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To: Maurice Winn who wrote (73548)	5/18/2010 5:33:57 AM
From: maceng2	Respond to of 74559

A lot of the things you said resonate with my own thoughts. Safety is fun and its child’s play. If it's not then something is seriously wrong, because it should be both those things. The training I got in the UK in the early 80's was to a high standard and it was supplemented by applying the theory in lots of real life situations. I took that expertise with me to the USA where it was tested over a period in real life. I exceeded my own expectations and thought I was good. Of course it's old story in the Wild West, sooner or later you meet the faster gun as it were. In this case it was some corporate policy wonk who didn't like engineers, and I didn't like policy wonks. He was actually very good though and we got along together just fine. He was not a big fan of paperwork and I never have been. Ditto beating up the plebs for minor safety infractions, maybe changing attitude to small aspects of things but that was as far as it went. Just like small government works for a productive society, small amounts of paperwork are good for safety in companies where safety is important. The paperwork that is done should be quality well thought out documents, and of course filled in correctly. They are typically as easy to fill in as falling off a log, and if you can't fill in a bit in, some advice from a knowledgeable person can usually be obtained quickly. Whatever is reasonable and practable under the circumstances. If everyone does their best, well that's all that can be done. No need to worry further then that. There is usually a smart Alec or two who thinks they can spot chinks in the armour, but anyone with some knowledge and experience in the safe operation of the tasks at hand can quickly quell concerns on that front, or raise the matter higher if needed. Childs play. Excessive paperwork is not good at all. Very problematic and a bad sign. Take a risk assessment form for example. Very simple form. It should have three dimensions to it. Severity, Frequency, and Detect ability. I thought I could get one on line (i.e. a standard form that everyone in the world uses) but no... Doesn’t seem to be the case. All sorts of mish mash comes up, and I could not even find the right one! Maybe my eyesight isn't too good these days or I am not puter literate enough or something. google.co.uk The most important time when you fill one of the standard forms out (sorry couldn't get an example of one on google) is at really critical points in any operation. Take a baker for example, very easy to kill a lot of people if some nasty contaminant got into the flour. Does not necessarily mean he or she fills out a form though. Would filling out a form do any good? Maybe at an oil drilling operation, if it's the deepest site in the world, it may qualify for a risk assessment form to be filled out. I expect the placement of the BOP is up there. It will be one of the first things checked by the investigators I expect. The fact the standard form isn't on line, or I couldn't find one, is not a good sign. Some suspicions of mine are confirmed. I would just like to end on the link about the survivors who got quizzed and asked to fill in forms as soon as they landed. I am almost certain BP would not have asked any survivors to sign forms, or forced them to do so. British companies aren’t like that in general, not as stoopid as that. OTOH I have lived in the USA. Been keeping an eye on the BP web site. Watched the Tony Hayward update on 13th May. That one looks fairly good. I am trying to place his accent btw. Not sure which part of England that comes from. bp.com