The Panama Canal - Lessons Learned
Photo of Gatun Locks on the Atlantic side of the Panama Canal by Danny Smith
I recently had the privilege to sail from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean via the Panama Canal. In light of that opportunity I read "The Path Between the Seas" by historian and Pulitzer Prize winning author David McCullough. It was exciting to see the canal structures while reading this epic story of adventure, revolution, failures, successes, engineering innovation, determination, disease, medical advancements, politics, corruption, logistics, and the success of strategic planning. Its all in the storyline.
The idea for a canal began with Spainish explorers in the 16th century. Christopher Columbus was the first European to set foot in Panama when he landed there in 1502 in present day Colon. Vasco Nunez de Balboa first viewed the Pacific Ocean after crossing the narrow isthmus in 1513. For several hundred years thereafter, many different nations realized the significance of finding a way across. A railroad was constructed in the mid-1800s that facilitated travel from the US East Coast to the California Gold Rush. After the French success in constructing the Suez Canal with no locks across a relatively level sandy desert, they assumed that they could do the same in Panama. Their attempt was a miserable failure that shook France to its core amidst significant corruption and financial ruin. The death rate from Yellow Fever and Malaria was high in the unforgiving jungle.
After the failed French efforts, US President Teddy Roosevelt, realizing the strategic importance of a canal to US interests, led the charge to successfully construct it. The French had simply assumed that they could dig a sea-level canal across the isthmus just like they had done in Egypt. They picked a route and started digging. Anytime you hear someone say they just want to have "boots on the ground" without adequate strategic planning or knowledge of local conditions, hold onto your wallet as failure is likely.
US efforts started out with the "boots on the ground" approach and they experienced problems similar to the French. The death rate remained high, and catastrophic failures continued to occur. Eventually project leaders arrived who were able to identify root causes of failure, develop strategies to address those problems, and redesign the canal from a sea-level fantasy to a relatively simple and feasible canal with locks and a higher elevation lake. Dr. Willam Gorgas, born in the great State of Alabama, discovered that Yellow Fever and Malaria were transmitted by particular types of mosquitos. He aggressively controlled the mosquitos to essentially eliminate canal deaths from these diseases. Another leader realized that all work must stop until the appropriate infrastructure was in place to transport excavated spoil. Great efforts were put into the railroad system. The concrete and iron used in the construction of the project is in nearly perfect condition today more than 100 years later. The ingenious design was to create an artificial lake by damming the mighty Chagres River and the locks are filled by gravity flow out of the lake. Electric power is generated at the dams to power the "mules" that are used to guide ships through the canal locks on either end.
There is a lot to learn from the Panama Canal, some good and some bad, and I highly recommend the book "The Path Between the Seas" by David McCullough. The business takeaway is that strategic planning trumps "boots on the ground."