Safety Considerations

I give safety lectures to personnel in oil refining. After discussing a series of fatal incidents, I conclude that a common root cause is GAWILT syndrome. Like drunk drivers, people Got Away With It Last Time, so they “blatantly disregard well-known and accepted industry procedures and their own safety guidelines.”

The worst kind of GAWILT infects managers and planners. 
I once watched in amazement as a midlevel engineer won 
approval for a shortcut aimed at reducing downtime by two weeks, saving $14 million. My colleagues and I objected, citing safety concerns and potential equipment damage. The engineer ignored us because in the past he had gotten away with disre­garding warnings from “alarmists.” Indeed, the shutdown was two weeks shorter, but the restart was delayed four months due to the failure of untested equipment, including an emergency shutdown system. Thanks to the skill of our operators, nobody died.

The creative engineer was rewarded with a one-level promotion. In essence, he risked our lives for a 5% pay bump. For insider trading, corporate executives go to jail. Executives whose GAWILT syndrome causes fatal incidents are killers and should be treated as such.

Paul R. Robinson
Katy, Texas