Mullane’s Message Relevant to Manufacturers

The men and women who design or build wheels or mowers or mixers or loaders have something important in common with the men and women who build space shuttles: Dismissing a potential flaw in design can be tragic.

Astronaut Col. Mike Mullane will deliver that message in a most unforgettable way during the joint industry breakfast at the Marketing & Distribution Convention on Wednesday, Nov. 8.

Mullane completed three space missions aboard Shuttles Discovery and Atlantis. Years later, after the Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart and its crew perished, Mullane learned he and his crewmates flew in a shuttle with the same flaw—a problem with the O-ring—and that engineers had been aware of the part’s vulnerability.

“If the NASA team, when they first saw the problem, had adhered to best practices, (the Challenger disaster) may not have happened,” he said.

Mullane characterized the problem as a “schedule-driven tragedy.” He said NASA was under intense pressure to complete 24 missions a year, and that pressure contributed to the continuation of the flaw in the O-ring.

“Over 24 missions, in most, the O-rings were working fine,” he said. “The engineers drifted in the direction that this was an assembly problem, and it could be fixed.”

Mullane said the lessons from this tragedy are applicable across industries.

“When people work under pressure, they tend to take shortcuts,” he said. “If you start shortcutting best practices, you’re going to find yourself in a world of hurt.”

Beyond this essential message of safety, Mullane also uses the Challenger and other experiences to illustrate the importance of teamwork, empowerment, courage, and accountability.

“We’re all accoutable,” he said. “When there’s a problem, we’ve all contributed to it.”