Injuries and Illness

Is On-going Hazard Assessment SOP at Your Facility?

At Marathon Oil, on-going safety hazard assessment is standard operating procedure. Is it SOP at your facility, too?

A multi-tiered auditing system is at the heart of the hazard identification process at Marathon Oil Corporation’s Detroit refinery. Tier I audits are conducted internally by teams representing maintenance; environment, health, and safety; and process operators.

One of the most valuable Tier I audits is the manager’s audit. "Our top level managers are in the field on a regular basis and audit not only for compliance items, but on a higher level as well," says safety supervisor Luke Mazur.

In addition, the audit includes interviews with employees to make sure they understand process safety hazards, management of change, and other complex duties. The managers rotate within the facility, using checklists with constantly changing questions to ensure that no safety hazards are left unidentified.


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Promises Don’t Count

Findings from Tier I and other audits are compiled into a facility-specific database. But it doesn’t stop there, says health, environment, safety, and security professional Todd Habets. "No item is taken off the list until the safety hazard is remedied. Promises don’t count."

Tier II and Tier III audits invite those outside the plant to observe conditions. These audits are conducted by groups of individuals representing the corporate office, other Marathon Oil refineries, and professional third-party contractors. "They go through the refinery with a fine-tooth comb," Mazur explains. Tier II is primarily focused on compliance and Tier III addresses management systems.

Beyond the tiered audits, the Detroit refinery also uses a "weekly walk" to identify safety hazards within construction projects. Employees at all levels, as well as contractors, divide into groups and walk the construction site. Then they reconvene to discuss what they’ve observed and create a list of action items.

Finally, the life-critical safety audit conducted by safety professionals and plant employees addresses potentially hazardous issues, including hot work, confined spaces, work permits, lockout/tagout, and fall protection.


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Are Your Workers Trained to ID Hazards?

If you want to get your employees involved in hazard identification like Marathon Oil does, then you’ll need to be sure that they know what to look for. That takes training in a broad range essential workplace safety topics—training you’ll find in BLR’s Employee Training Center.

Unlike many training solutions available on the market today, Employee Training Center courses are routinely reviewed and updated to reflect changes in federal regulations or best practices. Each training course is developed by BLR lawyers, industry experts, and instructional designers who have experience across a wealth of industries, topics, and compliance areas.

Courses keep participants interested with engaging audio, built-in exercises, and key points to remember. At the completion of every course, individuals take a quiz designed to test for competency in all the course material presented. Quiz results and course completion times are automatically recorded.

Every course can be tailored with supporting and custom documents. BLR provides supporting documents for courses that include complete slide show notes and the answer key for the included quiz. As the administrator, you have the option of displaying uploaded documents and requiring review before the session begins. This is especially useful for company policies or worksite-specific information. Supporting materials can be added, edited, or removed at any time.

With only a few minutes’ setup, you company will have a complete Web-based training program with professionally developed courses, employee testing capabilities, and systematic documentation of employee training sessions and scores. And remember, BLR® Employee Training Center courses can be delivered at individual employee desks, in computer centers, at training kiosks, or even in a classroom.

No wonder BLR® Employee Training Center was named "Best Workforce Training Solution" by the Software Information Industry Association. It can help you launch a cost-effective and successful employee training program.

We urge you to sign up for a no-obligation demo by visiting the new Employee Training Center. Or, feel free to call our customer service people toll-free at 866-696-4827.

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