Kirjahaku

In The Smoke Clears, there is a sudden realization of the extent of loss, the aftermath that includes detailed investigations, enquiries, inquests, trial acquittals, convictions and the recommendations put forward in the hope that similar events will never happen again. Some questions may be immediately answered, others may linger for days, sometimes weeks that turn into months and years. Some answers, unfortunately, may never be answered. The pain that is felt by those who have lost a loved one never goes away; their memory must be treasured, honoured and never forgotten. The who, what, why and when start to unravel as the experts try to form some logic for the disastrous events. If they share one thing in common, they are not restricted to any region, population, industry, activity, or country. Disasters are universal and seldom anticipated; however, when we delve into them after the fact, we sometimes come across some smoke signals that may have forwarded us. It starts with securing the scene to ensure further injuries will be prevented; care and attention to those injured; preservation of the location to protect valuable evidence and to ensure it is not altered or disturbed; notifications of police, government officials, company officials and, of course, the next of kin: spouses, mothers, fathers, grandparents, brothers, sisters, aunts and uncles. Life is very much about the choices we make, and with those choices comes an element of risk. It is all about risk; many of the victims who lost their lives never had a choice in the matter, and the risk that they were exposed to was determined by others. Whether it was through ignoring a regulation, code, rule, procedure or practice, or to enhance profits or monitory gain, it is my sincere hope that readers who may have a responsibility where they put other people's lives at risk have done so diligently and to the best of their ability. There is a lot of sadness and heartache within the pages of my books, but there is also a lot of hope and understanding that lessons that have been learned from the past will continue to provide us with the ability to reduce risk in the future. Continuous improvement is a torch that gets passed from one generation to another. It becomes a beacon of light for knowledge and understanding.

The Smelter explosion in the early hours of Aug 8th 2000 became a watershed moment for the company, its employees, family members and all residents of Flin Flon. Like 9/11, nothing would ever be the same again.We must always be open to rethinking the way we do things. Change must be constant. To go to work each day without getting hurt has to be an expectation we all have.In Flin Flon, the last fatality prior to the smelter explosion had been five years earlier. That had been the longest period between fatalities in the company's history. There has not been a work - related fatality in the 19 years since the explosion, but that is not to say the battle to create a harm-free workplace has been won. We could so easily have had fatalities many times over the years. Sometimes the outcome was a question of sheer luck or twist of fate, a matter of inches, or seconds making the difference between life and death.It is all the more important to revisit and communicate the important lessons learned from them. I have included many of them in the second part of this book under "Work Shouldn't Hurt" along with other examples I have experienced in my 49 years in the work force. Lessons can be learned every day. They can apply to everyone who goes to work. It doesn't matter if you are a CEO, Manager, supervisor or worker, everyone is an important cog in the wheel.Examples given and discussions throughout this book are not intended to demean or point a finger at any individual, group or company. They are purely used as learning opportunities to help people recognize and understand that sometimes it is only incredible luck or good fortune that they don't end up seriously injured, or even killed.The examples are mostly centred around heavy industry, but many similar occurrences lay dormant in many workplaces, and even outside the work environment. To reiterate, this book is not about blame or finger pointing. It is an attempt to capture and understand the circumstances that led up to the explosion and what goes into a recipe for such a disaster.Seldom is anything made from one ingredient. Similarly, a disaster is usually triggered by more than one single event or "ingredient".The fatality list that is included in this book demonstrates the tremendous sacrifice employees have made over the history of Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting. Many workplace safety and health regulations have been implemented as a direct result of lessons learned. The list does not cover the tremendous number of accidents that did not result in death but did inflict life-changing injuries. Every name on the list represents a son, brother, uncle, husband or father, and many represent every single one of those relationships, which left wives without husbands, children without dads.

