ASHES TO DASHES - by Rod Trippier

Far be it from me to say, “I told you so”,  as the recriminations and fallout from the fall out begin.

But did anybody think to carryout a risk assessment before knee jerking the world’s airlines and passengers into panic and not inconsiderable inconvenience, and commercial and personal cost.

First rule of the health and safety professional ; if it’s conceivable that something hazardous can occur, you have to assume it will, and act accordingly.

Therefore, as volcanoes erupt throughout the world on a regular basis, and funnily enough, emitting clouds of fine ash into the sky, did anybody think to develop a disaster plan using existing data for this extant volcano? It seems not.

And was Willie Walsh right to take the initiative, galvanize the CAA and others from their slumbers, he certainly was. As mentioned in my earlier article, health and safety is commercial; an intrinsic part of any successful business, not just a bolt-on.

So what went wrong?
First question; who carried out the risk assessment before taking the “no-fly decision”, and where is that vital document now? Was a risk assessment carried out, and if not why not? If it was, was immediate reference made to existing data, if not, why not? Was there any existing data, and if not why not? Was any existing data up to date? Was reference made to the disaster plan,…………. I could go on, but by now you’ve got point.

But I know what you’re thinking; it’s easy to be wise after the event, maybe. But it’s smarter to be wise before the event, and that’s just as easy.

It’s all neatly written down for us in the HSE’s 5 Steps to Risk Assessment; I wonder how many steps

were taken by the authorities that shut down our skies, or were their heads in the clouds?

How would you have managed the incident?