Canton on Emergency Management

Deepwater Horizon and performance indicators

The US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board has just released its preliminary findings on the Deepwater Horizon explosion in 2010 that killed 11 workers and caused a massive spill in the Gulf of Mexico. What makes these findings interesting is that they focus not on the technical failures but on management system deficiencies.

Key among these deficiencies was an over-reliance on personal injury rates as indicators of adequate safety. In essence, reducing or eliminating personal injuries was the primary focus of the safety programs and injury rates were used to measure success. However, BP failed to also consider process safety indicators, such as automatic shutoff system failures, activation of pressure relief devices, or loss of containment of liquids and gases, that could signal potential failures.

What makes this particularly egregious is that these same problems were identified in a 2007 report on the explosion at BP's Texas City TX refinery in 2005.

The lesson here is that we need to be careful in the selection of indicators and understand just what they are measuring and how that relates to our overall program goal. This is not just limited to the safety arena. I've seen many performance indicators that rely solely on objective measures that have no correlation to program success. In the long run, poorly thought out indicators can cost you greatly.

Crisis Management: Learning the wrong lessons from Aurora

The day after the tragedy in Aurora, a friend's son announced that he and his friends were going to see the new Batman movie that evening. Her reply? "Absolutely not! Haven't you heard about Aurora?"

Her reaction was not an isolated case. The papers  were full of stories from across the country about additional security and law enforcement presence at theaters showing the film. We've also seen heated debates arise about gun control and funding for mental health. Unfortunately, this outcry demonstrates our penchant in the United States for reacting to perceived risk rather than actual risk.

Please don't think I am making light of the tragedy in Aurora - it was a horrific and we are right to study it to glean lessons that can help us prevent future incidents of this type. Nor am I criticizing the actions of security and law enforcement personnel - the threat of copy-cat killings immediately after an incident is real and allaying public concern by being seen to be doing something is a legitimate crisis management tool.

However, as crisis managers we have to see beyond the obvious and look at actual rather than perceived threat. The focus of prevention following the shootings seemed to be specifically on theaters showing the movie and, in some cases, on movie theaters in general. However, while the nature of the movie may have been a motivator for this particular shooter, the real risk is not to the patrons of a specific movie or even to moviegoers. The threat is to large public gatherings.

The threat to public venues such as theaters, malls and restaurants is neither new nor unforeseeable. The 2002 bombing of a night club in Bali killed over 200 and wounded another 200 or so. Carlos the Jackal killed two people and injured another 30 in a grenade attack on a Parisian restaurant in the early 70's. A sword-wielding attacker killed two and wounded 9 people aboard a State Island Ferry in 1986.The list goes on endlessly. The specific venue or choice of weapon are incidental - it is the presence of many people in an enclosed space that creates the risk.

The risk goes beyond movie theaters and begs the question, "so what do we do about it?" It is impossible to eliminate all risk and the tighter our security the more we begin to intrude on personal freedom and run the risk of creating public fear out of proportion to the true risk. A society where we must pass through metal detectors or submit to pat downs and searches before being allowed to go about routine business or leisure activities is one in which the bad guys have already won.

By all means, we must learn from the Aurora massacre but we must also be sure we learn the right lessons. Prevention doesn't always require major changes in public policy or the addition of intrusive security. Sometimes it is as simple as placing an alarm on an exit door and teaching staff to react to it.

Public relations: People are not stupid

The Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) has recently begun airing a television and radio campaign touting its commitment to safety. In the spots, the company CEO characterizes PG&E as a company that "had lost its way" but is now back on track thanks to the continued commitment of its employees.

Nobody is buying it.

Having worked with PG&E employees at all levels, I can't fault the claim that there are a whole lot of dedicated and hardworking people in the company. But there are many who would argue that PG&E didn't "lose its way" - it never was on the right path to begin with. Since the gas pipeline explosion in San Bruno in 2010 that killed 8 people, the image of PG&E that has emerged in the media is that of a company that fostered a culture where safety was subordinate to profit. Inadequate safety records were kept, promised safety work was never performed, revenue earmarked for safety upgrades was redirected to other uses, and employees were rewarded for not reporting problems.

