Dr Hopkins will discuss safety management in light of the 1998 Longford gas plant explosion in Victoria, Australia. Two men were killed in the accident which ripped through the Esso gas plant with devastating consequences. Gas supplies to Victoria's homes and businesses were cut for almost two weeks causing widespread disruption and an estimated loss to industry of AU$1.3 billion.
Dr Hopkins, Associate Professor of Sociology at the Australian National University, was an expert witness at the Royal Commission hearing into the accident. His book Lessons from Longford explores the issues around this disaster and explains why the Royal Commission decided the accident was really Esso's fault. A key conclusion of Dr Hopkins was that "if culture is the key to safety, then the root cause of the Longford accident was a deficiency in the safety culture of management."
Professor Rhona Flin of the University of Aberdeen Industrial Psychology Research Centre, organisers of next week's public lecture said: "Andrew Hopkins is a world authority on the causation of major industrial accidents and we are delighted to have him visit us. His research has shown clearly that we need to examine the behaviours of senior managers as well as errors made by workers. Our research team in Aberdeen has been working with the energy sector to determine the key safety leadership behaviours for senior managers. We are grateful for the assistance of BP in bringing Dr Hopkins to Aberdeen."
Members of the public are invited to attend the lecture at King's College Conference Centre on Wednesday June 4 at 4pm. Admission is by free ticket, available from Angela Park tel: 01224 273723 or email: a.park@abdn.ac.uk