Prudhoe Bay pipeline
There are a large number of aging pipelines around the world and more than a few engineers and managers must be looking nervously at BP's actions over at Prudhoe Bay.
As ever it is impossible to get a full picture - especially from the distance I'm at. However in our media in the UK I'd say they are doing better than Shell did with the Brent Spar disposal incident. What is especially interesting is the reporting of the impact on Alaskan State revenues;
The
BBC reports:-
The shutdown at the site is expected to cost Alaska $6.4m a day in tax revenues and this has prompted a government state-wide hiring freeze.Hopefully this is part of a broader realisation of the benefits of industrial activity as well as the costs that are publicised so effectively by environmentalists. ( Not that I think they are necessarily wrong - it is just to take responsibility you need to weigh both sides of the argument).
This story will colour the way a lot of the Oil and Gas industry is viewed over coming years. Lets hope the decisions are good.
Safety culture
Its the summer holidays here in the UK and for the next week and a half I have charge of my two children. My son is becoming a fan of the Disney web site and specifically
'Safety Patrol'. He'll now ask loudly in public - it that a safety violation ? ( The catch phrase of the show ).
Also about a week ago a friend of mine was bemoaning having to start meetings with a 5 min talk on safety. ( He works for a big company - although I've never see this in small companies where everyone time writes. )
It got me thinking a little about safety culture. I remember reading about a new manager of a plant who discovered that his work force thought he was less interested in safety than his predecessor. He protested that he'd never said that - but that was just the point, because he didn't ask about safety a implied message was taken by his workforce.
Hence the 5 mins might now be useful of itself - but the message that the company is willing to pay for 5 mins may be.
And at home with my, at the moment, one man company - I can look forward to many more pestering questions on safety violations from my son.
Thanks Disney -
no really, I mean it if I think about it.
Starting assumptions
I've started this blog to write about life and work from an engineer's view point. I expect to head in a more technical direction sometimes, but hopefully there will be some general interest also.
We'll see how I do.
