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Flammable Cleaning Spray

Requirements for Storing Flammable Aerosols in Flammable Lockers

The experts at Safety.BLR.com® have provided an answer to the following question: “We have a general industry Texas customer whose business insurance company is requiring that they store all their flammable aerosols in flammable lockers, even if there is less than 25 gallons. Is this true?”

Cloud computing with a security camera.

What’s the Craziest Thing Your Security Cameras Have Captured?

A properly functioning security system is always on, ready to capture any threats to your workforce, property, or other essential assets. Sometimes, though, they bear witness to the best (or worst) of humanity’s “hold my beer” moments. All you need to do is head to YouTube and search for something like “security camera fails” to […]

Please stand behide the yellow line!

Risk Management and Spill Prevention Violations Round Out Enforcement Penalties in August

While this last batch of environmental enforcement penalties doesn’t contain any blockbuster million-dollar fines or penalties, they still highlight the ongoing need for regulatory adherence! These four recent compliance slip-ups ranging from risk management violations to spill prevention mishaps, with one costing a business $500,000, not including the $200,000 it will cost them to install […]

Scales of Justice

More Million-Dollar Environmental Penalties for Non-Compliant Facilities

Yesterday, we looked at several fines levied against business operating non-compliant facilities. Two of those penalties were over $1,000,000! Today, we can add one more 7-figure fine to the pile. Of course, not all the fines were headline grabbing (one was only $350), but the differences highlight the breadth of violations agencies are willing to […]

Policy and Compliance

Seven-Figure Reasons to Keep Your Facilities Compliant

Our first environmental enforcement report for August 2018 highlights the importance of running a compliant facility. Below, we present five recent cases—two of which resulted in penalties of over $1,000,000. These kinds of fines are a good reminder of the importance of environmental compliance to a facility’s bottom line.

man with a gun

Tools for Predicting—and Preventing—Active Shooters

One of the most important tools for preventing workplace injuries, illnesses, and fatalities at any facility is a hazard assessment. Situations are analyzed to determine the risks they pose, and then employers and facilities management professionals decide how best to control those risks. Unfortunately, one increasingly common hazard has thus far defied our ability to […]

Opioids

NIOSH Releases New Findings in Fight Against Opioid Abuse

According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), 95% of drug overdose deaths that occurred in 2016 were among the working age population, persons aged 15–64 years. With the problem so widespread, few facilities are immune—read on for the latest data, investigations, and research.

Lawyer pointing

Did You Catch Better Call Saul’s Facilities Management Moment?

The fourth-season premiere of Better Call Saul landed last Monday evening, and it was every bit as entertaining and brilliant as fans have come to expect. But it also included a detailed, accurate, and dryly hilarious scene wherein a main character takes stock of a large corporation’s major safety and security failings.

Aerial view of sunset over downtown San Jose in California

Security Concerns Feature in YouTube’s Campus Expansion Plans

It was far too easy for a disgruntled content creator to walk onto YouTube’s property in San Bruno, California, last April and open fire on employees in a courtyard. The incident shone a bright light on existing security issues built into Silicon Valley’s open campus culture. Big tech companies have long desired to create a […]