The Smelter explosion in the early hours of Aug 8th 2000 became a watershed moment for the company, its employees, family members and all residents of Flin Flon. Like 9/11, nothing would ever be the same again.We must always be open to rethinking the way we do things. Change must be constant. To go to work each day without getting hurt has to be an expectation we all have.In Flin Flon, the last fatality prior to the smelter explosion had been five years earlier. That had been the longest period between fatalities in the company's history. There has not been a work - related fatality in the 19 years since the explosion, but that is not to say the battle to create a harm-free workplace has been won. We could so easily have had fatalities many times over the years. Sometimes the outcome was a question of sheer luck or twist of fate, a matter of inches, or seconds making the difference between life and death.It is all the more important to revisit and communicate the important lessons learned from them. I have included many of them in the second part of this book under "Work Shouldn't Hurt" along with other examples I have experienced in my 49 years in the work force. Lessons can be learned every day. They can apply to everyone who goes to work. It doesn't matter if you are a CEO, Manager, supervisor or worker, everyone is an important cog in the wheel.Examples given and discussions throughout this book are not intended to demean or point a finger at any individual, group or company. They are purely used as learning opportunities to help people recognize and understand that sometimes it is only incredible luck or good fortune that they don't end up seriously injured, or even killed.The examples are mostly centred around heavy industry, but many similar occurrences lay dormant in many workplaces, and even outside the work environment. To reiterate, this book is not about blame or finger pointing. It is an attempt to capture and understand the circumstances that led up to the explosion and what goes into a recipe for such a disaster.Seldom is anything made from one ingredient. Similarly, a disaster is usually triggered by more than one single event or "ingredient".The fatality list that is included in this book demonstrates the tremendous sacrifice employees have made over the history of Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting. Many workplace safety and health regulations have been implemented as a direct result of lessons learned. The list does not cover the tremendous number of accidents that did not result in death but did inflict life-changing injuries. Every name on the list represents a son, brother, uncle, husband or father, and many represent every single one of those relationships, which left wives without husbands, children without dads.

Why can we look at the same thing and differ in whether we feel safe or not?Does luck, fate, or destiny determine if we remain safe?Who are the magicians that can make a mine site disappear?Now you see it; now you don't.Is life itself a gamble, and how do we keep the odds in our favour?Snake oil for everything that ails you readily available, safety in a bottle, zero percent proof.Who are the high rollers who are prepared to bet their life on a successful outcome?The learning never stops.

Why can we look at the same thing and differ in whether we feel safe or not?Does luck, fate, or destiny determine if we remain safe?Who are the magicians that can make a mine site disappear?Now you see it; now you don't.Is life itself a gamble, and how do we keep the odds in our favour?Snake oil for everything that ails you readily available, safety in a bottle, zero percent proof.Who are the high rollers who are prepared to bet their life on a successful outcome?The learning never stops.

In The Smoke Clears, there is a sudden realization of the extent of loss, the aftermath that includes detailed investigations, enquiries, inquests, trial acquittals, convictions and the recommendations put forward in the hope that similar events will never happen again. Some questions may be immediately answered, others may linger for days, sometimes weeks that turn into months and years. Some answers, unfortunately, may never be answered. The pain that is felt by those who have lost a loved one never goes away; their memory must be treasured, honoured and never forgotten. The who, what, why and when start to unravel as the experts try to form some logic for the disastrous events. If they share one thing in common, they are not restricted to any region, population, industry, activity, or country. Disasters are universal and seldom anticipated; however, when we delve into them after the fact, we sometimes come across some smoke signals that may have forwarded us. It starts with securing the scene to ensure further injuries will be prevented; care and attention to those injured; preservation of the location to protect valuable evidence and to ensure it is not altered or disturbed; notifications of police, government officials, company officials and, of course, the next of kin: spouses, mothers, fathers, grandparents, brothers, sisters, aunts and uncles. Life is very much about the choices we make, and with those choices comes an element of risk. It is all about risk; many of the victims who lost their lives never had a choice in the matter, and the risk that they were exposed to was determined by others. Whether it was through ignoring a regulation, code, rule, procedure or practice, or to enhance profits or monitory gain, it is my sincere hope that readers who may have a responsibility where they put other people's lives at risk have done so diligently and to the best of their ability. There is a lot of sadness and heartache within the pages of my books, but there is also a lot of hope and understanding that lessons that have been learned from the past will continue to provide us with the ability to reduce risk in the future. Continuous improvement is a torch that gets passed from one generation to another. It becomes a beacon of light for knowledge and understanding.