Check Your Rivets

Yesterday morning I watched with  great interest a National Geographic Channel feature on the sinking of the Titanic. By using current-day technology, NATGEO followed naval  investigators  to uncover  the reason behind the sinking of the ‘ship that even God cannot sink’.  Titanic sunk because the hull was ruptured after it collided with an iceberg.

However, there were sectors who speculated that the Titanic was capable to survive a collision of such  magnitude had certain technical and engineering specifications were followed.  The theory:  Titanic sunk because it used sub-standard materials. Experts were asked to give their expert opinion on this infamous sea accident.

They ruled out pinning the fault to a single person or a group persons for the sinking of Titanic.  The two ship cadets who acted as lookouts on the night of shipwreck cannot be blamed either. They reasoned that the night was pitch dark and it was quite impossible to see the iceberg from a distance. Even binoculars were deemed useless to spot the impending danger that lay ahead of the Titanic.

Using ship parts and sample steel from the underwater wreckage of the Titanic, a team of metallurgists and naval architects tested the integrity of these materials. Initial test revealed that the steel used for the hull passed the standards of that era.  The investigating team narrowed their focus to the rivets that were used to hold together the steel hull. Titanic needed 3,000,000 rivets to piece together the outer hull made of three centimeter-thick steel plates. Investigators found out that the rivets were not made of pure steel. The rivets were formed by means of melting metal slugs with steel, thereby, weakening the integrity of the rivets.

Had the rivets were not compromised, the hull could have withstand 14,000 pounds of impact.  The naval engineers replicated the rivets used in the Titanic. After producing the replica of the rivets, the investigators tested them and they snapped just after applying 7,000 pounds of pressure.

On April 15, 1912, 1,500 people died when Titanic sunk.

Rivets were the details.

Are you in a Titanic? Got a business that is doing well, or a relationship that’s blissful? Everything is going so well in your life right now? You might be feeling like a mighty ship sailing across great seas…perhaps like the Titanic?

Check your unchecked details: some small compromises, a couple of white lies, moments of mediocrity, hallow excuses, bits of complacency, a couple of bad habits, or ego outbursts.

In time all of these adds up.

Watch your details.

Titanic sunk because of a rivet.

Photo by TitanicStation.Blogspot.com