Lessons of Bhopal for Production Managers

Abstract

This article looks at the industrial disasters of Bhopal and Mexico City in late 1984, from a production manager's point of view. What errors in production management and safety were made? What can be done to lessen the likelihood of such disasters? What "lessons" should be learned, or reiterated? 0360-8581/86/0900-0033$01.00O©1986 IEEE the poisonous gas methyl isocyanate, which killed over 2,000 people and injured many more.What could have been done to prevent such disasters? What production management decisions in factory location, design, operation and maintenance went wrong? What should be done by top management if such accidents occur?In this article, we will deal with these safety considerations by production topicfactory location, factory layout, maintenance policies, and so on.Many of these considerations have long been known and adhered to by conscientious company managers, But they need to be summarized and reiterated, because sometimes safety considerations can be forgotten or skimped on, when there is pressure to produce immediate profit results and cost reduction.