The Industrial Operator's Handbook

The 20th Century saw commercial and industrial disasters ranging from the sinking of R.M.S. Titanic sinking in 1912 to Challenger and Chernobyl in 1986. In 1989 the Exxon-Valdez grounded in Prince William Sound, spilling 256,000 barrels of oil, and in the same year a high density polyethylene plant exploded, killing 23.

Accidents seem unavoidable. But did you know that more than five people had ample opportunity to prevent the Exxon-Valdez oil spill? Each could have taken a different, simple action, any one of which would have been sufficient to break the chain of events to make that accident impossible.

The Industrial Operator's Handbook demonstrates through actual case studies how most accidents-whether Chernobyl, a commuter plane crash, or a utility crew electrocution accident-all share strikingly similar causal components. And almost never is only one factor sufficient to cause disaster.