One of the seven deadly sins, greed also seems to be the underlying principle of many (all?) commercial enterprises. From the shareholders' perspective, at least, this is a good thing. We all want as much return on our investment as possible.
But when a company's profits come at the cost of severe financial (even physical) harm to the consumer or taxpayer, that enterprise has crossed the line from commercial to criminal, and it must be stopped (see: Enron). In the case of Bechtel, the corruption that led to billions of dollars in cost overruns for Boston's Big Dig project has now resulted in the death of an innocent commuter. If Bechtel's criminal negligence was not apparent before, surely it is now laid bare.
Workmanship and design of tunnel are called into question
I can't imagine anybody signing off on a design of suspending 3-ton concrete panels such that the failure of any one hanger would lead to 12 tons of concrete coming down on the highway," said Steve Banzaert, who teaches a course in "spectacular failures in engineering" at MIT.
There are reports that Big Dig officials were warned about the ceiling tiles as far back as 1999, and that engineers who raised the warnings were relieved of duty.
Will this tragedy finally provide enough incentive to halt Bechtel's relentless march toward ever greater profits? Or will the juggernaut be allowed to continue its heedless rampage unchecked?
By the way, Bechtel is also the lead contractor in charge of building a nuclear waste dump in Hanford, WA. The project is over budget and behind schedule, and work has continued even though the design is based on a seismic analysis which is now known to be inaccurate. [Lethal And Leaking]
His judgment cometh, and that right soon?
No comments:
Post a Comment