At the same time PG&E is running its campaign, it has requested a $5.25 billion increase in gas and electric revenue to pay for upgrades to safety and reliability. If approved, this increase will raise utility rates by over 15% by 2016. PG&E has also requested an additional $2.2 billion to fund transmission line work that would further raise rates.

Despite claims that the campaign is being paid for by shareholders and not customers, many are seeing the campaign as a cynical attempt by the company to defuse consumer anger over the proposed rate increase. There are increasing demands that PG&E account for its poor safety record and demonstrate that the increase is not just an attempt to get more money to pay for what should already have been done.

The lesson here is that the people are not stupid. A slick media campaign is not going to divert attention from years of poor performance or overcome the public perception that corporate greed cost lives. It's going to take more than images of hardworking employees to salvage PG&E's reputation.

Emergency Management Solutions July 2012: Train for Leadership

Emergency Management Solutions July 2012

Train for Leadership: Why our plans fail to prepare our leaders

Download Train for leadership July 2012

Risk Management Lessons from a Hawk - A Tail from the Dog Park

My typical day starts with an early morning walk with our dog, Kona, affectionately known around here as "Kona the Destroyer". We always end up at our local dog park where Kona gets off-leash time with her buddies and I get to gossip with other doggy parents.

The other morning I heard a shout and turned just in time to see what looked like the world's biggest red-tailed hawk swoop down past one of Kona's playmates. Wilson is a 30 pound labradoodle and it was clear that the hawk was planning to invite him back to its nest for breakfast but had changed its mind at the last minute. It was over in an instant and Wilson never even realized how close he had come to being the special of the day.

It's a simple story but it demonstrates a number of points about risk that we sometimes forget:

• Risk is not static - it can change over time and needs to be reassessed regularly. We had heard stories about the hawks being a danger to smaller dogs but never considered that a large hawk might choose to up his game.
• Risk can change dramatically in a short time and take you unawares. The incident was over before we realized what was happening.
• Risk is not always apparent to those most affected by it. Wilson never saw the hawk, never reacted to it flying overhead. Frequently those most at risk have a strong sense of denial and won't acknowledge risk.
• Increased risk doesn't necessarily produce change. All of us were back at the park this morning as usual, although we are passing on a warning to those with smaller dogs.

There's also a lesson to be learned from the hawk as well. The hawk decided that his target was too heavy, made a minor adjustment, and changed his strike into a graceful swoop.When you're committed to a goal and focused on achieving it, it sometimes pays to reassess your risk. Decisive action can make the difference between disaster and survival.

You can learn a lot from a hawk.

Public relations: Don't be too quick on the draw

The ability to move information almost instantaneously can sometimes be a double-edged sword. Witness the recent case of CNN and Fox News in reporting the Supreme Court decision the federal healthcare law last week. In their rush to scoop other networks, both CNN and Fox failed to read the full text of the Court's decision and incorrectly reported that the Court had struck down the health insurance mandate. While the error was quickly corrected, it generated considerable confusion as other sources correctly reported the Court's decision. It also caused some red faces in Congress as some elected officials tweeted the incorrect information to their constituents.

There are two lessons here for crisis managers. The first is the Internet's ability to spread disinformation at an alarming rate. The other is that the Internet can also be self-correcting and can spread corrected information just as fast. This means that if you're using social media, you need to be accurate. Take the extra few minutes to get it right before hitting the key to post your message. Secondly, you need to move quickly to correct bad information - the longer you wait the harder it will be to get the facts before the public.

By the way, the congressmen learned a third lesson: the Internet never forgets. While many officials deleted their incorrect posts, copies were preserved by the Sunlight Foundation, a Washington-based group supporting transparency in government. Once you post something, it's part of history. Take those extra few minutes to be sure of your facts!