From the editor: Safety and preparedness

IN this issue of EMR we embrace the concepts of safety and preparedness for engineering managers. While technology continues to advance and corporate budgets continue to get squeezed, engineers and managers find themselves in the uncomfortable position of having to do more with less. Where will the sacrifice come from and at what cost? Recent events, such as the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico (which was preceded by the fatal accident aboard the Deep Water Horizon) and the nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant (which was preceded by a tsunami of historic proportion) revealed problems that were deeply engrained in the ´safety culture´ of the organizations involved. The impact of these tragic events exacerbated the need for corporations, governments, and the surrounding communities to be prepared to deal with the unexpected (although inevitable) catastrophes that lay ahead. Furthermore, these events revealed the pivotal role of ´leadership´ during turbulent times, a topic addressed in several prior issue of EMR.