This electrical transmission tower has a problem

#1

Post by danso » Thu, Sep 17, 2020, 12:49 AM UTC

This electrical transmission tower has a problem
twitter.com

Re: This electrical transmission tower has a problem

#2

Post by _jal » Thu, Sep 17, 2020, 2:07 AM UTC

PG&E is a public menace.

Re: This electrical transmission tower has a problem

#3

Post by WantonQuantum » Thu, Sep 17, 2020, 2:24 AM UTC

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normalization_of_deviance

"Normalization of deviance is a term used by the American sociologist Diane Vaughan to describe the process in which deviance from the right as in the correct or proper behavior becomes normalized in a corporate culture.

Vaughan defines this as a process where a clearly unsafe practice comes to be considered normal if it does not immediately cause a catastrophe: "a long incubation period [before a final disaster] with early warning signs that were either misinterpreted, ignored or missed completely".

The original example cited by Vaughn was the events leading to the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, but the concept has also been applied to clinical practice in medicine and aviation safety."

Re: This electrical transmission tower has a problem

#4

Post by Agustus » Thu, Sep 17, 2020, 2:24 AM UTC

This is a good use of twitter to apply engineering and figure out issues. The problem is that PG&E’s incentives are significantly misaligned to not be successful:

1. Crazy renewable edicts that do not have base power assumptions (see blackouts over summer).

2. Maintenance programs that are not overseen by a third part. This story. Please read just to see the sheering off of the c hook and the fact it might have been 100 years old!

Re: This electrical transmission tower has a problem

#5

Post by dwighttk » Thu, Sep 17, 2020, 2:27 AM UTC

_jal wrote: post #2

PG&E is a public menace.

California’s relationship with PG&E is perfectly designed to get these results, No?

Re: This electrical transmission tower has a problem

#6

Post by ctdonath » Thu, Sep 17, 2020, 2:31 AM UTC

Case study in importance of maintenance.

1 broken century-old hook => $16,650,000,000 damages.

Re: This electrical transmission tower has a problem

#7

Post by rman666 » Thu, Sep 17, 2020, 2:31 AM UTC

The electrons are spinning counterclockwise. They should be spinning clockwise. Or the picture is upside down.

Re: This electrical transmission tower has a problem

#8

Post by verroq » Thu, Sep 17, 2020, 2:35 AM UTC

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1306359385656946688.html

Re: This electrical transmission tower has a problem

#9

Post by umvi » Thu, Sep 17, 2020, 2:37 AM UTC

Excellent Twitter thread, I'm glad I went down that rabbit hole. I wish it was in blog format though, it's kind of jarring working through little blurbs.

Re: This electrical transmission tower has a problem

#10

Post by liability » Thu, Sep 17, 2020, 2:37 AM UTC

WantonQuantum wrote: post #3

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normalization_of_deviance "Normalization of deviance is a term used by the American sociologist Diane Vaughan to describe the process in which deviance from the right as in the correct or proper behavior becomes normalized in a corporate culture. Vaughan defines this as a process where a clearly unsafe practice comes to be considered normal if it does not immediately cause a catastrophe:…

Is this sort of process similar to what occurred in Europe during the decline of the Roman Empire when aqueducts and similar public infrastructure fell into disrepair? Did the people who witnessed that occurring notice the intergenerational trend, or did they think everything was business as normal? Is there any hope for reversing this decline in infrastructure if everybody close to the matter considers it normal?