About Kayla Whelehon

Kayla began her career with Bluefield Process Safety in 2016. Her interest in the field began with the commencement of her husband’s career as a process safety consultant.

“It’s Always Been That Way”: Normalization of Deviation

“It must be remembered that there is nothing more difficult to plan, more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to manage than a new system. For the initiator has the enmity of all who would profit by the preservation of the old institution and merely lukewarm defenders in those who gain by the new ones.” [...]

By |2017-11-09T16:49:42-06:00November 9th, 2017|Procedures, Process Safety, Process Safety Management, Training, Workplace Safety|Comments Off on “It’s Always Been That Way”: Normalization of Deviation

A Safety Lifestyle

“We are what we repeatedly do.  Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”  Will Durant In 2006, The Association for Psychological Science published a journal article titled Habits – A Repeat Performance.  The article declared that habits make up approximately 45% of our everyday behaviors.  They are learned and developed through repetition and [...]

By |2017-10-19T13:45:31-05:00October 19th, 2017|Workplace Safety|1 Comment

Backward Looking Vs. Forward Looking

“If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself.”  Henry Ford Your company has had an incident or a near miss, the investigation is closed and the cause has been determined.  Now what?  In an ideal world, the goal is a return to normal operations with a lower likelihood that the incident [...]

Incident Investigations – The Blame Game

“We cannot solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them.”  Albert Einstein In Incident Investigations: A Guide for Employers, OSHA defines an incident as “a work-related event in which an injury or ill-health (regardless of severity) or fatality occurred, or could have occurred.”  Incidents vary from large scale, such as the [...]

By |2017-07-24T16:32:03-05:00July 6th, 2017|Process Safety, Process Safety Management|Comments Off on Incident Investigations – The Blame Game

Don’t Judge a Book by Its Cover – Or a Factory by its Facade

“There are things known and there are things unknown, and in between are the doors of perception.”  Aldous Huxley We’ve all seen them; factories are scattered across the landscapes of America.  There’s probably one in or near the town where you live, where you work, where you raise your children.  I live near one and [...]

By |2017-07-24T16:37:37-05:00March 9th, 2017|Process Safety Management, Risk Assessment|Comments Off on Don’t Judge a Book by Its Cover – Or a Factory by its Facade

Tolerable Risk, Analysis from a Novice

“Safety is a common denominator across all aspects of life, hence knowledge should always be shared.  It is not a matter for industry it is a matter for humanity.”  Doug Bourne, technical director at PM Lucas Six months ago, if you would have asked me to define the phrase “tolerable risk”, I would have stared [...]

By |2017-07-24T16:41:57-05:00January 12th, 2017|Process Safety Management, Risk Assessment|Comments Off on Tolerable Risk, Analysis from a Novice

A Beginner’s Guide to Process Safety

“Change can be scary, but you know what’s scarier? Allowing fear to stop you from growing, evolving and progressing.”  Mandy Hale Two months ago, I chose to leave the banking industry after eight years to pursue a career in process safety.  I now work alongside engineers who hold degrees from prestigious universities. Their critical thinking [...]

By |2017-07-24T17:26:39-05:00November 17th, 2016|Process Safety, Process Safety Management|1 Comment
Go to Top