News

There was an interesting postscript today to the story of the data breach at TalkTalk last October.  You will recall that the at first it was feared that personal details of all 4 million of the company’s customers could have been compromised, although the breach ultimately turned out to be much less serious.  The company […]

The massive recall of Whirlpool tumble dryers announced last November is still dragging on.  The recall programme, which also affects the Hotpoint, Indesit and Creda brands; has already been criticised for the length of time ( up to 11 months) that some customers are waiting for a repair.  The company can expect renewed pressure to […]

There was an interesting discussion of risk displacement on Radio 4’s Today programme this morning in the context of the forthcoming Euro 2016 Finals. Sir Bob Broadhurst, formerly of the Metropolitan Police, was discussing terrorist threats; and specifically how, as we improve security at the most obvious targets, the terrorists turn their attention to ‘softer’ […]

The human impact of the earthquakes on Thursday and Saturday in Japan’s Kumamoto Region was immediately obvious with at least 41 people dead, homes destroyed and public services severely disrupted. It is only now though, as we move into the next working week, that the business impact begins to become apparent. Sony, Honda and Toyota […]

We are delighted to announce that Millbrook Proving Ground had their Stage 2 assessment for ISO22301 certification in December, and passed with flying colours, and no non-conformities.  We have worked closely with Millbrook, implementing a new Management System that will enable a full integration with ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 as both of these Management […]

It has just been announced that the production of Carr’s Water Biscuits has been halted for a couple of months due to the recent floods in Carlisle during December 2015.  United Biscuits have run advertisements in The Times explaining that they had been unable to source alternative ovens that were suitable for making the biscuits.  […]

We have frequently commented on the high costs to businesses, most commonly banks, of IT glitches; but what is the impact when your business is entirely web-based? Yesterday’s disruption to Twitter, which left some users locked out and others receiving only an intermittent service, provides a fascinating case study.  It also provided some much-needed humour […]

This Saturday marks the 30th anniversary of the Manchester Air Disaster, when 53 people lost their lives as a result of a British Airtours jet catching fire during take-off.  Whilst this was a terrible tragedy in its own right, together with the Bradford Stadium fire a few months earlier, it also marks the start of […]

Yesterday I queried if the 7 July bombings could really be considered a “black swan” event.  In fact, much of the impressive IT resilience that firms demonstrated in the aftermath of the bombings was a direct result of steps taken in response to the Provisional IRA bombings of the Baltic Exchange (1992) and Bishopsgate (1993). […]