Management walk-arounds: Lessons from the Gulf of Mexico oil well blowout

Andrew Hopkins*

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    39 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Many companies understand that good management requires senior managers to spend time with front line workers. Some companies build into performance agreements for senior managers a requirement that they conduct a certain number of such site visits each year. The challenge is to make productive use of these visits. Safety is often a focus for visiting VIPs, but too often safety is understood to be a matter of "slips, trips and falls" rather than the major hazards that can blow the plant or the rig apart. This paper will examine a VIP visit made to the Deepwater Horizon rig by senior managers from BP and from the rig owner, Transocean, just hours before the explosion. It will argue that, despite their best of intentions, these managers fell into the trap identified above. The paper looks at things that senior managers can do to focus attention on the most significant hazards.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)1421-1425
    Number of pages5
    JournalSafety Science
    Volume49
    Issue number10
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Dec 2011

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