SAFETY & EMERGENCY RESPONSE

Loss Control Management Systems
Industrial safety programs used to be reactive in nature. When an accident happened, the investigation focused on trying to fix whatever caused it. This usually prevented that same type of accident from happening again, but it seldom improved the overall safety of the system.

The concept that safety should be managed as a business system using professional management techniques and measurements was suggested by Frank Bird with the International Loss Control Institute (which is now owned by DNV) and was eventually taken up by the National Safety Council. Most major companies now have some sort of safety management system that is usually integrated into their overall operations management systems.

Aware's safety professionals have extensive experience with the design and development of location-specific Safety Management Systems in industrial settings.  These programs have led to marked improvements in safety incidents and to improved overall efficiency of the operations as a whole.

We can recommend specific safety management program elements that would best fit your particular needs, and we'll work with you to put them into place.

A Safety Management System does not wait for accidents to happen before identifying risks and making improvements.

Safety Audits and Inspections
A key part of a Loss Control Management system is doing periodic audits of the safety programs themselves. This is not just another safety inspection, but a comprehensive review of the systems used to manage safety. Aware will set up periodic system audits for your operation.

The results from these audits become an important training and planning tool, helping the managers plan for further improvements.

In addition to the system audits, Aware can also conduct detailed safety compliance inspections of your operations.

These should be done regularly not only to verify that the facility is safe to operate and the workers know how to do their jobs safely, but also to measure the effectiveness of the overall safety systems.

Safety and health audits can be used to:

Identify the strengths and weaknesses of an occupational safety and health management system;

Measure occupational safety and health performance;

Establish the extent of legal compliance;

Define areas that require improvement; and

Compare the company's performance with an established standard.

To help you get maximum benefit from these various audits and inspections, Aware can work with you to follow through on the results and recommendations by designing specific improvements, recommending equipment changes, training employees and supervisors, and recommending systemic fixes to management.

To retain the value of this effort it is important to track the status of each action you decide to do. Aware can work with you to setup an action tracking system that lets you stay informed about what actions are planned and when they will be done.

Regulatory Program Support
In recent years, OSHA has also recognized the value of safety management systems as a opposed to specific detailed safety requirements. With their Process Safety Management (PSM) program, OSHA fundamentally changed how it expects industry to deal with the chemical hazards in the workplace. EPA mirrored the PSM rules with its Risk Management Program (RMP), but with a focus on the safety of the surrounding community.

These rules initially targeted major chemical process industrial plants, but more recently, both OSHA and EPA have begun to zero in on the smaller user of these toxic chemicals such as the refrigeration and fish processing industries.

Aware Consulting has extensive experience interpreting these rules, setting up and administering the required programs, and successfully defending them during OSHA compliance audits. Our approach has been to integrate these new safety programs into the overall business management systems, which has resulted in efficiency and productivity improvements as well as benefiting safety.

We can help you figure out what you need to do to deal with whatever programs might be required by OSHA or EPA. We'll also help you put these programs together, train your employees on their use, and work with the agencies, if needed, to make sure there are no gaps.

Often small organizations need written "off-the-shelf" safety programs, not necessarily driven by PSM or RMP, which are tailored for their particular needs. Aware will work with you to develop customized safety programs that not only meet regulatory requirements, but will help improve your business.

Industrial Hygiene
Aware offers innovative, cost-effective solutions for industrial hygiene problems. Our experienced group of safety professionals can take on your special problems and provide awareness training to all affected employees who work directly with workplace hazards.

Our consulting services are tailored to fit the individual needs of your organization. We can provide the guidance for your plant safety or engineering personnel so that they can handle problems in-house. Further, our safety professionals can collect all necessary samples, evaluate the data, and recommend and implement solutions.

