Occupational Health and Safety Books

This is a terrific book, with a nice balance between prevention and intervention! Between the playful illustrations are loads of helpful information for practitioners, for those in pain, and for those who are charged with preventing injuries in an organization. Well-organized, with a helpful index and references for further study.

Dawn Baldwin knows her material and has a real flair with words, something that is a rarity in this field.

"Safety Culture in Nuclear Power Operations" is an important volume for any professional interested in safety in any tightly-coupled technological domain. The term "safety culture" came to the forefront after the Chernobyl accident: today no analysis of safety, especially in a High Reliability Organization (HRO) would be possible without a consideration of the underlying safety, corporate, and regulatory cultures. Nuclear Power Plants (NPP) are perfect examples of HROs in that they are high-hazard, low-risk institutions (p. 5; see also the definitions of HROs on p. 40,) and conform well to the example definitions of safety culture throughout the book (see Schein's model on p. 7, and the excellent definition on p. 10 in particular; note also the corresponding definition of "safety system" on p.11.)

The subsection titled "The Changeableness of Safety Culture" (p. 12) explores the important topics of system complexity as the cause of accidents, and the role of management in the prevention of accidents through appropriate orientation, action, funding, etc. (p.13.) The role of time in accident chains is explored as well: most accidents occur over a very long period of time (p.20,) although the chain may only be visible retrospectively. This is a key point in my opinion, and argues very strongly for managerial involvement in, and promotion of, safety programs. Managerial importance is demonstrated in the case of the turnaround of the Palo Verde, Arizona station (p.98;) the relationship of profit versus safety culture is well defined on p. 101. The role of knowledgeable safety consultants is demonstrated in the discussion of Billie Garde and Little Harbor Consultants in the shutdown and restart of the Millstone plant (p.216.) An excellent basic guideline titled "Modeling of Organizational Factors Influencing Safety Performance" (pp. 191-192) delineates the interrelationship between accidents and organizational factors concisely. These sections should be mandatory reading for any manager in a safety-critical industry.

Most NPPs have traditionally operated in a regulation-based culture, but problematically, this type of rule-based orientation only prevents previous accidents from being repeated as it is not forward-thinking (pp.25-27). People working in NPPs are bright, competent, motivated, and professional: management must grasp that there is an important role for people to play in NPP operation within a framework of good operating practices (p. 27.) The key to this is good professional education, and understanding of potential consequences of actions, thus allowing for balanced decision making. This is not only my opinion, but is explored in depth (p.30) with knowledge-based decision making seen as being key in ambiguous and intransparent situations. Humans are best at interpretation of information in "context dependent" scenarios (p.81) and excel at "organizational recombination" (p.43) when necessary. This ability to recombine quickly into task-oriented working groups in a crisis is a marker of a positive safety culture, and is commonly seen in other HROs as well (commercial aviation, aircraft carriers, etc.) An excellent example of incident analysis with a focus on decision making in ambiguity begins on p. 159. The incident involves a confusing reactor trip related to steam safety valve functionality, gland sealing steam recovery, and feedwater control deficiencies. The incident is reviewed in great detail, and is an excellent example of the type of incident that can be analyzed and then used for training as an error-forcing context in a scenario-based simulation.

I view training as key to successful crisis management in any industry, and further view simulation and scenario-based training as most beneficial for decision making in ambiguous situations. One method of training design discussed deals with implementing "error-forcing contexts" (p.84) in scenarios. These are unusual combinations of events designed to maximize cognitive and team decision-making skills and are most useful when designed with reference to previous real-world incidents. Airlines do this in simulator training, and NPPs are learning the benefits of this approach with fewer operator errors as a result. At the time of the Three Mile Island accident there were eight NPP simulators in the US; today there are over 80. Not only has appropriate analysis been given to "symptoms versus events" in NPP operator training, but a key measure of operational excellence, the number of unplanned reactor trips, has fallen dramatically since this training has been implemented (p. 105.) Chapter 14 contains an excellent analysis of organizational learning beginning on p.244.

