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

Subject: RE: Unsubstantiated and/or false allegations (was RE: Nobody reviewed the manuals)
From: "McLauchlan, Kevin" <Kevin -dot- McLauchlan -at- safenet-inc -dot- com>
To: Ken Poshedly <poshedly -at- bellsouth -dot- net>, "Combs, Richard" <richard -dot- combs -at- Polycom -dot- com>, "techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
Date: Thu, 10 Jun 2010 16:33:13 -0400

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

The information contained in this electronic mail transmission
may be privileged and confidential, and therefore, protected
from disclosure. If you have received this communication in
error, please notify us immediately by replying to this
message and deleting it from your computer without copying
or disclosing it.


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Gain access to everything you need to create and publish documentation,
manuals, and other information through multiple channels. Choose
authoring (and import) as well as virtually any output you may need.
http://www.doctohelp.com/


- Use this space to communicate with TECHWR-L readers -
- Contact admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com for more information -


---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- web -dot- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-

To unsubscribe send a blank email to
techwr-l-unsubscribe -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
or visit http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/options/techwr-l/archive%40web.techwr-l.com


To subscribe, send a blank email to techwr-l-join -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com

Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- Visit
http://www.techwr-l.com/ for more resources and info.

Please move off-topic discussions to the Chat list, at:
http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/listinfo/techwr-l-chat


Follow-Ups:

References:
Nobody reviewed the manuals: From: Al Geist
RE: Nobody reviewed the manuals: From: Brian.Henderson
Unsubstantiated and/or false allegations (was RE: Nobody reviewed the manuals): From: Combs, Richard
Re: Unsubstantiated and/or false allegations (was RE: Nobody reviewed the manuals): From: Ken Poshedly

Previous by Author: RE: Nobody reviewed the manuals
Next by Author: Make [up] work (was RE: Unsubstantiated and/or false allegations (was RE: Nobody reviewed the manuals)
Previous by Thread: RE: Unsubstantiated and/or false allegations (was RE: Nobody reviewedthe manuals)
Next by Thread: RE: Unsubstantiated and/or false allegations (was RE: Nobodyreviewed the manuals)


What this post helpful? Share it with friends and colleagues:


Sponsored Ads