The weakest links?
28 Sep 2010
It seems as if industrial accident investigations have spawned a new industry.
Investigators now spend many months trawling over all the factors that lead to serious accidents. Alongside the actual investigations, government panels and courts now go into increasing detail as they apportion blame, fines and penalties as they deem appropriate.
But is the level of detail in the voluminous reports masking attention from the basic factors that trigger the accident such as ’bad cement’ in the Gulf of Mexico, a basic gauge (with instructions to match) at Buncefield, a disabled alarm at BP Texas City or rubber seals and foam insulation on space shuttles?
These common-or-garden devices can be the ’weakest links’ that trigger a chain of events leading to multiple fatalities, massive costs and legal processes.
It is clearly wise to highlight complex interactions, mismanagement and missed opportunities for someone to halt the chain of events but underplaying the importance of the basic components and materials is a mentality that can only contribute to future accidents.
