Some of the major industrial disasters could have been prevented. When the facts of what
happened are established their stories share a common thread: before things spiralled out of
control there were workers at the affected sites who knew that the situation was dangerous
and could become catastrophic unless immediate action was taken. But tragically nobody dared
to tell the decision-makers who could have authorized that action. With no idea of the risks
they were taking the people in charge continued as normal... and disaster struck. Because
vital information about risks could not flow freely from the shop floor to the director's
office the crucial decisions were not made in time. This observation has been documented in
the following major technological accidents: Challenger space shuttle explosion (USA 1986)
Chernobyl nuclear plant disaster (USSR 1986) Deepwater Horizon oil spill (USA 2010)
Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant disaster (Japan 2011) and numerous other industrial
disasters. After accidents like these losses and costs for dealing with the consequences are
often hundreds - or even thousands - of times greater than the finances that would have been
required to deal with the risks when they were first recognized. This handbook is about how to
transform the way large critical infrastructure companies communicate about safety and
technological risks. It aims to support senior managers to get the information they need from
their subordinates concerning the risks they are facing in order to prevent accidents before
it is too late. The recommendations in this handbook are based on interviews with 100
executives at various levels working in 65 critical infrastructure companies around the world
in power oil and gas metals chemicals and petrochemicals mining and other industries. The
recommendations of these leaders were also tested in the pilot project in an industrial
company which is the world leader in its sector. More than 400 managers at various levels of
the corporate hierarchy and employees at several of the company's industrial plants took part
in the project. This open access handbook is written for the owners senior managers and
industrial safety directors of critical infrastructure companies.
