Introduction

The industrial-scientific revolution in the design, production, and use of technology had traversed before industrial societies turned to the comprehensive management of the technological hazards attendant on that revolution. In short, corporate hazard management is a complex subject prone to oversimplification. Perhaps the most striking example of successful industrial hazard management is the Volvo Car Corporation, which occupies a unique niche in innovating safety in the automobile industry. Union Carbide, an acknowledged leader in industrial safety in the chemical industry, shows in the Bhopal accident how widespread failures in implementation, design, maintenance, and management can compromise sound principles of risk management and effect a colossal collapse of defense in depth. Hazard management, whether by a government agency or a corporation, has two essential functions: intelligence and control. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.