26 1.

PREPARATION FOR MAINTENANCE

colleagues then decided to cover themselves by asking for every-

thing every time. If we give people the discretion to decide what is
necessary, then inevitably they will at times come to a different deci-
sion than we would. We may discuss this with them but should not
reprimand them.
(b) Two men were told to wear air masks while repairing a compressor,
which handled gas containing hydrogen sulfide. The compressor
had been swept out, but traces of gas might have been left in it. One
of the men had difficulty handling a heavy valve that was close to
the floor and removed his mask. He was overcome by gas—hydro-
gen sulfide or possibly nitrogen.
Again, it is easy to blame the man. But he had been asked to do
a job that was difficult to perform while wearing an air mask. The
plant staff members resisted the temptation to blame him—the easy
way out. Instead, they looked for suitable lifting aids [7].
Section 3.2 discusses similar incidents. Rather than blame workers
who make mistakes or disobey instructions, we should try to remove
the opportunities for error by changing the work situation—that is,
the design or method of operation.
(c) Work permits asked for goggles to be worn. They were not always
worn and, inevitably, someone was injured. This incident differs
from (a) in that goggles were always necessary on this unit.
Investigation showed that the foreman and manager knew that
goggles were not always worn. But they turned a blind eye to avoid
dispute and to avoid delaying the job. The workers knew this and
said to themselves, “Wearing goggles cannot be important.” The
foreman and manager were therefore responsible for the inevitable
injury. People doing routine tasks become careless. Foremen and
managers cannot be expected to stand over them all the time, but
they can make occasional checks to see that the correct precautions
are taken. And they can comment when they see rules being flouted.
A friendly word before an accident is better than punitive action
afterwards.

1.4.3 Jobs Near Plant Boundaries

Before a permit to weld or carry out other hot work is issued, it is nor-
mal practice to make sure there are no leaks of flammable gas or liquid
nearby and no abnormal conditions that make a leak likely. The mean-
ing of nearby depends on the nature of the material that might leak, the
slope of the ground, and so on. For highly flammable liquids, 15 m (50 ft)
is often used.
Fires have occurred because a leak in one unit was set alight by weld-
ing in the unit next door. Before welding or other hot work is permitted