Conference 7.286::digital

    I don't know. Why don't you ask the Middlesex County Prosecutor's
    Office, or OSHA and let us know what you find out?

    Well, ok, let's try asking that a different way.  What (in general
    details) was the accident?  Who (in a general sort of way, maybe
    a job title) died?

    If I recall correctly, an oxygen line was purged with nitrogen as part
    of a maintenance process.  For some reason one of the ports on this
    line was either not tagged as out of service or the tag was dislodged. 
    Someone connected their breathing apparatus to the port and suffocated.

    re .4
    
    you are correct in stating what happened to the young gentlemen who
    worked in Hudson. Usually when the oxygen lines are purged or cleaned,
    the line is generally "locked down" so that an accident can be avoided.
    It was unfortunate in this case that this line was not locked and
    nitrogen was inhaled by this gentlemen. It should be stated that the
    nurses who arrived on the scene tried everything to revive him, but
    they were unable to for any amount of time. 
    
    After his death, HLO was swampped with representatives from EAP and
    other support groups who spoke to peopel 'round the clock about their
    feelings over the loss of this individual and the frustrations and
    anger people felt toward the company for letting this happen
    
    peg

    Did this happen at a DEC facility?
    
    Ken

    Yes, at HLO.

re: .5, Peg

>    It was unfortunate in this case that this line was not locked and

> frustrations and anger people felt toward the company for letting this happen

I realize that this is a sensitive and painful subject for all involved,
but I fail to understand how "the company let it happen".

Accidents unfortunately happen, but unless they occur due to a lack of
proper procedures or policies having been put in place responsibly by
the company (which lack appears _not_ to be the case here), then they
are the result of either fate or a failure to follow the policy or procedure
on the part of some individual. Isn't frustration and anger at the company
rather out of place?

-Jack

re: .8

Jack;

Human nature may say that people would rather not blame an individual(s)
for an accident. Its easier to place "blame" on a company, feelings are
vented and nobody really is 'blamed' just some entity called the company.

- George

    But it's my company.

    re 8
    
    Jack
    
    There has always been, or appeared to be, a problem with communication
    in any part of the company. I think that this accident, just added to
    the fire that communication was not properly handled. Supposedly, an
    electronic message had been sent out stating that the lines were being
    purged. As the story goes, not everyone logs on the system every 10
    minutes to see what is going on. The general feeling among the workers
    at HLO was that people were not correctly doing their job (i.e. if the
    lockdowns properly occured, this never would have happened and Mario
    would have been alive today) and the company is somehow responsible for
    letting this happen.
    
    There were many events that were never broadcast through the HLO
    population, such as fires in the building, but people weren't told to
    evacuate, vapors in the hall and again no one was evacuated while the
    source of the vapors was being tracked down, etc etc....I think that
    people feel if they go to work and spend a majority of their time there
    that somehow the company should look out for our general welfare. Call
    it a sense of false security I guess.
    
    Promises were made after the accident occured, that we as a company
    would be notified of the findings and the people responsible would be
    held accoutable...well as you can guess, nothing ever happened and it
    was just another case of the company "screwing over" the employees. 
    
    Unless you worked in HLO, it is difficult to describe the feelings by
    the general population and especially of those who worked closely with
    Mario...maybe it never should have happened, but then again, should
    anything bad ever happen? when there is no one directly to blame, it is
    easy to look at the "company" and say it is "their" fault
    
    
    peg

    May I suggest that we don't discuss fault in here.  I specifically
    suggest that note .-1 be revised or deleted.

    This is not meant to point the finger and say it was this one's fault,
    or that one's fault, but it is difficult to discuss this tragedy
    without fault coming through
    
    peg

re: .8, but not related to the Hudson tragedy:

Accidents are generally not caused by one single "fault", but by an
interacting combination of problems, no one of which -- by itself --
caused the accident.  You might wish to read Charles Perrow's
Normal Accidents (Basic Books) for a discussion of accidents from
an organizational perspective.

Martin.