Safety lapses still occur in all industries, even in HROs. One important element of many failings is the role of miscommunication in incidents. This element is discussed throughout the book (please especially note pp. 153 and 175.) I was pleased this got so much attention: almost all accidents involve communication problems in one form or another.

Chapter 18 "Sharing Knowledge on Human Error Prevention" by Tetsuya Tsukada and Fumio Kotani, is a brilliant piece of work. The themes of the chapter discuss data sharing and correlation, human factors research, and training. The authors note (p. 301) that "it is important that workers have sufficient knowledge of 'the most suitable error prevention methods for different situations,'" which argues not only for excellent professional training, but also for data and incident sharing between operators, a situation where nuclear power leads aviation. This chapter underscores the importance of humans in the decision making loop, especially in situations of great ambiguity.

While the book as a whole is a notable and praiseworthy work in the field, there are several detractors. Chapter 10, by Björn Wahlstöm, while generally good, has some translation errors that make it rather difficult to read in a few places, notably on p.200 during discussion of the "synthesized variances plane." Likewise, the final chapter, "A Sign System for Safety" is sub par and sometimes borders on incomprehensible. It proposes a set of signage conventions for NPPs some of which are both convoluted and counterintuitive, although in defense of the chapter, there are some excellent points made, especially on the subject of color coding.

I recommend this book highly to any safety professional.

This is an excellent book for Safety Professionals and Chemical Engineers. The book is written in a lucid manner and goes straight to the heart of the issues.
I would recommend it as essential refence text book for all fellow Safety Engineers and Chemical Process Managers

This book describes a systematic method for selecting safety integrity levels for safety instrumented systems (SIS). This method emphasizes accounting for existing layers of protection.

This method ensures that the maximum return on risk reduction investments is achieved. This reference demonstrates the application of quantitative risk analysis techniques and tools to the problem of safety integrity level selection. They distill essential theory into a format that the average control systems engineer can quickly apply. This is not a generic theoretical dissertation, nor a comprehensive treatment of the topic of quantitative risk analysis. It is a focused process for applying simple, yet powerful, tools of quantitative risk analysis specifically to the problem of selecting safety integrity levels for safety instrumented systems.

This book really delivers what it promises: A practical guide to Safety Integrity Level selection (SIL).

The book is written in a very clear and readable way. I found it to be an excellent learning tool for those working in the process industries, in areas related with Process Safety, Automation and Control. The authors do an outstanding job outlining the key factors needed to select the proper SIL for an application or facility.

I am an Industrial Practitioner of Process Control. I have been working for more than 16 years as an Instrumentation, Automation, and Process Safety and Control Engineer for the Oil & Gas Industry. I believe that this book will be an excellent reference for any one, students or practitioners, which want to learn about SIL Selection and Process Safety.

