After almost three decades in Huntsville, AL—a high-tech, NASA dominated place if there ever was one—we moved to the small town (6,000 population) of Erwin, in the edge of the Smoky Mountains in east Tennessee. Surprisingly, at least to me, my Kiwanis Club has two ex-NASA rocket scientists, both of whom worked with NASA in Huntsville in the past.
But here’s the surprise that’ll grab you—Erwin is the home of Nuclear Fuel Services (NFS), a company that produces the fuel used by our navy’s nuclear-powered submarines and aircraft carriers. That’s up there among the top of the list when it comes to high tech.
NFS put on a public relations breakfast for our community recently, which Wife Gail and I attended. Among other subjects, safety was discussed. Oddly, enough, I felt right at home.
The safety folks at NFS sounded just like aviation people. Both industries acknowledge that errors should be minimized, but some will still occur. Both industries strive to catch those errors before they cause accidents.
Both industries have guvmint bodies overseeing safety, setting regulations and levying fines for noncompliance. Accidents are fully and meticulously investigated with the goals of finding the cause, then learning how to avoid similar accidents in the future.
It seems to me that aviation might be a bit behind in one area. NFS participates with the Institute of Nuclear Operations (INPO). If any one entity experiences problems or finds solutions to problems, they share the information with other suppliers through this group. This group was formed by utilities after the Three-Mile-Island incident of 1979. Today, some people in high places suggest that the oil industry needs a similar group.
Aviation has the International Society of Air Safety Investigators (ISASI), made up of the people who investigate major aviation accidents. These people represent airframe manufacturers and suppliers that make engines, brakes, tires, and you name it. I spoke for ISASI’s annual conference a few years ago, and came away highly impressed with the group.
But do we have a group wherein airlines and airports share in good and bad safety ideas and experiences? I don’t know, but I bet I’ll find out through your comments to this Blog.
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