone and even use of hands-free devices produce higher accident rates than drunk driving. Developing an internal policy to restrict that type of behavior while your employees are driving will help reduce your accident rate.

Driver Selection:
Driver selection is the primary building block of a fleet safety program. Companies should have written criteria regarding MVR information to measure against in case one of their drivers starts to show more hazardous driving activity, there is a benchmark for which to refer back to.

Defensive Driver Training:
It's recommended that each company driver take a defensive driving class once a year,  even though a driver has had a defensive driving class in the past. This ensures that you are communicating a consistent message and also allows your drivers to do a personal mental checkup on their driving habits - in case they happen to develop poor habits along the way.

For more information about fleet safety for Wisconsin businesses, contact a knowledgebroker.

There are three common mistakes we find companies making when it comes to their accident investigation: Lack of training on why the accident investigation form is important; Poor accident investigation forms; and Lack of follow-through on valuable information gleaned from the accident investigation. This quick video explains these three common mistakes of accident investigation.

Poor Accident Investigation Forms.
Using accident investigation forms that concentrate too much on general HR information about the injured employee can waste valuable time during an investigation. Streamline your accident investigation forms to allow the supervisor to focus on how and why the employee was injured.

Lack of training on why the accident investigation form is important.
Understanding why an accident investigation form needs to be completed, how to conduct an accident investigation and understanding an organization's ultimate goal after an accident are essential elements that if not adhered to - can lead to poor results.

Lack of Follow-Through.
Often times great ideas spring from an undesirable circumstance. Accident investigation forms are there to capture the how and why of an accident and also corrective action steps the company can take to ensure it doesn't happen again. This is valuable information that should be shared with safety committees and multi-location staff to improve the overall safety of the organization. Don't overlook the follow-through on your great ideas!

For more information about accident investigation, one of our upcoming accident investigation seminars held in Waukesha, WI, or any other risk management concerns, please contact our knowledgebroker, John Brengosz.

You undoubtedly encounter a wide range of people on the job, some of whom are easy to get along with and others you want to avoid at all costs. It’s only human nature to avoid contact with people whose personality traits set your teeth on edge, but there is one type of person who cannot safety be ignored: a co-worker who verbally or physically threatens others. In the aftermath of a violent incident, it’s not uncommon for people to say that the person who harmed others was a time bomb waiting to explode. The question here that begs an answer is: why would people do nothing and wait for that to happen?

While no employee in any setting is immune to workplace violence, knowing what and what not to say and do can have a tremendous impact on a worker’s personal safety at work. Here are some do’s and don’ts:

Do:

• Take verbal threats seriously. All threats should be reported to security or the appropriate manager.
• Report any suspicious person or vehicle to security personnel, especially at night. The suspect could be casing your workplace for a break-in. Or the person could be stalking someone at your workplace.
• Watch for unauthorized visitors who seem to have legitimate business at your plant. Crimes have been committed by people posing as employees, contractors and repair persons.
• Always wear your identification badge at all times.
• Observe your company’s rules prohibiting drugs and alcohol at work. Many violent incidents at work can be traced to the use of these substances.
• Learn how to contact help in an emergency. Speed-dialing numbers should be programmed into phones and emergency numbers should be listed at each phone.
• Adopt some distress signals, including predetermined code words that can be used to alert other workers to dangerous customers or visitors without tipping off the suspect.
• Act on your instincts. If you sense something is wrong, report it.

Don't:

• Pick fights. Loud and aggressive arguments can easily escalate into physical fights.
• Pick up hitch-hikers under any circumstances if your job involves driving. The most important reason for this rule is your personal safety.
• Ignore threats or disturbing changes in a co-worker’s behavior, such as an obsession with weapons or violence or someone talking about a "hit list" of co-workers he or she would like to see dead.
• One’s personal security, whether on or off the job, can never be guaranteed. However, the risks can be greatly reduced by having a plan and reacting to warning signs.

For more information contact the knowledgebroker John Brengosz.

You've heard this old adage before - and it's true in the insurance world as well. The housekeeping you keep in your business is the very first impression an OSHA inspector or an underwriter will have of your entire operation. Once a negative impression of your business is formed, it's very hard to undo that damage. Make housekeeping a daily part of your business operation - it will help to reduce your premium cost in the long run.

John Brengosz, Risk Management Specialist explains more about the importance of housekeeping and why it matters.

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Special hazards are elements of an operation that create a significant fire hazard, such as sawdust or spray painting. An insurance carrier is going to to have a very scrutinizing eye when it comes to this part of your operation - be prepared to make sure that all aspects of these special hazards are contained.

John Brengosz, Risk Management Specialist explains more about containing special hazards.

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