Abstract
The Piper Alpha disaster of 1988 remains the worst offshore oil platform disaster in history. The loss of 167 lives was caused by a range of factors including human error, poor safety training and poor safety management systems. The events that led up to the first explosion and then the subsequent fires and larger explosions provide an excellent context in which to introduce first year engineering students to the importance of safety in an introductory course. The loss of the Piper Alpha platform has been used as a case study in a general first year engineering subject at the University of Melbourne for several years. This paper begins by describing the background of the platform, the events of July 6, 1988 and the lessons that may be learned from the disaster. The learning around this safety case study is assessed in the class room using concept maps. An analysis of 460 concept maps prepared by the class 15 weeks after the material had been presented to them provides an insight into how well the students integrated and retained the material from the case study. Students recalled well the causes of the disaster as well as the consequences and lessons that should be learned from the incident.
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