Workers on ‘doomed’ BP rig feared reprisal for reporting safety issues, page 1

posted on Jul, 23 2010 @ 09:16 AM

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A survey of workers who served on BP's Deepwater Horizon oil rig shows that many of them felt safety policies were not being adhered to and feared reprisals if management learned of their concerns.

The New York Times reported on Wednesday that the survey reveals that workers "often saw unsafe behaviors on the rig" and complained about unreliable equipment "which they believed was as a result of drilling priorities taking precedence over planned maintenance."

"At nine years old, Deepwater Horizon has never been in dry dock," one worker complained. "We can only work around so much."

The survey was commissioned by Transocean, which owned the rig and leased it to BP. It concluded that the rig was "relatively strong in many of the core aspects of safety management" and that workers "felt they could raise safety concerns ... if this was within the immediate control of the rig."

But raising issues that would have to be dealt with by company management in Houston was seen as risking reprisal. "The company is always using fear tactics," one worker complained. "All these games and your mind gets tired."

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Source: rawstory.com...

Surprise, surprise! Actually, not so much and that is a very scary thing with a company that has such a bad track record. A month or two ago, I started a thread titled, "BP's extremely long list of violations (in only a few short years)", that is about just what the title suggests it's about. When you have a company that is so horrendous with their safety and environmental track record, it usually means that the workers are scared to speak out. Almost every week, there is new information that comes out that just strengthens the position that BP should be held criminally responsible for their actions. What is it going to take before people start demanding accountability with BP?

--airspoon

N.of norml

posted on Jul, 23 2010 @ 10:04 AM

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OK this is small beans but is fully representative of MOST industries including the oil industry.
I was the person in charge of mixing ALL the ice cream stabilizing agent for safeway.
We just got some new mixing equipment and the screw that lifted the mix from the blender to the hopper was too long and started to deflect and gall leaving sharp needles of S/S and other ground up bits of the metal.
I brought it up and was told to use it as is, period.
I took the room apart and eliminated the screw and hopper and packaged from the mixer and worked this way for over a month until they found I had solved the issue. their answer was I had to continue to use the dangerous auger as it cost 30,000$. I protested as I had to sign my name to each complete batch and would be held accountable for contaminants. The answer was use it or walk.
Small beans I know until you get the sliver in your ice cream.
Another time I mentioned we had milk coming out of our cooling tower, going down a storm drain and directly into the river we were on the banks of. I reported it and was told this" You did not see any milk in the river" and had my hrs cut 50%
I have yet to have any association with any industry which does not cut important corners from rock plants to milk plants regulations are something which are to be sidestepped if in the way of production.
When working on oil rigs we regularly simply shoveled dirt over chemical spills ( BaSO4 on the broccoli ya'll eat from the Santa Maria valley).
To those who feel industry is saddled with too many regulations I suggest it is industries irresponsible pursuit of profit which has required them.
When ethics is primary before profit then regulations will be unnecessary but given human greed that is not likely to ever occur
N.

Gaomon

posted on Jul, 23 2010 @ 10:42 AM

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reply to N.of norml

WHAT?! The idiots that gave the blender to you must have been blind!!!

And did they really say that you should just use it as it is?? Why???????

N.of norml

posted on Jul, 23 2010 @ 11:13 AM

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Originally posted by Gaomon
reply to N.of norml

WHAT?! The idiots that gave the blender to you must have been blind!!!
And did they really say that you should just use it as it is?? Why???????

Not to derail the OP but I do believe it shows a pattern of disregard.
I was told that it cost over 50000$ for the equipment I was not using, which was designed by the plant engineer, and it would be bad with upper management that it was not used as designed. In other words they were covering their collective arses over a design error. They claimed any "particles" would be filtered out and that the engineer would look it over, LOL I showed him the gouged area in the middle and he said it had finished all the wear it was going to and would not make any more slivers,LOL
To me it was all quite surreal despite having had similar things occur in my various employments.
As a chemist I have worked from oil fields while in college, to rock plant(Cheating emission tests) to chemical plant( cheating liquid waste disposal via sewer), to chile drying plant( accepting rotten food), to milk plant( accepting bad milk, holding it too long and falsifying records, contaminants in stabilizer)
To bring this all back into relevance to the OP. It was my drilling and production work in the oil fields which made me really open my eyes as to how industry views regulation which is their is only compliance when certain conditions apply.
It does not interfere with profit in a way that cannot be recouped though wage management.
There is an active enforcement arm monitoring( only applicable if said is likely to look in or find out later)
beyond that I have seen nearly any regulation bent or broken keeping a board of directors happy.
As I said for me it began with almost 7yrs of oil field work witnessing basically a scofflaw attitude except when being observed.
I worked Platform Irene of of Pt Concepcion Ca and I could not begin to tell how many barrels of oil and tons of drilling mud we "spilled" when convenient or deemed "necessary", or the basically every man for themself attitude when the H2S alarm went off to get the Scott air pack on.
N.

nobodysavedme

posted on Jul, 23 2010 @ 03:15 PM

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Originally posted by airspoon

A survey of workers who served on BP's Deepwater Horizon oil rig shows that many of them felt safety policies were not being adhered to and feared reprisals if management learned of their concerns.

