Safety
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Daily industrial news and top headlines for plant and maintenance managers
Feds Probe 3 Chrysler Models For Engine Stalling
May 14, 2013 10:20 am | by Tom Krisher, AP Auto Writer | News | CommentsU.S. auto safety regulators are investigating complaints that the engines can stall without warning in three Chrysler and Dodge brand cars. The probe covers more than 192,000 Chrysler 300C luxury cars, Dodge Charger muscle cars and Dodge Magnum wagons from the 2006 model year. The cars have 5.7-liter or 6.1-liter V-8 engines.
2 Hurt In Explosions, Fire At WV Gas Plant
May 14, 2013 10:19 am | by Pam Ramsey, Associated Press | News | CommentsTwo workers were injured Monday when highly flammable gas used in welding exploded at a West Virginia industrial site, officials said. Fire crews were sent at about 3:20 p.m. to Airgas, a distributor of specialty gases in Poca, outside of Charleston. Putnam County emergency management director Frank Chapman said the explosion involved about 50 tanks of acetylene that were at Airgas waiting to be refilled.
Regulators Probe Ford Truck Steering Issue
May 13, 2013 2:25 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsU.S. safety regulators are investigating complaints that problems with steering-gear boxes are causing a loss of control in some Ford trucks. The probe by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration covers an estimated 340,000 F250 and F350 Super Duty Trucks from the 2008 model year.
Leaving Bangladesh? Not An Easy Choice For Brands
May 13, 2013 2:18 pm | by Anne D'Innocenzio, Jonathan Fahey, AP Business Writers | News | CommentsBangladesh offers the global garment industry something unique: Millions of workers who quickly churn out huge amounts of well-made underwear, jeans and T-shirts for the lowest wages in the world. But since a building collapse April 24 killed at least 1,100 garment workers in Bangladesh in one of the deadliest industrial tragedies in history, the country has gone from one of the industry's greatest assets to one of its biggest liabilities.
AP: Cars Made In Brazil Are Deadly
May 13, 2013 10:08 am | by Bradley Brooks, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe culprits are the cars themselves, produced with weaker welds, scant safety features and inferior materials compared to similar models manufactured for U.S. and European consumers, say experts and engineers inside the industry. Four of Brazil's five bestselling cars failed their independent crash tests.
Chrysler Recalls Almost 470,000 Jeep SUVs
May 13, 2013 10:06 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsChrysler is recalling 469,000 Jeep SUVs worldwide because they can shift into neutral without warning on startup. The recall affects 2005 to 2010 Grand Cherokees and 2006 to 2010 Commanders. U.S. safety regulators say cracks in a circuit board can cause a faulty signal as the SUVs are being started. If the vehicles shift into neutral they can roll away.
Bangladesh To Raise Pay For Garment Workers
May 13, 2013 10:03 am | by Farid Hossain, Associated Press | News | CommentsBangladesh's government plans to raise the minimum wage for garment workers after the deaths of more than 1,100 people in the collapse of a factory building focused attention on the textile industry's dismal pay and hazardous working conditions.
Pest Birds And Corrosive Droppings
May 13, 2013 8:00 am | by Chrissy Hansen, Bird-X Media Correspondent | Articles | CommentsPest birds cost individuals and businesses millions of dollars each year in clean-up expenses, repairs, and damaged equipment. Some large industrial facilities spend as much as six figures to combat pest bird problems. Facility managers must understand the important of implementing a preventative bird control program as means of reducing these costs.
Vibration Detection For A Safe, Reliable Plant Floor
May 10, 2013 2:49 pm | by Rachel Leisemann Immel, Associate Editor, IMPO | Articles | CommentsThere is no such thing as a vibration free machine,” says Steve Matthews, business manager of VibrAlign’s service company, PdM Solutions, Inc. Rotor unbalance, sheave misalignment, worn bearings, loose bolts, and bearing lubrication issues can affect every machine on the plant floor. And when they do, costly and dangerous failures can result.
Industrial Doorway Accident Prompts Metal Fabricator’s Air Curtain Installation For Safety
May 10, 2013 2:40 pm | Articles | CommentsAfter several near-misses culminating with an injurious forklift truck collision involving strip curtains, a Northeast Ohio metal fabricator and manufacturer searched for creative solutions to improve safety, energy efficiency, and productivity at a high traffic ground level material handling doorway.
Texas Launches Criminal Probe Into Plant Explosion
May 10, 2013 2:04 pm | by Angela K. Brown, Ramit Plushnick-Masti, Associated Press | News | CommentsTexas law enforcement officials on Friday launched a criminal investigation into the massive fertilizer plant explosion that killed 14 people last month, after weeks of largely treating the blast as an industrial accident. The announcement came the same day a paramedic who helped to evacuate residents the night of the explosion was arrested on a charge of possessing a destructive device.
All Nippon Airways To Add Boeing 787 Routes
May 10, 2013 2:01 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsAll Nippon Airways Co. is planning to start flying the Boeing 787 to Taipei and Shanghai in addition to three other cities abroad previously served by the U.S. manufacturer's advanced aircraft, after it resolves the battery issue and resumes services on June 1.
