An offshore platform, a refinery, a nuclear station, three power grids and three datacentres — read with the same question: which function was meant to protect, why did it not, and why did nobody notice beforehand. The answers rhyme across industries far more than anyone involved would like.
Every analysis is here as a PDF to take away — no sign-up, nothing asked in return.
Fukushima Daiichi: four emergency diesels, one location — redundancy is not independence.
Each with a written analysis and an infographic that puts the sequence on a single sheet.
From Piper Alpha to the Iberian Peninsula blackout — very nearly four decades.
Process and offshore, power grids, IT infrastructure. The patterns travel between them.
Grouped by domain, then by year. Clicking the image opens the infographic; the link below opens the full analysis.
Where this material comes from. The analyses and infographics were produced with Google NotebookLM from the public investigation reports — the Cullen Inquiry, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board, the Buncefield Major Incident Investigation Board, operator post-mortems and grid operator reports. They were reviewed for accuracy afterwards. The NotebookLM mark on the slides is deliberately left where it belongs.
For load-bearing figures, timings and quotations the investigation report governs, not this summary. For the Iberian Peninsula blackout the final report is not yet published.
These case studies are teaching material. They replace neither an investigation nor the judgement of people who know the asset in question. Several of these cases cost lives — they are treated here as lessons, not as anecdotes.
If you thought about your own plant while reading, that is the usual moment. Write briefly about what stayed with you.