1. On February 1, 2017, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed the decision of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission which imposed serious willful citations under the permit-required confined space entry standard on Dana Container Inc. In doing so the Seventh Circuit discussed imputed knowledge to the employer, foreseeability of a supervisor’s misconduct, and willful violations. The case Dana Container Inc vs Secretary of Labor 2017 WL 430079 was reviewed recently by Russell Wilson of Ruder Ware for JD Supra Business Advisor.
2. Confined space entry incidents are the leading cause of occupational fatalities in the United States, primarily as a result of workers entering spaces without identifying the hazards, not developing and following the required procedures, or attempting to rescue downed co-workers without taking the required precautions, according to Britt Howard with CH2M. He provided a detailed list of guidelines for safe confined space operations.
3. When Halliburton employees make their regular inspections of tanks at the local operation’s cement plant, they know it’s the Kilgore (TX) Fire Department that will get them out of the tight squeeze in an emergency, according to recent story in the Kilgore News Herald. KFD recently joined in Halliburton personnel in a confined space entry drill, running through their procedures three times, once per shift--just in case.