While Transocean and Haliburton may have shown negligence, the ultimate responsibility of running the show safely lies with the oil company. As the news trickles, it is becoming clear that there was indeed gross negligence on the part of bp personnel. They clearly instructed HAL to pump a low cost cement which in conjunction with failed surface equipment (BOP) caused the disaster. Although, Transocean should have checked out the BOPs, however, it is the responsibility of the Operator to ensure timely checking of BOP (Blowout Preventers)
Industrial Accidents? All the failure investigations reveal that, almost 100% of industrial accidents occur because people bypass the prescribed rules and guidelines. These failures always point out lack of management control and inadequate risk analysis as the main causes of the accidents.