3 ms·

Yes, a higher injury rate may reflect corners being cut in the name of speed. But I'm sure the most major contribution to the numbers (besides people actually r

Yes, a higher injury rate may reflect corners being cut in the name of speed. But I'm sure the most major contribution to the numbers (besides people actually reporting their injuries) is a result of people working then anything else. Of course injuries are going to be much lower if you haven't shipped anything in a decade plus.

empath75 1y ago
> But I'm sure the most major contribution to the numbers (besides people actually reporting their injuries) is a result of people working then anything else. It's a rate per person, so no.
- bryanlarsen 1y ago
  There's an implicit "working on rockets" in the OP's comment. ULA did 4 launches in 2024 with 2700 employees. SpaceX did 138 launches in 2024 with less than 5 times as many employees. (They had 13,000 in 2023. It's grown a lot since then, but hasn't doubled, I don't think). ULA employees spend a lot higher percentage of their time on paperwork than SpaceX employees do. The injury rate while doing paperwork should be essentially zero. SpaceX does 5-10 times as many launches per employee, and has an injury rate 6 times as high per employee. So the injury rate per rocket launch is comparable.
  - ceejayoz 1y ago
    I mean, the CEO also reportedly dislikes yellow, warning signs, and beeping. https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/04/tesla-workers-getting-hurt-because-elon-musk-hates-yellow.html https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/04/tesla-workers-gettin... > Among the more baffling details in the report are several sections about how Elon Musk’s personal tastes appear to have affected the factory’s safety for the worse, “his preferences … were well known and led to cutting back on those standard safety signals.” Musk, apparently, really hates the color yellow. So instead of using the aforementioned hue, lane lines on the factory floor are painted in shades of gray. (Tesla denies this and sent Reveal photos of “rails and posts” painted yellow in the factory.) He also is not into having “too many signs” or the beeping sound forklifts make in reverse.
    - neuroelectron 1y ago
      A person familiar with Musk stated that he prefers workers at elevation use neck nooses of fall arrestment gear.
- jjmarr 1y ago
  More people sitting around not doing anything can lower the numbers.
- gamerDude 1y ago
  Rate per person does not counter neuroelectrons hypothesis. If you have 100 people standing around for a year, they probably have lower injuries than the same 100 people who are using heavy machinery over the course of a year. And it's not like most corporations are efficient. SpaceX may have less redundancy in their workforce causing the injury rate to go up since more people are working more often. Or SpaceX is overworking people in unsafe conditions and causing way more injuries. Either way, rate per person does not negate people working vs. Not.
  - datadrivenangel 1y ago
    You can have 100 people using heavy machinery safely if you have good culture and take safety seriously.
- Cacti 1y ago
  The amount of people here who didn’t read the article and don’t understand basic statistics is shocking.
asadotzler 1y ago
It's because Starbase workers are roofers, plumbers, and linemen working in the TX weather, not just engineers or assembly line workers in air conditioned clean rooms and offices.
- ceejayoz 1y ago
  Are they direct SpaceX employees? I know SpaceX is vertically integrated, but I wouldn't have thought that'd extend to stuff like building sheds and running toilet plumbing.
  - asadotzler 1y ago
    It's a mix.

empath75 1y ago

> But I'm sure the most major contribution to the numbers (besides people actually reporting their injuries) is a result of people working then anything else. It's a rate per person, so no.

bryanlarsen 1y ago
There's an implicit "working on rockets" in the OP's comment. ULA did 4 launches in 2024 with 2700 employees. SpaceX did 138 launches in 2024 with less than 5 times as many employees. (They had 13,000 in 2023. It's grown a lot since then, but hasn't doubled, I don't think). ULA employees spend a lot higher percentage of their time on paperwork than SpaceX employees do. The injury rate while doing paperwork should be essentially zero. SpaceX does 5-10 times as many launches per employee, and has an injury rate 6 times as high per employee. So the injury rate per rocket launch is comparable.
- ceejayoz 1y ago
  I mean, the CEO also reportedly dislikes yellow, warning signs, and beeping. https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/04/tesla-workers-getting-hurt-because-elon-musk-hates-yellow.html https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/04/tesla-workers-gettin... > Among the more baffling details in the report are several sections about how Elon Musk’s personal tastes appear to have affected the factory’s safety for the worse, “his preferences … were well known and led to cutting back on those standard safety signals.” Musk, apparently, really hates the color yellow. So instead of using the aforementioned hue, lane lines on the factory floor are painted in shades of gray. (Tesla denies this and sent Reveal photos of “rails and posts” painted yellow in the factory.) He also is not into having “too many signs” or the beeping sound forklifts make in reverse.
  - neuroelectron 1y ago
    A person familiar with Musk stated that he prefers workers at elevation use neck nooses of fall arrestment gear.
jjmarr 1y ago
More people sitting around not doing anything can lower the numbers.
gamerDude 1y ago
Rate per person does not counter neuroelectrons hypothesis. If you have 100 people standing around for a year, they probably have lower injuries than the same 100 people who are using heavy machinery over the course of a year. And it's not like most corporations are efficient. SpaceX may have less redundancy in their workforce causing the injury rate to go up since more people are working more often. Or SpaceX is overworking people in unsafe conditions and causing way more injuries. Either way, rate per person does not negate people working vs. Not.
- datadrivenangel 1y ago
  You can have 100 people using heavy machinery safely if you have good culture and take safety seriously.
Cacti 1y ago
The amount of people here who didn’t read the article and don’t understand basic statistics is shocking.

asadotzler 1y ago

It's because Starbase workers are roofers, plumbers, and linemen working in the TX weather, not just engineers or assembly line workers in air conditioned clean rooms and offices.

ceejayoz 1y ago
Are they direct SpaceX employees? I know SpaceX is vertically integrated, but I wouldn't have thought that'd extend to stuff like building sheds and running toilet plumbing.
- asadotzler 1y ago
  It's a mix.