High-tech is not everything, and it is never as desirable as it should be without sound management.

This may be the biggest lesson the Ministry of Railways and the country can learn from the high-speed railway accident that has so far claimed 39 lives and injured some 200.

Although the official investigation has yet to confirm if there was a human factor that led to the tragedy, there are at least two questions that need to be answered:

How could the automatic signaling system and telecommunications system fail at the same time? How could the controller fail to communicate with the drivers of both trains?

These failures point to the possibility of slack management.

The words of the spokesman for the Ministry of Railways at a press conference following the accident, betrays the Ministry's blind worship of technology. He said that he still had confidence in the nation's high-speed trains because of their advanced technology. Apparently he fails to realize that technology is one thing, its proper use is another. There is no natural connection between the two.

There is nothing wrong with the central authorities' emphasis on innovation and technology. And our high-speed railways are indeed among the most advanced in the world. But one thing we should never ignore is the fact that the people and systems that support the technology are no less important. Technology is only as good as the people that use it.

For example, the capability to ensure that every part is manufactured correctly and operated to the rule is the basis for the guarantee that the technology will work properly.

Likewise the technology will not operate effectively unless the whole system established to support it is soundly designed and maintained, and all staff members working with the system are skilled and conscientious enough to make sure that the entire system runs properly.

This accident, along with other minor problems that have occurred on the new high-speed line from Shanghai to Beijing, are a reminder that greater efforts are needed in this regard. As far as the accident is concerned, the investigation must be thoroughly conducted so that all the questions are answered. Only in that way can we discover any problems and fix them.

The Ministry of Railways will launch a two-month nationwide review of potential safety hazards on the high-speed rail lines. This is a long overdue action and something that should be done before every new line is put into operation.

Hopefully, the ministry will learn the lessons from this tragedy and fix any loopholes in the management system and address any outdated management modes and mentality.

This accident should bring home to the authorities at all levels and in all walks of life the awareness that details are important and development will only be sound as long as attention is paid to the details.

(China Daily 07/27/2011 page8)