The Pyramids of Egypt are over 4500 years old. The Caravan bridge in Izmir, Turkey has been in continuous use since 850 BC (over 2800 years old). It was possibly used by the great Homer and St. Paul. The Pons Fabricius bridge in Rome, used daily by thousands of pedestrians, is over 2000 years old and the Pantheon, also in Rome, built as a temple over 1800 years ago, is currently in use as a church.
One cannot stop admiring numerous such ancient treasures around the world. They’ve withstood various natural and man-made disasters over thousands of years, in some cases with very little maintenance, and now withstand millions of visitors each year, making fabulous Insta and TikTok reels,
You’ll probably need a car, plane or boat amongst other transportation choices available to you, to visit these famous sites. Unfortunately, some of the recent events in the transportation world do not evoke much confidence in some of these choices.
For instance, Takata, the airbag maker for more than 20 of the finest automakers in the world, caused the largest safety recall in the automobile industry. The worldwide recall involving over 100 million vehicles including 67 million in USA started more than a decade ago and is still ongoing as of 2024. Over 30 deaths worldwide and 400 injuries have also been linked to the Takata airbag inflators.
And then, there's the Boeing saga. The Boeing 737 Max 2018 and 2019 crashes claimed 346 lives. Then in January 2024, there was a mid-air door fallout incident involving a 737 Max aircraft. Additionally, there have been whistleblower allegations around 787 and 777. Investigations are ongoing.
As we try to make sense of some of the reasons behind these tragedies, we cannot but wonder how the marvelous historical structures survived and in many cases, remained functional over several centuries? Clearly, to the sponsors, managers, designers and builders of these structures, the emphasis must've been on usability, stability, material quality, craftsmanship and longevity. User satisfaction was key as there were probably great risks and rewards associated with the outcome. Therefore, they built to last forever. Perhaps this intent is best communicated by Gaius Julius Lacer, the architect of the Alcantara bridge in Spain, built more than 1900 years by the Romans.
Next to the Alcantara bridge is an inscription in Latin, from Gaius Julius Lacer, the bridge’s architect: "Pontem perpetui mansurum in saecula mundi fecit divina nobilis arte Lacer" (roughly translated as "With divine noble art, Lacer built a bridge destined to remain for the ages of the world."). Lacer may come across as over-confident, but his references were towards his belief in his ‘divine noble art’ i.e. his exceptional skills, not his persona. The inscription may have served as a guarantee to his Executive Sponsor (the Emperor), the Stakeholders (the Municipal council) and the Users (the villagers, the army and the countless travelers for ages to come). This beautiful bridge over the Tagus River still exists as a testament to Lacer’s supreme skills.
From a transportation standpoint, one of the best historical examples is the USS Constitution, the world's oldest navy warship, launched in 1797 and still afloat over 225 years later. The USS Constitution embodies durability, design excellence, high quality materials and craftsmanship, usability and functionality. It was built keeping the user's needs in perspective, along with an insight of the competitive landscape. The Constitution was designed to overpower any other frigate while escaping. The ship's architect gave it's hull greater strength than a more lightly built frigate, based on his awareness that the US navy could not match the Europeans fleets at that time. As recently as 2012, the ship sailed under her own power to commemorate the 200th anniversary of her victory over HMS Guerriere. Now that's one might ship!
While the USS Constitution has survived over 225 years and is reportedly able to run on its own power, the unsinkable of the 20th Century, sank on its maiden voyage. The sinking of the Titanic on April 15, 1912, resulting in 1496 deaths is still remembered as probably the deadliest sinking of a passenger liner in the 20th century. The Titanic was the largest passenger ship afloat, when launched, with some of the wealthiest passengers onboard. It sank within three hours of hitting an iceberg, on its maiden voyage.
The Titanic remains a continued source of interest, not just for filmmakers and adventure seekers, but apparently it has also found a fan base in the corporate world. Just as successful leaders and companies often share common traits, so do those who have failed, sometimes with tragic consequences, for example, White Star Line (owners of the Titanic), Takata and Boeing. Each of these companies had tragic incidents resulting in loss of human lives, which possibly could've been avoided. Investigations have revealed various design, manufacturing and quality-related issues with the Titanic, the Takata PSAN airbag inflator and the Boeing 737 MAX.
A closer look reveals various similarities in the lead-up to each incident:
Materials quality, Costs & Time: The Captain of the Titanic didn’t pay much attention to initial warnings about icebergs in the N. Atlantic region. He was confident that the ship was unbreakable and continued at higher speed towards New York, to better the Titanic's arrival time as compared to competition. Instead, the high speed played a big role in the ship's tragedy.
Scientists later also found that the quality of steel used for the hull may have caused the ship to break apart (the Titanic was probably spectacular looking on top, but its hull is where they should’ve really spent their money). It is believed that the automakers and Boeing were driving cost-cutting measures very hard with their suppliers due to competitive pressure, faster delivery schedule and a need for better pricing.
Takata designed airbag inflators with ammonium nitrate propellant, to meet the automakers’ demands for cheaper solutions and get their business, even though some of Takata’s competitors found ammonium nitrate a risky alternative. The automakers apparently went ahead with the Takata design due to cost savings.
Per reports, one of Boeing’s leading suppliers was forced to cut their own profits to help boost Boeing’s profits.