Techniques of Safety Management: A Systems Approach, Fourth Edition

Dan Petersen has made enormous contributions to occupational safety and health and this fourth edition of Techniques of Safety Management continues the tradition. This book is a companion volume to Techniques of Safety Management: A Human Approach. A systems approach emphasizes systems but also includes information about the human element.
Petersen discusses numerous changes occurring in the rapidly evolving safety field. For readers who have an earlier edition of this book, the best thing about the fourth edition is the updated material - both revised and new. Petersen does a nice job updating relevant information and including pertinent new topics such as statistical safety control, ISO standards, fault trees for specific safety system elements, and Six Sigma.
The book is well organized into six parts. The first part provides a thorough historical framework of safety including recent changes affecting safety professionals. Petersen has a unique ability to see the big picture and yet skillfully dissect and clearly explain specific techniques successful safety professionals need. He reviews ten safety management principles, then covers the related roles, drivers, and measurement involved in managing safety in Part two.
Part three and four cover proactive and reactive system elements. These are important concepts for safety professionals and safety students to comprehend, because (in the reviewers' opinion) proactive approaches and effective reactive approaches are not commonly performed very well in safety management. Proactive safety approaches are unfortunately missing in many organizations. Proactive topics include changing behavior, changing physical conditions, using ergonomics, and changing the management system. The section on proactive system elements covers about 100 pages and includes valuable information on topics such as motivation, measurement, and risk analysis.
Additional system elements such as complying with OSHA, fleet safety, product safety, and other safety-related programs are reviewed in part five. The Appendix includes over 20 fault trees for safety system elements. Examples of system safety elements include supervisory performance, effective discipline, effective training, support for safety, and management credibility. These are unique to my knowledge and potentially very useful to the safety professional. The book is worth purchasing for these "fault trees" alone.
Petersen emphasizes research as an underlying criterion for sound decisions. He includes a wide variety of studies and authors, and draws upon extensive real world innovations and best practices. The book is replete with useful checklists, templates, and meaningful exhibits. Many of the checklists and formulas are ready for the reader to customize for their own use. One example provided and explained in detail is the Justification Formula. The Justification Formula is used to assess risks, and "provides both Safety and Management with guidance in deciding whether the cost of a proposed safety project is justified...and gives a solid foundation upon which Safety may base its recommendations for corrective action" (p.179). The Justification Formula appears to be a genuinely valuable tool for safety professionals.
The book has the broad aim to be of value to students, safety professionals, industry specialists, part-time safety specialists in industry, line managers, private consultants, and insurance safety engineers. Each of these groups should find Petersen's book a helpful guide containing numerous tools and techniques they can effectively use.

SAX's Dangerous Properties of Industrial Materials Ninth Edition-CD-ROM Version

The NST/Engineers, Inc. reviewer, an EPA First Responder, found the Ninth Edition of Sax's Dangerous Properties of Industrial Materials-CD ROM version (SAX CD) to be a powerful database of easily retrievable, detailed, and pertinent information. The reviewer envisions the target users of the SAX CD deriving the most benefit to be: chemical operators, chemical process engineers, chemists, clinical toxicologists, fire companies, first responders, HAZMAT teams, industrial hygienists, plant managers, physicians, police departments, process safety managers, research professionals, risk management planners, safety engineers, transportation officers, and treatment storage and disposal facility (TSDF) personnel.

The 22,380 materials included are categorized at a minimum according to: Listing Name, Hazard Rating, Chemical Name, Molecular Formula, Molecular Weight, Chemical and Physical Properties, Synonyms, Toxicity Data with References, (instantly accessible by screen "pop-ups"), and Safety Profile.

Where available, NIOSH Recommended Exposure Limits, OSHA Permissible Exposure Levels, ACGIH Threshold Limit Values, (all expressed as Time Weighted Averages) and German MAK exposure limits are included. Consensus Reports (Community RTK, EPA TSCA and Genetic Inventory list) along with DOT hazard Classifications and UN/NA 4-digit identifier (for HM-181), CAS Registry number, and Class (carcinogen, mutagen, teratogen, primary irritant, food additive, etc.) are also included.

For forty years, NST/Engineers, Inc. personnel and associates have found editions of SAX to be an invaluable resource. The Ninth Edition on CD ROM provides the instant retrieval capabilities sought by the electronic communication age. The program includes an intelligent default, twelve-characteristic, search engine. It highlights each "hit" in the text and has a "tracking" system that allows the user to look forward or to "backtrack".

In the NST/Engineers, Inc. trials, SAX CD was used in "mock" HAZMAT spills. The reviewer found that the initial assessments of the spills were conducted many times faster by using the SAX CD. Armed with a laptop computer, as are most police and other emergency responders, the addition of this software will greatly decrease response time and reduce the confusion that routinely surrounds hazardous materials incidents. An increase in facility and public safety will be provided by the fingertip access to the knowledge base in the SAX CD .

The SAX CD works on both PC and Macintosh platforms.

John Leeth is way ahead of his league in regards to workplace safety. No business man should pass this book up. A splendid guide those who are in management.

This book is lucid, engaging and compriehensive, covering the spectrum between personal and statistical information interleaved with philosophical perspective. I couldn't recommend it more highly!

This book provided very good information and priorities for novice consultants, as well as experienced one. The book is very easy to read and provides many good and usable samples.