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Oct. Newsletter

Last Month in Review
 

                                                                                   Bobby Diaz from Lufkin Industries brought the program last month, on pump jack safety.  He stated that in safety there
                                                         is no area where safety is “yours” or “mine.”  We all have to work together to create a safe work environment.  He gave
                                                         the group three cardinal rules when working around the pump jacks. 

1.   Never park close to the unit.,

2.  Park up wind to avoid H₂S gas exposure.

3. Always approach the unit from the rear

   Bobby told us about several fatalities that happened when people were working around the pump jacks.  One man was killed while checking the numbers on a gear box without locking out the unit,; he was struck in the head.  Another man had to repair the stuffing box, and failed to failed to lock out the unit..  An employee was tightening the tie down while the rest of the crew was moving a beam.  Then there was a roustabout chopping weeds inside the guard rails, the employee accidently hit the brake lever, releasing the weights and they fell and killed him.

Bobby gave instructions for the rig crews:  they are to test the brake, and not to use it is if doesn’t hold.  There is never supposed to be anyone inside the guard rails until the Lockout/Tagout has been tried, chained into place and the bender put in place.  Make sure that the HOA is not hot, use a voltage meter to test it.  Note the time of the competitions of the above activities.

                 Everyone working on the unit must have their own lock for the Lockout procedure.  Everyone must put on their own lock, and take it off.  The authorized person signs and dates the tag. 

              The Guard rails must have a minimum of 15 inches from all parts of the unit.

              These things are to be looked for when working around pump jacks:     Guard rail clearance
If the carrier bar comes down below 7 foot it needs to be guarded.

Check to see if the bridle guard is in place or if the bridle if frayed.

Is the belt guard in place, is the belt slipping,
broken, frayed or loose?

Is the carrier door closed?

Is the flag pin properly installed?

Is the throat bolt properly installed?

Is it possible to loosen the adjustment bolts on the head?  
 

           Editor’s apology:  The number of the participants in the Great Shake Out was 5.3 million people.  Included in the group were colleges, schools, Red Cross Units, city and county officials including sheriff’s departments and the sate’s Homeland Security Department.
 

              In the future OSHA may not require construction workers to wear harnesses that have to be tied to a stable object to prevent their falling.  OSHA reported that 18,000 workers were injured in falls in 2007.  On the TV Show Prototype This in December a personal wearable airbag was tested.  The team worked hard to come up with a prototype that could save the lives of high-rise construction workers who routinely face the danger of death by free fall. For the airbag device to perform effectively, it must immediately sense falling acceleration, inflate in seconds with enough air to cushion the landing, but then deflate just enough on impact to dissipate the force and prevent a really nasty bounce. And if the engineering challenge weren't daunting enough, there's a small matter of death-defying test runs.

A member of the four man team was fitted with a harness that covered a portion of his chest and back, and jumped off a lift that raised him off of the floor at least 20 feet.  The test subject jumped off the lift wearing the wearable airbag, a safety harness, with a cable to stop him if the airbag failed and he jumped onto a large airbag used in upper story rescues by fire departments. 

The airbag worked flawlessly and the team members thought that it would be a matter of time before the personal wearable airbags could be used in high rise construction projects.

Forgetting Has Its Benefits

              What happened to the countless days, nights, meetings commutes and other unremarkable events in our lives that we don’t remember?  They didn’t make a lasting impression on the brain or were overwritten by so many similar experiences that they are hard to retrieve.  In short, they’ve been forgotten.
 
        “If you didn’t forget, you’d recall all kinds of extraneous information from your life that you would drown in a sea of inefficiency,” states Gayatri Devi, a neuro-psychiatrist and memory expert in New York City.. Jill Price is a woman who remembers virtually every detail of her life since she was 14; but she is mentally exhausted and tormented by her memories.

           Memories of singular, significant events are generally easier to recall; people store them in their long-term memory with many associations attached.   Memories of mundane, reoccurring events compete to be recalled and the brain appears to be programmed to forget those that aren’t important.

          The brain’s prefrontal cortex, the area of complex thought and executive planning that sorts and retrieves such “like-kind” memories.  The more the participants of the study forgot competing memories, the less work their cortexes had to do.  In other words, forgetting frees us brain power for other tasks.

       Forgetting is a very active process but is done subconsciously.  The mind is constantly evaluating , editing and sorting information, all at lightening speed.  “Your brain is only taking a small amount is, and it’s already erasing vast amounts that won’t be needed again,” Dr. Devi said.

     Much that happens during the day doesn’t make an impression at all because our attention is focused elsewhere.  Driving to work a lot of stuff is landing on our retinas as we’re driving down the road.  But if you were focusing on the presentation you have to give, you didn’t perceive it and it didn’t get stored.

       What if you want to remember more about each passing day?  One simple method is to keep a journal.  Writing down a few thoughts and events every day not only makes a tangible record, it also requires you to reflect.  “You’re elaborating on why they were meaningful, and you’re laying down an additional memory trace,” says James McGaugh at UC Irvine.  Taking photographs and labeling them reinforce memories too.   

Micromanagers Miss Bull’s-Eye

              Micromanagers interrupt conversations among employees, identify mistakes and even make mundane decisions.  They act more like a quarterback than a coach.  The main trait that micromanagers have is an unwillingness to trust subordinates.

              The best managers help employees learn to work independently by giving them meaningful responsibilities , says organizational coach Diane Foster.  “Who wants to be in a company where you are not allowed to think.  Their job is to facilitate the work or their subordinates, whether or not they help create the final product.
 
             Frontline workers often are best suited to identify problems and suggest creative solutions.  But when conditioned to rely on a heavy-handed manager for guidance, employees become complacent.  Managers should give the subordinates goals and leave them to work out the details; and should resist taking control when employees make mistakes.

            Tips for loosening control: clearly articulate expectations, focus on hiring and placement of employees, give others decision-making power, encourage questions and suggestions, offer constructive feedback