Corporate demands to get new products to the market as soon as possible, at the lowest cost, has been driving suppliers to look for cheaper non-sustainable options.
Quality Testing: The estimated Quality testing time available to the Titanic was about 12 hours as the ship needed to be docked for passenger onboarding and on-time departure for New York. With only 12 hours of testing for a ship that took approximately three years to build and fit, the ship was already set up for disaster. Similarly, quality issues have been cited in various findings with Takata airbag inflators, including test data manipulation and Boeing 737 MAX.
Rescue & Training: Apparently, the Titanic crew did not have the required rescue & equipment training to help the passengers which resulted in additional hundreds of deaths. Similarly, it is believed that the Boeing 737 MAX pilots didn’t have the required training on the updated features of the 737 MAX flights before the 2018 and 2019 planes crashed.
Responsibility & Accountability: Not sure if you call this an apparent lack of responsibility or “it ain’t my problem” or simply an ‘ass-u-me’, but it seems to have played a role in many a tragedy. It seems that the last and most specific warning regarding the iceberg was not passed along on the Titanic by ship’s senior radio operator, Jack Phillips, to Captain Smith, because it didn't carry the prefix "MSG" (Masters' Service Gram). Phillips assumed it was non-urgent and went back to sending/receiving other messages.
As for automobiles, apparently the airbag performance and design specifications are set by a consortium of automakers and the consortium had singled out ammonium nitrate inflaters and required them to “undergo added stability evaluation”. The specifications should've been enforced but it appears that no one did. They probably assumed that their supplier’s (i.e. Takata's) ‘robust’ design, manufacturing and quality processes had sufficiently addressed it.
In the latest case of the Alaska Airlines - Boeing 737 MAX mid-air door panel fallout, Boeing indicated in a June 25, 2024 press conference that the panel was removed by one team to fix the nearby rivets, but no one had documented that removal. Subsequently another team, known as a “move crew” prepared the aircraft to be brought outside, closing the panel. It was not the responsibility of that crew to replace the bolts that had secured the door and the lack of documentation meant that no one else knew to replace the bolts. Therefore, the panel, which fit snugly into the gap it covered, survived unbolted for about 500 hours in flight before falling out mid-air from the Alaska Airlines flight in January 2024.
There are possibly several other factors, some very specific to each company and their respective incident. However, the similarities between possibly the greatest transportation tragedy of the 20th Century and some of the major 21st Century transportation incidents is indeed concern worthy. We're taught to learn from our mistakes, not learn and keep repeating the same mistakes.
Essentially, when you peel back the layers, you can see that the management style and decision-making practices followed by modern-day leadership doesn’t seem to be any different from those followed by the folks at White Star Line, the bosses of the Titanic, and Captain Smith & his crew. Not to forget the regulators who interestingly may have some similarities of their own, but that’s a story for another time.
In the 100+ years following the Titanic disaster, corporations and governments across the world have probably spent millions if not billions on management education. Worldwide, hundreds of management schools have opened up, with thousands graduating each year. About every couple of decades or sooner, new theories and principles on 'effective' management are churned out. At an equally rapid pace, various quality management processes are introduced, promising the highest level of quality in everything from toothbrushes to spaceships. Often times, management consultants leverage these theories, principles and processes and make millions 'advising' companies on the best ‘strategic fit’ for their organization.
The question, though, is that who's the final decision maker? Who has the true insight to identify the right solution to address the company's issues and help the company grow? Who's responsible for the company's best interest? Hopefully, one doesn't need to be a management genius to answer this.
They paid the piper later
Consumer safety is integral to the transportation industry and strict quality control is an imperative, not an option, in re-assuring safety. The automakers and Boeing ended up paying a hefty price eventually due to their initial focus on cost savings and profitability.
Takata Corporation (the parent company) couldn’t sustain their losses due to recall related fines and compensations. They filed for bankruptcy and were eventually acquired by Key Safety Systems. Automakers continue to incur costs due to ongoing recalls on Takata airbags. Some automakers also agreed to settlements against claims.
Meanwhile the investigations into Boeing continue and could result in further fines and payouts being imposed on Boeing. Boeing is also in talks to buy its largest supplier Spirit AeroSystems, that makes the 737 fuselage amongst other critical components, so Boeing can have better control of the manufacturing processes. Boeing has lost many experienced engineers and employees with extensive knowledge in aircraft building. Incidentally Spirit AeroSystems was once a division of Boeing, that Boeing divested in 2006 as a form of cost cutting and is now re-adding.
While the automakers and Boeing remain under scrutiny, various companies within the food & beverages, pharmaceutical and healthcare segments could perhaps benefit from a self-review as their goods and services also have a significant impact on consumer safety, therefore needing high levels of quality control and oversight.
The automakers and Boeing must choose the most productive path forward. Instead of leaning into the sub-zero archives of the North Atlantic or the swanky offices of the million dollar management gurus for inspiration, perhaps it’s time for the automakers and Boeing to connect with their respective user base, listen to and invest in their employees, learn a few lessons from the great masters of the past who have inspired humanity through ages with their timeless creations, and leverage competitive knowledge for self-improvement. Together, the users, the employees, the great masters and the competitors could perhaps serve as the most suitable role models in helping the transportation industry create safe, reliable products and bring shareholder value.
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