U.S. Officials Probe Corvette Headlamp Problem
May 10, 2013 10:26 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsU.S. auto safety regulators are investigating complaints that the low-beam headlights can go dark without warning on some Chevrolet Corvettes. The probe by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration covers more than 103,000 Corvettes from the 2005 through 2007 model years.
North Dakota Tops Nation In Rate Of Worker Deaths
May 10, 2013 10:25 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsNorth Dakota has the highest rate of worker deaths in the nation, due in large part to the oil boom in the western part of the state in recent years, according to a new report from the AFL-CIO. There were 44 worker deaths in North Dakota in 2011, for a rate of 12.4 deaths per 100,000 workers.
Jury Finds 3 Guilty Of Weapons Plant Break-In
May 9, 2013 2:16 pm | by Erik Schelzig, Associated Press | News | CommentsAn 83-year-old nun and two fellow protesters were convicted Wednesday of interfering with national security when they broke into a nuclear weapons facility in Tennessee and defaced a uranium processing plant. It took a jury about 2 ½ hours to find the three protesters guilty of a charge of sabotaging the plant and second charge of damaging federal property in July the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge in July.
Robots As Pharmacists?
May 9, 2013 8:03 am | by CNN | Videos | CommentsA robotic pharmacy at the UCSF Medical Center could be the next big thing for hospitals. The robot counts, dispenses and packages pills with perfect accuracy. Doctors at the Medical Center say the machine has been a game-changer – eliminating errors and mistakes.
Defendants: No Remorse For Weapons Plant Break-In
May 8, 2013 2:31 pm | by Erik Schelzig, Associated Press | News | CommentsAn 83-year-old nun and two other protesters accused of defacing a Tennessee nuclear weapons plant said Wednesday they have no remorse for their actions and were pleased to reach one of the most secure parts of the facility. Sister Megan Rice, Michael Walli and Greg Boertje-Obed testified on their own behalf during their federal trial on charges related to the July intrusion at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge.
Two Hospitalized After Sandblasting Plant Explosion
May 8, 2013 2:28 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsTwo people are hospitalized in Tulsa after an explosion outside a sandblasting plant in Eufaula. McIntosh County Sheriff Kevin Ledbetter told reporters the two were injured in the blast at Ford Sandblasting in west Eufaula shortly after noon Tuesday. Officials say the two suffered burns in the blast but their names and conditions were not immediately released.
Cyberattacks A Growing Irritant In U.S.-China Ties
May 8, 2013 2:27 pm | by Christopher Bodeen, Associated Press | News | CommentsA bill introduced in the Senate on Tuesday would require the president to block imports of products using stolen U.S. technology or made by companies implicated in computer theft. Washington's sudden focus on Chinese hacking comes after rising complaints from U.S. businesses about theft of trade secrets.
United To Resume 787 Flights May 20
May 8, 2013 2:22 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsUnited Airlines expects to start flying its Boeing 787s again on May 20. The 787s had been grounded because of concerns about smoldering batteries, but they have been returning to the skies. Ethiopian Airlines was the first to fly a 787 again, on April 27.
Investigation Retraces Lines Of TX Plant Blast
May 8, 2013 10:07 am | by Nomaan Merchant, Associated Press | News | CommentsAlmost a month into their review of the deadly blast at a Texas fertilizer plant, investigators are hoping to draw a picture from the air of how the plant looked before the explosion and compare it to the 93-foot-wide crater that's there now.
GM Recalls 38K Cars For Battery Control Defect
May 7, 2013 2:29 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsGeneral Motors Co. is recalling 38,197 Chevrolet Malibu Eco, Buick LaCrosse and Buick Regal sedans in the U.S. because a defective battery control module could stall the engine or cause a fire. Vehicles from the 2012 and 2013 model years equipped with GM's eAssist hybrid system are affected. Vehicles built after December 2012 are not part of the recall.
NRC: 'Very Slightly Radioactive Water' Enters Lake
May 7, 2013 2:28 pm | by David N. Goodman, Associated Press | News | CommentsSeventy-nine gallons of "very slightly radioactive water" from a leaky tank at Entergy Corp.'s troubled Palisades Nuclear Power Plant spilled into Lake Michigan, a Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokeswoman said Monday. There is no risk to human health because the radioactive material was further diluted when it entered a storage basin before flowing into the lake, NRC spokeswoman Viktoria Mitlyng told The Associated Press.
Ammonium Nitrate Was Explosive In Plant Blast
May 7, 2013 10:11 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsA store of ammonium nitrate is what exploded April 17 at a Central Texas plant, killing 14 people, injuring hundreds and devastating an adjoining town. The finding was expected, and officials had said they were focusing their investigation on the explosive chemical used in many fertilizers, said Rachel Moreno, spokeswoman for the Texas State Fire Marshal's Office.
BMW Recalls 3 Series For Faulty Air Bags
May 7, 2013 10:08 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsBMW is recalling 45,500 3 Series sedans in the U.S. and Canada because their passenger air bags may not inflate properly. The recall affects 3 Series from the 2002 and 2003 model years. The defective air bags have an inflator housing that can rupture during deployment and send shrapnel flying into the vehicle.
