Practical Facilities Tips, News & Advice.
As facility professionals, we pay close attention to newsworthy workplace disasters. Based on the scale and severity of these incidents, perhaps we assume they could not occur in our own organizations—after all, this is what we work to prevent. But the fact is, disasters can happen anywhere.
At 5:50 p.m. on May 9, 2015, with the workday wrapping up, a transformer exploded at the Indian Point nuclear power plant in Westchester, New York, 50 miles north of Manhattan. The sprinkler systems triggered, and emergency response crews scrambled, working to keep the fire from reaching the nuclear installation just 200 yards away. The […]
To accompany their article, University of Southern California Price School of Public Policy’s online Executive Master of Urban Planning program put together an infographic that takes a look at some longitudinal data regarding wildfire intensity and severity. In accordance with these increases, the data highlight the exponential increase in the cost to fight each fire, […]
The summer of 2018 was particularly devastating for much of the wildfire-prone western states. And though the drought has broken in some of the most devastated regions — helping to alleviate some of the immediate danger — wildfire risk remains high in 2019. The lessons learned from battling the Carr and Camp fires can hopefully […]
Every facility needs to have an adequate fire prevention and preparedness strategy. This is especially true for facilities with warehouses on site, where facility managers need a unique strategy depending on the types of products or materials that are stored on site. These concerns were on attendees’ minds in the standing-room-only crowd for Tim Dietz’s […]
At a retail facility in Indianapolis, the new tenants wanted to create more space in the older storefront to make room for their new tattoo parlor. To do so, they tore out the walls around the sprinkler control room and finished by hanging drywall over the sprinkler riser and control valve. The only access they […]
Workplace fires and explosions have the potential to kill hundreds and injure thousands of workers each year. One way to limit the amount of damage from such fires is to make portable fire extinguishers an important part of your fire prevention program. OSHA says employers must choose one of four options regarding workplace fire extinguishers, […]
Now that Thanksgiving is in the rear-view mirror, it’s time to get your facility ready for the next holidays, which means one thing: decorating. Between the lights, trees, wreaths, menorahs, etc., there are a number of safety considerations to make before your decorating committee starts dragging the decorations out of storage. According to the National […]
The 2016 edition of the NFPA 72 Fire Code contains the up to date definitions that are in keeping with advancements in technology and processes. By adopting the changes in the updated NFPA 72, fire alarm system designers and contractors can avoid confusion with the proper installation, use, and operation of today’s systems.
A series of explosions in three Massachusetts towns in mid-September resulted in one fatality and several injuries. The incident and the resulting investigations and pending litigation are a reminder of the costliness of failing to conduct proper maintenance and monitoring of equipment to ensure its safe operation and performance.