The Nimrod Review - Official Documents

10B.31
Bronze Award
10B.32
Chapter 10B – Nimrod Safety Case: The Facts (Third Phase)
completed. The minutes then record that George Baber formally thanked BAE Systems for producing the
Safety Case and Hazard Log and the meeting decided: “Nim(ES)Safety would produce a document and
a suitable date for the IPTL to sign off the Safety Case Report for both the air vehicle and the mission
system”.
It is fair to say that the other Nimrod IPT representatives present were probably relying on Frank Walsh to tell
them if there were any problems with the NSC Reports produced by BAE Systems. His Annexes A and B to
the Agenda, however, merely referred to a handful of hazards needing to be dealt with.
5 Following the meeting of the Sixth PSWG, BAE Systems congratulated itself on a ‘job well done.’ In due course,
the NSC project was nominated for the BAE Systems’ Chairman’s Award and the Airworthiness Department
ultimately received a Bronze Award. In the Award nomination form and Chris Lowe’s presentation in support
of the Award, he (Chris Lowe) expressly relied (amongst other things) on the fact that: (1) BAE Systems had
used “highly experienced teams” of personnel; (2) that there had been a “timely performance of tasks”; (3)
the project had been completed in partnership with the IPT and had therefore “engendered trust to allow
[the] IPT to contract us for continued safety management activities”; and that there had been (4)“no surprises
or showstoppers at the final acceptance conference”. On the back of the apparent success of the NSC, in
December 2004, Chris Lowe made a sales pitch to the Nimrod IPT to prepare ‘Operational’ Safety Cases.
19 November 2004: QinetiQ support ‘sign off’ of BLSC
10B.33
10B.34
As regards the other attendees at the Sixth PSWG, there is no evidence that QinetiQ had either seen or read
any of the six Reports in the meantime, let alone checked the BLSC Reports. Nonetheless, at the Task Review
Meeting on 19 November 2004, attended by representatives of the Nimrod IPT, including Frank Walsh,
Martyn Mahy presented the Situation Report that he had previously prepared. The minutes record in terms:
“QQ (Mr Mahy) reported that QQ were now ready to sign off the BLSC...”. In the Task Review Summary on
the Safety Management System the following entry is recorded:
“1. CASSANDRA.
QinetiQ attended the Nimrod BLSC Review at BAE Systems Aug 04 and are happy with
CASSANDRA and support the sign-off of the Baseline Safety Case.
NIM(ES)Safety confirms remaining 10-15% of safety mitigation has been entered into the
CASSANDRA…”
It is not clear where Frank Walsh got the 10-15% figure from. It tallies, however, with Witness O [QinetiQ]’s
evidence that he was told at the conference that 85-90% of the mitigation had been completed.
10B.35 Martyn Mahy admitted in evidence to the Review that there was some disquiet ( “mutterings”) at the meeting
by other QinetiQ representatives present as to whether QinetiQ was in a position to support the sign off the
NSC. He recalls the QinetiQ Project Manager, Witness M [QinetiQ], saying: “Have we seen the reports yet?”;
to which the answer was: “No, we still haven’t received the reports”. It appears, however, that the QinetiQ
representatives present, who numbered more than a dozen, including the QinetiQ Technical Assurance
Manager and also the Design Approved Organisations Scheme (DAOS) signatory, Colin Blagrove, were content
to assent to the statement of Martyn Mahy that “QQ were now ready to sign off the BLSC...”, or at least did
not raise an objection or demur. The minutes record the next item as being Colin Blagrove simply going on
to referring to QinetiQ having introduced a new policy of “Independent Safety Case Review” which he said
“should ensure that their reports met the IPT’s requirements, without detailing unnecessary requirements.”
5 See, for example, the minutes of the TTRO Nimrod MR2 & R Engineering Integration Meeting held on 11 November 2004, section 3.2: “Baseline
Safety Case – Now complete and delivered – the closure meeting successfully resulted in recommendation for payment and the results were then
presented to a further audience with the Group Captain for Nimrod commenting on an excellent piece of work.”
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