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Let's say that a place rigged with explosives is not exactly the definition of a "pleasant place to work in".

mschuster91 5y ago
Switzerland had for decades all major rail and road infrastructure rigged with explosives [1], to ward off a German invasion. From 1995-2014, they removed the explosive charges, but the tactical holes to place explosives in still remain - so, should Germany or any other surrounding nation ever be a threat again, it will be a matter of days to place explosives in the crucial routes and to blow them up. No reason to not prepare similar plans in factories. [1] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sprengobjekt https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sprengobjekt
- hef19898 5y ago
  Most (all?) German road and railway bridges have those holes as well if they were build during the cold war. Including provisions for nuclear mines. The Cold War was such a nice period to be alive!
krisoft 5y ago
Not sure what you imagine when you imagine a "place rigged with explosives". Cartoon sticks of dynamite hanging from the rafters while everyone is tripping on ignitor wires is not a pleasant place to work in. Having a box full of explosives in a remote shed on the property and having the on-site security team trained on when and how to use them: you wouldn't even notice in the every day. What matters really is not the few minutes it takes to unlock the shed, unlock the box and carry it inside. What matters are the processes. Who is authorized to call for evacuation and destruction of the fabs? (Is it a political decision or one the military can do on its own?) How do they send the message to the fab? (Remember, civilian communication might be down in case of an attack and even military communication might be disrupted.) How will the team on the ground verify that the order is coming from the proper source? (You don't want some adversary to be able to impersonate your command chain and cause the unintended destruction of your fab.) How will the workers be evacuated? Do we need to finish a roll call before we destroy the fab, or just give enough time for everyone to leave? If the second how much time? How are these steps trained for and exercised? If you have answer to all of these questions I would say that the fabs are "rigged to blow". If you don't then you will be forced to improvise in case of an attack which hurts your chances of deterring the attacker.

Switzerland had for decades all major rail and road infrastructure rigged with explosives [1], to ward off a German invasion. From 1995-2014, they removed the explosive charges, but the tactical holes to place explosives in still remain - so, should Germany or any other surrounding nation ever be a threat again, it will be a matter of days to place explosives in the crucial routes and to blow them up. No reason to not prepare similar plans in factories. [1] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sprengobjekt https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sprengobjekt

hef19898 5y ago
Most (all?) German road and railway bridges have those holes as well if they were build during the cold war. Including provisions for nuclear mines. The Cold War was such a nice period to be alive!

krisoft 5y ago

Not sure what you imagine when you imagine a "place rigged with explosives". Cartoon sticks of dynamite hanging from the rafters while everyone is tripping on ignitor wires is not a pleasant place to work in. Having a box full of explosives in a remote shed on the property and having the on-site security team trained on when and how to use them: you wouldn't even notice in the every day. What matters really is not the few minutes it takes to unlock the shed, unlock the box and carry it inside. What matters are the processes. Who is authorized to call for evacuation and destruction of the fabs? (Is it a political decision or one the military can do on its own?) How do they send the message to the fab? (Remember, civilian communication might be down in case of an attack and even military communication might be disrupted.) How will the team on the ground verify that the order is coming from the proper source? (You don't want some adversary to be able to impersonate your command chain and cause the unintended destruction of your fab.) How will the workers be evacuated? Do we need to finish a roll call before we destroy the fab, or just give enough time for everyone to leave? If the second how much time? How are these steps trained for and exercised? If you have answer to all of these questions I would say that the fabs are "rigged to blow". If you don't then you will be forced to improvise in case of an attack which hurts your chances of deterring the attacker.