Here is a partial list of industrial hygiene services we provide:
  • Personnel Monitoring
  • Sound Level Surveys
  • Hearing Conservation Programs
  • Respiratory Protection Programs
  • Indoor Air Quality
  • Radioactive Surveys
  • Pesticides
  • Asbestos
  • Toxic Chemical Monitoring
    •           formaldehyde
              arsenic
              benzene
              lead
              solvents
              welding fumes
              carbon monoxide
              painting fumes

All evaluations and services are conducted in accordance with accepted EPA, ACGIH, ASHRAE, NIOSH, OSHA, MSHA, and AIHA guidelines and recommendations.

 Industrial Hygiene is defined as the recognition, evaluation, and control of workplace hazards. Originally based on limiting personal exposures to chemicals, it has since evolved to address the control of most other workplace hazards including over-exposure to noise, heat, vibration, and repetitive motion.

Safety Support / Safety Training
Aware's experienced safety specialists can go to your worksite to provide 24-hour hands-on safety support during turnarounds, construction projects, or whenever additional safety help is required.

Aware can develop and provide all types of safety training to employees, staff, and management. These include training that is required by regulations and laws, safety management system elements, job-specific safety training, and fire and emergency response training.

Aware's expertise includes on-the-job support and training in the following additional areas:

  • Process Hazard Analysis
  • Risk Assessment
  • First Aid
  • Fall Protection
  • Confined Space Entry
  • Confined Space Rescue
  • Mine Safety Training - surface and underground

Accident / Incident Investigations
Aware's team of experienced professionals have decades of experience investigating workplace accidents, incidents and "near misses". Depending upon your situation, Aware can head up your investigation or we can assist your staff as they do so. Aware will focus on making sure the investigations are thorough and comprehensive and that they generate appropriate conclusions and effective and achievable recommendations.

We can setup accident investigation programs for your facility, train your staff to do their own investigations, and setup tracking systems to follow each recommendation until it is completed.

 An "accident" is an undesired event that results in harm to people, damage to property, or loss to process.

While there may be many reasons for investigating workplace accidents, such as legal requirements and workers' compensation claims, most importantly accident investigations are conducted to find out the cause of accidents and to prevent similar accidents in the future.

TapRooT© is a system used by leading companies around the world to investigate, analyze and develop corrective actions to fix the root causes of major accidents, everyday incidents, minor near-misses, and a variety of other business problems.

Aware's safety professionals have been certified to use the TapRooT investigation system. They can work with you to setup an effective TapRooT incident investigation program within your organization, train your staff on its use, and provide ongoing support when needed.
Emergency Preparedness and Response
Aware's safety professionals collectively have dozens of years experience in fire fighting, and hazardous material spill response.

We have organized, trained and drilled fire teams, hazmat teams, and incident management groups under the incident command system.  We are well-versed with both state and federal spill regulations and the regulatory processes.

The Aware team has responded to numerous spills of hydrocarbon products, ethylene glycol, process chemicals, water treatment chemicals, and releases of ammonia and other toxic gases leaking from tanks, valves and equipment, ranging from a few gallons to hundreds of thousands of gallons.

Our spill response expertise includes federal and state release reporting requirements, formulating spill cleanup plans, directing excavation activities, field sampling and analysis, disposal of contaminated material, and negotiating clean-up levels with regulatory officials.

The Aware team has expertise in the areas of soil and groundwater investigation, as well as turnkey remediation system design, installation, operation, risk assessment, agency negotiation, and site closure.

We can help you prepare an Emergency Response Plan for whatever hazards you might have in your workplace, including:

Identifying and quantifying the potential hazards

Determining appropriate responses

Assessing current response capabilities,

Identifying and recommending response equipment

Organizing, equipping and training response personnel,

Establishing and supporting an Incident Command System for you to use, and providing appropriate ICS training to your management and staff;

Developing community action plans.

Aware Consulting, LLC
Phone: (907) 260-2030
Fax:     (907) 260-2035

P.O. Box 526
Soldotna, Alaska 99669
Email:  dnewbould@awareconsulting.net