The 21st October was quite an interesting day, in the second “Back to the Future” movie, Marty McFly travelled in his DeLorean time machine to the future, the 21st October 2015. In the build up to this I have seen many articles and TV programmes analysing what the movie (released 1989) successfully got right in their predictions of the future.
As a child I loved these films but on this day I found myself reflecting. Not on what we got right with the prediction of a movie but how we got it so wrong (on this day) in prevention. You see it was yesterday in 1966 that tragedy would unfold, early morning, on the small town of Aberfan. Water had built up in the accumulated rock and shale debris – which triggered a landslide. An estimated 40,000 cubic metres slid down and engulfed the Pantglas Junior School killing 116 children and 28 adults.
Following the disaster the National Coal Board was accused of gross negligence. Over half a century had seen the excavation of millions of tons of earth and stone. Huge amounts of spoil had accumulated on the mountain side and despite warnings and concerns – the company did nothing, they ignored the Local Authorities advice. Failings in planning and culture ultimately led to this disaster – they loaded spoil onto an unstable location and despite knowing this, management ignored the fact.
Changes that followed the disaster included legislative rewrites and extensions on controls and requirements. However, this does not dilute how this particular disaster makes me feel, possibly as I associate to it more as a father rather than a safety professional. Many children and adults lost their lives needlessly due to negligence and lack of care. They had the opportunity to take heed of the warnings (occurring changes) and make proactive changes – but chose not too!
Change is not static, we should ensure we control change to a positive outcome, because if we don’t – change will occur outside of our control. Changes in environmental conditions were not controlled at Aberfan – and attitudes only contributed. If you consider bad practises creeping in, this is a cultural change. If corrosion forms on structures this is an integrity change. As we implement check lists, new procedures we are instigating managerial changes – it is important to consider the cause and effect of any changes. Evolution is the key to a safe operation, devolution is not an option.
We do not have the ability to time travel like Marty McFly, but it is in our power to control our future proactively. We cannot change the past but as a minimum we should learn from those mistakes.