Site Safety
Is your staff
prepared?
by Kelly Gray Gas stations are dangerous places. Consider that in the U.S. close to 30 forecourt workers are killed on the job each year. Another 2.3 per cent of workers are injured with about one percent requiring retraining or a transfer due to the severity of injury. Are you paying attention to the hazards at your site? According to National Energy Equipment’s national health, safety and environment specialist Michael Lamont, the leading hazard for workers is vehicles and pedestrian traffic at forecourt. “People are often distracted and not paying attention when they drive in to fuel. When our crews are working on equipment, there is a real hazard to their safety. To mitigate this our teams are knowledgeable in Petroleum Oriented Safety Training (POST) (www.posttraining.ca) and they place pylons, flags, barriers and service vehicles per standard to protect staff,” he says, noting that POST is an industry-led program that offers online courses and annual get-togethers such as the recent safety forum at the 2019 Toronto Convenience U CARWACS Show. Recently, The Canadian Fuels Association addressed distracted fuelling. They commissioned a study (“Risk Associated with Cell Phone Use During Refuelling”) and discovered the chance of starting a fire at the pumps with a cellphone is less than one in 10 billion. The far greater safety risk is mobile device
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May/June 2019
distraction where phone use increases the risk of spills and other pump-side incidents. And, while the Technical Standards and Safety Authority (TSSA) permits cellphone use for pay-at-pump applications, they caution about the need for customer focus during refuelling. They advise operators to interrupt fuelling should they observe a customer calling or texting while at the dispenser. Lamont suggests good safety practice often comes down to training. “Do your staff know the size of the storage tanks? Do they know where to locate the vapour recovery? Are they clearing away ice from fills? Do they know what to do in the event of a spill or tank leak? When do you hit the ‘E Stop’ button? Training prepares staff for worst case scenarios and helps keep them and customers safe,” he says. Rob Hoffman, director, government & stakeholder relations with the Canadian Fuels Association, agrees with Lamont. He suggests that alongside training protocols, engineered controls such as state-of-the-art dispenser design and technology greatly reduce the risk associated with the flammable nature of fuels. “Incidents at the pumps are very rare today thanks to continuous improvements from the industry." However, he concludes, "distracted behaviour from customers is still the leading source of concern when it comes to safety on site. For best practice to occur, customers need to be more aware and staff need to be aware of customers and how they may act.” OCTANE
Key areas for safety focus FUEL STORAGE Fuel storage poses several risks. These include fire/explosion, environmental damage and health concerns. ★ Ensure staff are adequately trained (keep all training records). ★ Maintain and monitor storage tanks and dispensers. ★ Identify hazardous areas and control all sources of ignition – placard site with appropriate warning and hazard signs.
VEHICLE MOVEMENT Cars and vehicles pose a considerable hazard to forecourt personnel and customers as well as create the opportunity for equipment damage through collision. ★ Design a safe system of traffic movement such as a one-way system for entering and exiting the forecourt and clearly sign it. ★ Offer a designated parking area close to the c-store and away from the fuel dispensers. ★ Create a barrier to protect structures such as fuel tanks and liquified petroleum gas (LPG) storage areas. CCentral.ca