BUL K PL A N T S Bulk Plant Safety
The benefits of going beyond minimum compliance BY L AURA GL A S S
Photo courtesy SafeRack.
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EDERAL AND STATE REGULATIONS ESTABLISH SAFETY GUIDELINES for bulk terminals and manufacturers supply equipment designed to meet those guidelines. “Even if they seem mun-
dane, the rules are there for a reason and shouldn’t be ignored,” notes Craig Whritenour, operations manager for Fredericks Fuel and Heating Service of Oakridge, N.J., which operates three ter- minals. Yet safety consultant Brian Savage, president of Savage Associates in Watchung, N.J., also warns operators that merely complying with guidelines and depending on others for solutions does not constitute a viable safety program. “Though it’s important to know the OSHA requirements,”
advises Savage, “never assume these are enough to maintain a safe working environment in your particular situation.” To
JUNE 2011 | FUEL OIL NEWS | www.fueloilnews.com
cite just one example, vice president of sales Tom Semiklose of SafeRack, a Sumter, S.C., manufacturer of custom racks, arms, and platforms for loading and unloading, points out, “OSHA has fall protection rules for stationary services, but doesn’t address rolling stock. Yet if an accident occurs you can still be liable under the general duty clause since the use of fall protection is a generally accepted practice.” Then, too, a bulk plant is a complex and dynamic operation in
which “conditions are constantly changing as various customers access your site and as your inventory fluctuates,” observes Jason LeVine, business development manager for Total Meter Services. Based in Vaughan, Ontario, the company provides solutions for automated monitoring and bulk plant equipment design, instal-