RE: Unsubstantiated and/or false allegations (was RE: Nobody reviewed the manuals)

["McLauchlan, Kevin" <Kevin -dot- McLauchlan -at- safenet-inc -dot- com>]

 Given that the scenario below is true, it says all that 
needs to be said about the documentation angle.

That is, this kind of thing has happened over and over 
and over in various industries and other environments, 
and the incidents - somebody overrode good sense and 
established procedure, there was an argument, authority 
prevailed - have been endlessly presented in the various 
media, including print, broadcast, and online. Yet here 
were these guys on the rig following exactly the 
historic scenario and NOT taking the elementary precautions 
of: 

a) recording the scene (who DOESN'T have a cellphone capable 
of at least still photos, if not several minutes of video??) 
b) getting a signature on a brief statement of the override 
order. 

You can't tell me you get to be a rig boss and not have 
both the smarts and the self-confidence to push back (hell, 
they were reportedly having a loud argument, so _somebody_ 
was pushing back) to say: "Yessir! I'll be happy to 
override/bypass procedure on your authority if you'll just 
sign here, and here, and put your thumb-print in this space." 

So that leaves only the horrible realization that everybody 
on the rig has never read a newspaper, viewed a newscast, 
etc., and have learned nothing from history. Thus I surmise 
that the chance they'd notice - let alone actually read - 
a dense manual of procedures, is vanishingly small.  

No techwriter can get past that kind of impenetrable unwillingness. 

Only an enforced culture change can do that.



> -----Original Message-----
> From: 
> techwr-l-bounces+kevin -dot- mclauchlan=safenet-inc -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr
-l.com [mailto:techwr-l-bounces+kevin.mclauchlan=safenet-> inc -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On Behalf Of Ken Poshedly
> Sent: Thursday, June 10, 2010 2:57 PM
> To: Combs, Richard; techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
> Subject: Re: Unsubstantiated and/or false allegations (was 
> RE: Nobody reviewed the manuals)
> 
> I recall hearing an interview on the radio several weeks ago 
> where an employee of the operating company described a 
> meeting on the rig also attended by what he called "the 
> company man"; he later said that meant a "BP representative" 
> who had total authority to make things happen the way BP wanted.
> 
> In the interview, the first guy describes a drilling 
> procedure being discussed and how the BP rep said that no, 
> and that the procedure would be done differently. The first 
> guy described how the BP procedure was recognized as 
> hazardous by the rig workers and how a rather loud argument 
> ensued, but with BP getting its way in the end.
> 
> I just don't remember if the contested procedure was for 
> actually capping or drilling, but in any case, BP -- which 
> pays the bills -- was said to act with great disregard for 
> people and safe procedures (at least by those who worked the rig).
> 
> Sorry I can't be more specific.
> 
> -- Ken in Atlanta

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