‘Safety outweighing every other

consideration?’
 Recognize this Ship?

White Star’s The Olympic

The Olympic: Commissioned
14th June 1911

The Titanic: Commissioned

11th April 1912
 Olympic Class of White Star Steamers

h Developed by JP Morgan’s
White Star shipping group
h Constructed by Harland &
Wolff in Belfast included The
Olympic, The Titanic and The
Britannic
h Designed to compete with
Cunard (QE2) & German
Shippers on the prestigious
transatlantic English Channel
in the early 1900s
h Built for affluent travelers
offering high-speed luxury
™ The prized ‘Blue Riband’ was
bestowed upon the ship with the
fastest crossing. Held by Cunard’s
Mauretania 1907-1929
Reference: ‘The Riddle of the Titanic’, Gardiner et. al. Orion, 1998
 The Olympic – Prelude to Disaster

Damage to the h 21st Jun 1911

Olympic from the • Upon commissioning crashed
HMAS Hawke
into & almost sunk O.L.
impact
Halenbeck in Manhattan
h 20th Sep 1911
• Crashed into the Naval
Cruiser the HMS Hawke in
Southampton
h 24th Feb 1912
• Knocked-off one of its twenty-
six ton propellers on a well-
known wreck in the Grand
Banks
• Captained Edward J. Smith.

Reference: ‘The Riddle of the Titanic’, Gardiner et. al. Orion, 1998
 Captain Edward J. Smith
h 27th Jan 1889
• Ran The Republic aground in
New York
h 1st Dec 1890
• Ran The Coptic aground in
Rio de Janeiro
h 4th Nov 1909
• Ran The Adriatic aground
outside New York
History of running ships too fast
through narrow passages..
and of not adequately training
his officers

Captain Smith was commissioned to

command the Titanic
Reference: ‘The Riddle of the Titanic’, Gardiner et. al. Orion, 1998
 Titanic - Tragic Circumstances
h 14th April 1912 h Safety Response Capability
• Smith received at least six • Lifeboats on the ship had
warnings of Ice field from been reduced from sixty-four
ships at dead stop in the area boats to twenty-two in lieu of
• No binoculars in the crow’s more expansive promenades
nest meant that early warning • The officers on board The
was near impossible Titanic had not trained with the
• Titanic sped toward ice field at lifeboats and were unsure of
22.5 knots vs. a their holding capacity
recommended 10 knots in • There was not a standing
such conditions safety-response plan.. the
‘Women and Children first’
response was a reaction more
h Motivations for this speed than a previously-agreed plan.
• Desire to break the
transatlantic speed record as
encouraged by J. Bruce Ismay
MD of White Star who was on
board for the maiden voyage

Reference: ‘The Riddle of the Titanic’, Gardiner et. al. Orion, 1998
 The Results
h Lives Saved: 705
h Lives Lost: 1500
h Total passengers 2,205
h Max Lifeboat Capacity 1,600

h It wasn’t until 45 minutes after

the collision that officers
commenced preparing the
lifeboats
h Twenty lifeboats were launched
h Officers feared that the ship’s
davits & winches would not hold
the weight of the recommended
70 people
h All but the last few lifeboats
floated were half-filled
h It is a fact that had the Officers
filled the lifeboats per their
specification an additional 600+
people could have been saved.
Reference: ‘The Riddle of the Titanic’, Gardiner et. al. Orion, 1998
 ‘Safety outweighing every other
consideration’

Was the framed notice in the

chart room of every White Star liner in 1912

Reference: ‘The Riddle of the Titanic’, Gardiner et. al. Orion, 1998
Operational and Safety
Tenets that could have
helped
White Star
h # 1 Always operate within design
or environmental limits
h # 3 Always ensure Safety devices
are in place & functioning
h # 4 Always follow safe work
practices and procedures
h # 8 Always address abnormal
conditions
h # 9 Always follow written
procedures for high risk and
unusual situations
Other lessons
for us
h Proactively council employees
on safety - particularly those with
some history!
h Learn from previous incidents..
investigate and report fully
h Train people for safety in their
specific positions & ensure they
understand procedures
h Focus on safety at all levels of the
organization & don’t send mixed
messages based in conflicting
priorities
h Drive for safe behavior – not just
recall of slogans.
 KS Industries, Wyoming
Operational and Safety Excellence
Tenets
1
Always operate within
10
design or environmental 2
Always involve the right
limits Always operate in
people in decisions that affect
safe and controlled
procedures and equipment
environment

9 3
Always follow written Always ensure safety
procedures for high risks or devices are in place and
unusual situations Tenets of functioning
Operational
8 Excellence 4
Always follow safe
Always address abnormal
work practices and
conditions
procedures

7 5
Always comply with 6 Always meet or
all applicable rules and Always maintain exceed customer’s
regulations integrity of dedicated requirement
system