Posted By garyh In my view understanding the Piper Alpha disaster should be required for anyone working in industry who has any responsibility for safety at all. From Permit To Work to Change Management to Emergency Planning Safety Engineering and much more there are many lessons to be learnt. When I used to train PTW issuers and acceptors I always used to start the presentation with a few pictures of the blaze at various stages, with no commentary, finishing with the morning after pics showing roughly 10% of the rig still visible..........this was always received in silence and set the tone very nicely!

Posted By Mev The Cullen report is well worth reading, it comprises of two volumes and details everything, if you haven't read it I can recommend it, it certainly brings the full horror of the disaster home.

Posted By MarkJAWatkins Phil - and anyone else who missed it. The programme is being reshown on national geographic on the following dates; 5th August 6pm, 7th August 11am, 7th August 3pm, The programme is called "Seconds from disaster" and the episode is called "Explosion in the North Sea" The video footage taken from nearby vessels is horrific. I have worked on platforms such as this - I actually worked on the Piper Bravo which was the Alpha's replacement in the field - and I can assure you that the guys who jumped into the water at some of these heights need medals! Without survival suits on! Very, Very brave men. Regards, Mark