ABSTRACT
Malcolm was reminiscing about the day of the storm. ‘It wasn’t exactly unexpected,’ he said. ‘But having the transformer come crashing on to the roof was pretty scary for the people at work.’
Fortunately no one was hurt. The energy company had restored power and removed the debris, but the organization had been idle for three days due to damage. The backlog took weeks to clear. And some clients defected.
‘What happened was straightforward,’ he said. ‘A cable holding the transformer snapped in the high winds, and brought it crashing down on to the office roof. Oil and other chemicals from the transformer also leaked into the building,’ he said.
Everyone had accepted that the office location, next to the sub-station, wasn’t exactly glamorous. But since it was only for back office work the location didn’t seem to matter. And the lease was cheap.
The CEO moved the whole department into head office for a few weeks. Some people had to work in the corridors. Later they asked you to add ‘adverse weather’ to your risk register.
