$11 Million "Hit Wrong Switch" Mistake

[jeffrey]

A worker accidentally tripping a shut-off switch at a major Ontario plastics plant will cost Nova Chemicals (NCX) $11 million in lost profit, the company said Wednesday, because it won't be able to fulfill some contracts because of the blunder.

A contractor's employee installing a structural steel platform at an ethylene plant in Corunna, Ontario, mistakenly activated a process shutdown switch on Monday afternoon, stopping production and forcing two weeks of repairs at the facility.

"The switch is a safety thing so if anyone sees something going wrong they have the opportunity to shut down the plant," said Nova spokesman Greg Wilkinson. "But that's not what happened here. It was not a safety issue. It was simply inadvertent... Entire Article

[Jewelsmom]

This is an example of sub-contractors not being adequately trained. If the sub-contractors were trained properly by the power plant, not leaving it up to the contractor, they would all know where that switch is, in case of a true emergency, and it's intended purpose. Accidents such as this are avoidable. An expensive lessons learned for the plant owners.