This study explored the relationships between work-life balance, organisational learning capability, innovation performance and organisational performance. Data is from 354 Brazilian companies. Providing background: Their research model is shown below: Results Overall, they found: It’s said that WLB-centric approaches enhance innovation, as reduced WLB conflicts correlate with increased professional motivation and creativity. Further, “Policies emphasising… Continue reading Importance of human factors to innovation and organizational performance

This study in an upcoming summary explored differences between how procedure administrators (representing work as imagined, WAI; the people who create or administer procedural systems) perceive the design and use of procedures versus the realities of procedure users (work as done, WAD) across several large, international chemical sites. Some findings were that: ·        Both administrators and… Continue reading WAI vs WAD in high-hazard procedural systems

This upcoming summary is a cracking read from Bob Wears and Charles Vincent, exploring how we can come to over-rely on the adaptability of people and systems. They argue that while “resilience is generally thought of as an unalloyed good …no silver lining is without its cloud” and that sometimes, resilience  may be inappropriately deployed… Continue reading Relying too much on resilience: silver linings and dark clouds

Not much to say here – this open access primer on S-II and Resilience Engineering may interest you. It covers a few basic themes around: Like anything, I suggest a healthy scepticism and critical perspective (e.g. see image 2 and some of the assumptions of S-I, which I don’t necessarily agree with, nor do I… Continue reading Safety-II and Resilience Engineering in a Nutshell: An Introductory Guide to Their Concepts and Methods

Some interesting excerpts from an upcoming paper I’ve summarised (from Bob Wears & Charles Vincent), discussing how too much reliance on resilient capacities can be counterproductive and potentially harmful. Not discussing these findings here, but they note about how excessive reliance on adaptability, like workarounds, are indicative of first order problem solving. That is, local… Continue reading The harm of too much ‘resilience’ and capacities

This brief paper explored some factors impacting the success of procedural systems based on interviews of key personnel. The researchers visited five refining and chemical sites, and then ranked the key procedural/rule breakdowns. They note that despite the significant industry focus on developing effective procedural systems and practices, “many plants feel they have yet to… Continue reading A study of effective procedural practices in refining and chemical operations

What factors prevent senior executives from speaking up and voicing opinions in response to miscommunication during meetings? This interesting study explored such factors of silence among 21 CEOs and senior managers across 7 firms. Not a summary, but you can read the full paper yourself. Prior research found that silence was linked to feelings of… Continue reading What prevents senior executives from commenting upon miscommunication in top management team meetings?

Taking a stab at summarising my study. This explored the findings from 71 audit reports (1st, 2nd & 3rd party) from a large Australian design and engineering construction and maintenance company in Australia. Over 16 separate and independent auditing firms were included in the dataset and 327 audit findings. We were interested in: ·         How… Continue reading Audit masquerade: How audits provide comfort rather than treatment for serious safety problems

This explored the thoughts & perceptions of workers concerning procedure use & purpose via interviews. 20 workers from the process industries (refining, chemical plants etc.) were included. Results For changing procedures, most workers indicated going to their supervisor to start the change process. However, some workers had a negative view of the change process, citing:… Continue reading Worker-centered investigation of issues with procedural systems: Findings from interviews with a representative sample of workers in high-risk process industries

I found this interesting – it studied the impacts of different workplace nudge interventions on particular worker behaviours around gas monitor compliance and handrail holding. The setting was a Belgian steel plant. Not a summary – but if it interests you then check out the paper. Nudge effectiveness has recently taken a bit of a… Continue reading Nudging safety behavior in the steel industry: Evidence from two field studies