Toolbox Talks: Safe behaviors and risk compensation
In skydiving, there is a tenet called Booth’s rule #2: "The safer skydiving gear becomes, the more chances skydivers will take, in order to...
Stumbling blocks: Many factors can send a turnaround into a tailspin, but most are...
There are a lot of things that can send a maintenance turnaround spiraling out of control and cause a plant to miss its mark,...
Toolbox Talks: One size fits all … if you happen to be that size
The idea of one-size fits all is great in that it creates some uniformity and it’s easier to deliver just one, universal product. However,...
Amid pandemic, some industrial owners suspend production to decontaminate
As cases of COVID-19 permeate Louisiana’s industrial complex, some plants are shutting down temporarily to decontaminate their facilities, while others struggle to remain fully...
New rules issued for transporting offshore personnel during pandemic
The Offshore Marine Service Association last week issued a memorandum providing guidance on the transport of potentially infected personnel during the COVID-19 pandemic.
As Kean...
ExxonMobil shrinks Baton Rouge production
U.S. oil supermajor ExxonMobil has reduced the run rates at its second-largest U.S. refinery in Baton Rouge, sources with knowledge of the operations at...
Temperature checks, travel restrictions, Skype meetings become the new industrial reality
Louisiana’s industrial market awoke to a new reality this week, one consisting of temperature checks, restricted travel and a greater dependence on Skype meetings.
To...
Toolbox Talks: Human Performance and Covid-19
I’m not a medical professional. I’m just a person who, like many of you, is consuming a lot of information these days about Covid-19...
Toolbox Talks: Should we treat a near-miss like an accident?
During a recent conversation, my friend Charlie mentioned he was in a meeting where someone said, “We should treat all near-misses like we had...
Toolbox Talks: Operate in the middle ground
Have you ever inadvertently demolished someone’s house? Probably not. Mostly because you are not in the house demolition business or you aren’t just, in...
