OPINION:ONE DARK evening in March 1987, the Herald of Free Enterprise, laden with vehicles and passengers, sailed from Zeebrugge port. But the assistant bosun overslept and failed to close the bow doors, so water flooded in and capsized the vessel with the loss of 193 lives. All because he couldn't read the Japanese instructions of his new alarm clock.
What’s that? This conclusion is ridiculous? Well how about this. There was no system to check the bow doors were closed before sailing. The ship’s bow had to be ballasted to line up with the loading ramp. Under time pressure, the ship set sail before she could fully deballast the bow, so it remained low in the water. The speed at which she raced off in the shallow harbour generated a big wave right in front of the open bow doors, so water simply poured in. The reason for the rush was that Dover port was too small for the traffic levels, so a missed slot meant disrupted schedules.
This life-and-death example illustrates that, when industrial accidents occur, you can always find a quick and wrong answer, such as a Japanese alarm clock.
There is invariably an array of complex factors involved, and many diverse people. In this case: poor management of the ship, the ports, the council; inadequate maritime design; giving in to time pressure; neglect of known problems. Responsible in varying degrees were the ship’s crew, officers and executives; the two port managements; Dover town council; ship and port designers; and marine regulators.
Only by exploring and rectifying all this can future casualties be minimised. Actual accidents (and near-misses) prove the existence of malfunctions that will continue to cause mishaps until fixed. Moreover, the only comfort victims and families might draw is that lessons will prevent future misery. It is fundamentally immoral to allow such tragedy to be valueless.
That’s why it’s so worrying to learn that Cotswold Geotechnical Holdings, an engineering consultancy, along with director Peter Eaton, has become the first company and individual to be prosecuted under the UK’s Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007, designed to impose tougher penalties for workplace deaths. Geologist Alexander Wright was taking samples inside a pit on a building site when the pit collapsed and sadly killed him.
The Act provides for brutal penalties that cannot be ignored: Eaton faces a life sentence; his consultancy an unlimited fine.
The Act was prompted by outrage after major accidents such as the Paddington rail collision in 1999. More than 300 people are killed at work in the UK every year, 4.9 per million of population. Here we are proportionately worse – nearly 70 such fatalities, or 15.5 per million – an awful lot of death and suffering, so you can understand a popular desire to see corporations crushed and heads rolling. But will punitive legislation such as the UK’s actually improve overall safety?
It won’t and here’s why.
Every accident is the result of a range of failures. To uncover the root causes requires a forensic investigation of the scene; re-enactments; systems in place; documentation; training; supervision; work practices; intangibles such as morale, attitudes and relationships; associated bodies such as contractors, clients, suppliers, partners, government officials.
This can only come from persuading people to divulge documents and data. People hate talking to investigators in such circumstances, so they must be encouraged and reassured.
Responsible companies will always do their best to co-operate fully. But this requires a kind of Faustian bargain – that, short of deliberate sabotage, the failures uncovered do not lead to punishment. Britain’s Corporate Manslaughter Act breaks this pact spectacularly and the law of unintended consequences will ensue as night follows day.
Henceforth, the objective of any major investigation will no longer be to uncover the truth but to protect from the law companies and individuals, the latter for fear of being marched off to prison for a silly mistake at work.
Though it has been mooted by the Government and Sinn Féin is keen, Ireland must not follow the UK path on corporate homicide.
Tony Allwright is an industrial safety consultant