The bulk of major disasters are the result of one man making decisions based on money. Humans are the masters of mistakes. In a fit of quick decision-making, a person can use the wrong parameter and authority to make a mess, and kill innocent hard working people under the guise of “I’m in Charge”.

The root cause of disasters such as the Space Shuttle Challenger, Hurricane Katrina Levee failure, Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, and the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, is not from the heart, but from the pocket book. In the case of Deepwater Horizon, this has been made abundantly clear by internal BP memos that have since gone public.

Quality Assurance is based on integrity and driven by our hearts, and that “gut feeling”. If the Quality Representative is a person of integrity and wisdom, the decision will be based on what is right for the mass, and not what is self-serving.

Speaking about what led up to the massive blowout of Deep Water Horizon oil rig, Mike Williams, chief electronics technician for the rig, told the “60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Pelley; “I hear the engines revving. The lights are glowing. I’m hearing the alarms. I mean, they’re at a constant state now. It’s just, ‘Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep.’ It doesn’t stop. But even that’s starting to get drowned out by the sound of the engine increasing in speed. And my lights get so incredibly bright that they physically explode. I’m pushing my way back from the desk when my computer monitor exploded.”  (SOURCE: CBS News)

The international quality management system covers management commitments, work environment and system safety and establishes policies, procedures and instructions to meet customer, statutory and regulatory requirements. In plain English, it attempts to define who, what and how to accomplish the work and complying to environmental, health and safety regulations first, and then address company concerns, such as “are we over budget” and “let’s stop bleeding of money on this project” last.

The ISO 9001:2008 is an international quality management system that actually asks  “Has top management appointed a ‘management representative’.” This is a person, or member of management, who irrespective or other responsibilities, has an overall responsibility and authority that includes:

• Ensuring that process needed are established, implemented and maintained.
• Reporting to “TOP” management on the performance of the operations and any need for improvement.
• Ensuring the promotion of wareness of customer, regulatory and statutory requirments are understood by all the workers.
• This person has organizational freedon to resolve matters pertaining to quality and safety.
• Includes llaison with external parties on maters relating to the quality and safety of operations.

Clearly the standards put forth by ISO 9001:2008 were not in play in the case of the Deepwater Horizon explosion, and while we continue to learn of the effects this explosion is having on the people, animals and plants that inhabit the Gulf region, it saddens me to see that the root cause of this disaster was a series of decisions that were not based on compliance, safety and awareness, but the company’s bottom line.