--airspoon

WAKEY , WAKEY!

Get your facts right.

American company Transocean's deepwater oil rig ,
ok?

Stop shifting the blame to BP. extra DIV

airspoon

posted on Jul, 23 2010 @ 03:37 PM

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reply to post by nobodysavedme

Maybe you should think before you respond? BP leased the rig and it was under BP's command. If you lease a car and then wreck it, are you liable or is the bank who owns the car liable?

It sounds like your sour because the incompitant company who is at fault, comes from your country and you probably have your pension tied up in that faulty company. Truth is, BP has the worst track record of any energy company operating with the borders of the US. They had so little respect for the people of America that the executives should be sent to prison, the company dissolved and the assets sold to pay everyone affected.

In fact, it was an employee of Transocean, the American company who was sounding off about the alarming being disabled. BP didn't want the workers being woken up in the middle of the night due to false alarms because it would cut into their bottom line, so they just disabled the alarm.

We haven't seen such blatant disregard for American interests from the British, since the War of 1812 when Andrew Jackson gave them one last swift kick in the pants.

--airspoon

nobodysavedme

posted on Jul, 23 2010 @ 05:35 PM

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Originally posted by airspoon
reply to post by nobodysavedme

Maybe you should think before you respond? BP leased the rig and it was under BP's command. If you lease a car and then wreck it, are you liable or is the bank who owns the car liable?

It sounds like your sour because the incompitant company who is at fault, comes from your country and you probably have your pension tied up in that faulty company. Truth is, BP has the worst track record of any energy company operating with the borders of the US. They had so little respect for the people of America that the executives should be sent to prison, the company dissolved and the assets sold to pay everyone affected.

In fact, it was an employee of Transocean, the American company who was sounding off about the alarming being disabled. BP didn't want the workers being woken up in the middle of the night due to false alarms because it would cut into their bottom line, so they just disabled the alarm.

We haven't seen such blatant disregard for American interests from the British, since the War of 1812 when Andrew Jackson gave them one last swift kick in the pants.

--airspoon

You got it totally wrong.that rig only had 7 BP employees.79 for Transocean.

also at the hearing the head honcho of Transcean admitted the safety devices were turned of...on ALL RIGS.

you got that ?

REMEMBER THAT.

ok?

here it is from the horses mouth

Look closer to home.

It was Transocean, a American company which has evaded $2 billion tax by moving it's head office every year.

www.guardian.co.uk...

Deepwater Horizon alarms were switched off 'to help workers sleep'

Alarms and safety mechanisms on gulf disaster oil rig were disabled, chief technician at Transocean reveals.

The evidence of deliberate dilution of the rig's safety mechanisms is likely to have wide ramifications for BP and Transocean, the world's largest offshore drilling company. It switches the spotlight of blame away from BP and towards the subcontractor which took the decisions. Of the 126 crew on board the rig on 20 April, seven worked for BP and 79 for Transocean.

And here is the clincher:-

When he saw that the system had been bypassed, Williams protested to a Transocean supervisor, Mark Hay, who dismissed his concerns. Hay responded: "Damn thing been in bypass for five years. Matter of fact, the entire [Transocean] fleet runs them in bypass."

whoooa yipppeeeee ha haa haaaa!

giddy up dobbin.

Americans should learn take to responsibility instead of blaming others and whining about it.

Now you need to apologize to BP and the British population for your own mistakes and give us our money back and charge your American company Transocean.

Americans with their self indulgent decadent life style find all the little slings and arrows of misfortune and greed discomfiting.

Matter of fact, the entire [Transocean] fleet runs them in bypass."

Matter of fact, the entire [Transocean] fleet runs them in bypass.

"Matter of fact, the entire [Transocean] fleet runs them in bypass."

DID YOU GET THAT?

Giddy up dobbin the oil is coming home to roost courtesy of Tranocean.

Remember that when you are in bed tonight with your self righteous indignation.

[edit on 23-7-2010 by nobodysavedme]