Is April just a bad month? Or is this a Trend?
Picking Out Trends
I was reading a history of industrial/process safety accidents and noticed that all the following happened in April…
April 16, 1947 – 2,200 tons of ammonium nitrate detonates in Texas City, Texas, destroying multiple facilities and killing 581 people.
April 20, 2010 – A blowout, explosion, and fire destroyed the Deepwater Horizon, killing 11. This was the worst oil spill in US history.
April 17, 2013 – 10 tons of ammonium nitrate detonates in West, Texas, destroying most of the town and killing 15 people.
Is this a Coincidence or a TREND?
Maybe this is my selective vision – making a trend out of nothing. Or maybe Spring is a bad time for process safety? I’m sure it is a coincidence, but it sure seems strange.
Do you ever notice “trends” that you make you wonder …
“Is this really a trend?”
The best way to know is to apply our advanced trending techniques.
Where Can You Learn Advanced Trending Techniques?
FIRST – At the upcoming Measurement, Trending, and Predictive Analytics: How the Best Use Data to Improve Work Course on April 24-26, held at the Margaritaville Lake Resort near Houston.
OR – Read our book, Performance Measures and Trending for Safety, Quality, and Business Management.
Then you will know how to decide if a trend is real.
