Sky News reports that workers that were on the Deepwater Horizon rig raised concerns about the safety of some of the equipment just weeks before the explosion which caused the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
A survey was done by Transocean reveals that the staff on the oil rig raised awareness with the employees and management that they were concerned that some of their equipment was unsafe and felt they needed this to be looked into. I bet the management are wishing they had taken more of an active approach to these statements made by their employers and maybe then this disaster, and the millions of pounds recovery, could have been avoided.
Even more shockingly to say, it is reported that a separate 112 page equipment assessment had not been fully inspected since the year 2000!! Guidelines state that this should be done every 3 to 5 years. This company failed to check this for over 10 years. This is appalling to hear considering how much damage this oil spill has done, not only to the wildlife and natural inhabitants of the Gulf of Mexico but also the millions of pounds it is costing to get this problem resolved.
Over half of the staff on board said that they felt the working environment could lead to a “risky” situation.
This is a typical example of how vital safety in the work place actually is! No employer should underestimate or dismiss issues raised by their employees. Each issue raised should be investigated and actively looked into to ensure that the working environment is safe. Even if you are sure that it is safe, it is always better to be safe than sorry as this example clearly shows.
Thousands of people are injured every year by accidents at work that could have been prevented and, millions of pounds are spent compensating these people for injuries that they have suffered which could have been prevented in the first place but their employers failed to actively ensure that their environments are safe.
Employers owe a duty of care to their employees and should ensure that the environment in which they are working is safe especially if they have raised concerns about the safety then failing to investigate, is in breach of the duty of care that is owed to the employee.
Let this be a warning to employers out there, it’s a lot better to take preventative measures than to have to pay out for the “clean up”
Employees; should you feel there is a lack of safety or regulations in your working environment it is very important that you inform someone as soon as possible so that they can investigate and make a claim for a workplace injury – this also prevents any injury to others that may be caused in the future.
