One thing about Health and Safety Professionals, we tend to love a good series or film about actual events so we can dissect the; 'What went wrong'? 'What can we learn'? 'What did they think of that we wouldn't have'? moments.
We've just finished the Chernobyl mini-series (HBO/Neon). Very very good watching and love how the pieces fitted together at the end and how some very common contributing factors to the event were identified.
I know there are loads of great TV series/movies/docu-dramas/YouTube channels out there, but finding them all can be a mission, so how do we feel about listing your favs and, if possible, where to find them, here?
Air Crash Investigations (sometimes called Mayday) is really good. Most full episodes are available on YouTube. Sometimes I'll watch it before a long flight. :lol:
Air Crash Investigation is also one of my favourites, not least because they have such great examples of thorough investigation that goes way beyond the superficial levels. I also used to enjoy Seconds From Disaster, which has a similar theme of understanding the contributing factors. I used to watch both on National Geographic channel when I had Sky TV, but I don't have it any more.
Like you @Rachel, I am always on the lookout for documentaries that detail the contributing factors, especially when they highlight all the 'human' elements of people's values, decision-making strategies, personal agendas, biases, assumptions, and all those less obvious psychological factors.
Chernobyl is on my list - I have also heard good things about it. As Chris mentions, the USCSB content is also really worth checking out.
A couple of documentaries I have recently seen that I would recommend are:
Upper Big Branch - Never Againhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NYOBEQWIlg
The fact that this incident occurred (and 29 workers lost their lives), approximately seven months before Pike River explosion is still so shocking to me.
Fire in the Night - a 2013 documentary on the Piper Alpha disaster. I don't have a link for this, but I think it's still on Amazon Prime if you can't find it.
Deepwater Horizon - Mark Wahlberg is always good to watch. The irony in this film is that they had just won an award for good H&S (there are lots of cute clues in the movie such as safe coffee cups) but they had no training and procedures to identify and respond to the scenario they were faced with.
Bhopal - a Prayer for Rain - massive gas leak from a Union Carbine factory in India - Latest movie not available on Prime in NZ ( :( )but a good doco is here: https://youtu.be/HsuUQzhP2Ds
My colleague has recommended "In a Flash" - the story of the Tongariro tragedy at Mangetepopo Hut. My colleague highlighted a few key points that stood out for him, including the fact that the group went out that day because they had 'nothing else to do' so they didn't need to be there anyway, and he said the teacher didn't want to try another route out because she had not yet been 'signed off' for it.
"This emotional, original drama tells the true story of the six Elim College students and their teacher who tragically lost their lives in a flash flood at Mangatepopo Gorge in April of 2008." https://www.tvnz.co.nz/shows/in-a-flash
I urge caution on this specifc item. "In a Flash" is a reasoanble dramatisation, that tells a tale of how a day out can turn bad, however it isn't "the true story". It doesn't accurately reflect all or the actually events of the day. The fact that it doesn't align with the courts account of the events, or the Coroners findings or any of the recommendations is telling.
Interestingly, I think this event, the investigation and subsequent prosecution support your points in the discussion thread on the Liabilty / Prosecution of Officers.
I agree - I watched the programme over the weekend, and it was clear from both the director / producer statements and the content itself that it was not the full story, and any storyteller will always have a particular perspective to present. But it's an interesting example of some of the challenges we face when trying to understand and manager risk.
Would recommend one of the Piper Alpha documentaries, I know there is one on YouTube.
The Chernobyl series was amazing and it did bring home the impact on people's lives.
The US Chemical Safety Board has videos of investigations they carried out. The links are posted at: https://www.csb.gov/videos/ I will try to find some clips to use in the two occupational health and safety papers I'm teaching at Victoria University.
And the book about Chernobyl is brilliant.