On Thursday, BP's CEO Tony Hayward testified before the US Congress on the spill incident. His answers to the questions put forward by the congressmen reminded me of the answers Union Carbide personnel gave the then Police Chief soon after the gas leak.The police chief had asked what was gas had leaked and what was the antidote. The answers he got was "I don't know". In Thursday's hearing, the CEO of BP also has replied in a similar tone(I am quoting from the article) "I wasn't involved in any of that decision-making," he said.Were bad decisions made about the cement?"I wasn't part of the decision-making process," he said. "I'm not a cement engineer, I'm afraid."
Also, "I am not a drilling engineer" and "I'm not an oceanographic scientist."
What about those reports that BP had been experiencing a variety of problems and delays at the well?"I had no prior knowledge."
At one point a frustrated Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, interrupted the CEO. "You're kicking the can down the road and acting as if you had nothing to do with this company and nothing to do with the decisions. I find that irresponsible."
Hayward quietly insisted: "I'm not stonewalling. I simply was not involved in the decision-making process."
Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., voiced the committee's frustrations as the afternoon wore on. "You're really insulting our intelligence," he said. "I am thoroughly disgusted."
Waxman told the BP executive that in his committee's review of 30,000 items, there was "not a single e-mail or document that you paid even the slightest attention to the dangers at this well."
There is a lesson to learn from this - how robust are your risk communication systems so that the bad news reaches the top? Read the full article in this link
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