Oil Spill's Unlicensed Engineers

My oh my, and to think that all one apparently needs is that higher education industry mill piece of paper, when if a tradesman performs any work and gets caught without being licensed all hell breaks lose, Especially if something goes wrong!!

Uncalculated Risks

Do engineering license exemptions open the door to dangerous shortcuts?

Photo: U.S. Navy/Justin Stumberg: Controlled burn removes oil from the Gulf of Mexico surface in May.

11/17/2010 - In his testimony during a July hearing in Kenner, La., about the Gulf oil spill, BP’s well team leader, Alexander John Guide, was asked about his relevant work experience. In his 10 years at BP, Guide said he had led many well-drilling operations in the Gulf of Mexico. He also had regularly refreshed his knowledge of well control in training sessions.

Then the attorney asked Guide if he had an engineering license. The answer was a simple no.

Lost in the chain of individual decisions that led to the Deepwater Horizon blowout explosion that killed 11 workers and the uncontrolled release of oil into the Gulf has been any measurable official concern about the relationship among ethics, cost and credentials. When the issue is discussed, it is only in terms of whether BP or Transocean, the drilling rig’s owner and operator, or Halliburton Co., the cement contractor, cut corners and sacrificed safety for money.

Exactly who drew up the well’s basic design for the Macondo site, where the Deepwater Horizon was working, isn’t yet clear; investigators may in fact assign blame for design flaws to licensed engineers. {read rest}

And they haven't a 'clue' as to who drew up the basic design? That leaves me, a multi tradesman in the construction industry, speechless! Take away the vestiges of regulation and be left with shoddy work at the least and disaster of a worse case scenario! No wonder everyone pointing fingers at everyone else!

But that could explain this:

Nuclear Construction Rebirth Searches For Older Talent

17-NOV-10 - Wanted for the nuclear powerplant industry: skilled engineers with experience in nuclear plant construction. Gray hair welcome. {paid subscription needed}

After these past some thirty to forty years of booting out older experienced workers for the fresh young ones, with little to no practical experience, they want and need that experience especially with nuclear!

Wonder if that call would be going out if there yet hadn't been such a major disaster as the Oil Rig Blowout!

Well at least my first thirty plus were lived in saner times including my first years in the industry, the second thirty minus was a slow slide backward and obvious to watch!