I went with my wife last weekend to get baked-stuffed lobster at Red Lobster. We left and went elsewhere because, guess what, no live lobsters. If you are a lobster lover you know that frozen lobster is not a good substitute.
I made an email comment on the Red Lobster website and received a prompt reply. It would be at least three more weeks before they would have live lobster at that location. The pump had gone out on their lobster tank. A decision was made to replace the tank. Now you may ask why this is a safety issue.
A safety issue occurs when a known risk causes a problem. Being out of lobster at Red Lobster is a problem.
A research study in June 2010 by Liberty Mutual Insurance Co showed that 37% of 168 executives surveyed viewed that supply-chain/logistics disruption is a top risk.
Another word for a broken pump in a lobster tank at Red Lobster is supply-chain/logistics disruption.
Pumps will fail. Since the lobster tank pump is critical to Red Lobster's business why do they not have a solution that can be implemented immediately? Now I don't know if it was the actual pump or if it was the chiller. Both of these devices are electrically powered, have a water input and a water output. The skills required to replace either one are readily available anywhere. The parts exist and can be shipped overnight almost anywhere. For a company like Red Lobster that has many locations, someone should be keeping track of MTBF for lobster tank pumps and chillers. The safety plans should include what to do when, not if, there is a failure.
Every business has untold risks within just the subject of supply-chain/logistics disruption.
Too many companies are wasting their time defining safety activity as doing refresher courses on the various types of fire extinguishers when they only use one type. They ignore many other types of risks.
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