Another on SIF prevention. This (interim) report (another from the recent compendium – see comments for link) covers the findings from a few activities, including two SIF workshops about ID, implementing and monitoring critical controls for SIF hazards, and the role of human and org factors. Too much to cover, so a few extracts: · “the… Continue reading Building Resilience into Safety Management Systems: Precursors and Controls to Reduce Serious Injuries and Fatalities (SIFs)
Preventing serious injuries & fatalities: time for a sociotechnical model for an operational risk management system
Here’s a 2008 article from Fred Manuele which was included in my SIF compendium (link to compendium & article below). Fred explores a sociotechnical approach to preventing SIFs. The fatality rate in the US from 1971 to 2005 decreased from 17 to 4, but remained stable from 06 to 2011 at ~3.5; hence SIF prevention… Continue reading Preventing serious injuries & fatalities: time for a sociotechnical model for an operational risk management system
Leverage points to intervene in a system – Donella Meadows
In the lead up to next week’s compendium on systems thinking, here’s a banger from Donella Meadows. She explores system leverage points. Not a summary, but some extracts: · Leverage points are “places within a complex system .. where a small shift in one thing can produce big changes in everything” · The “state of the system”… Continue reading Leverage points to intervene in a system – Donella Meadows
Residual risk and the psychology of lower order controls
This conference paper briefly discussed the follies of lower order controls in the context of human performance. Nicely, it took a really empathetic view of people and their limits in perception and attention: it’s not a bug that needs to be blamed or feared, but just a biological feature which needs to be considered. First… Continue reading Residual risk and the psychology of lower order controls
Compendium: SIFs, Major Hazards, Fatal & Traumatic hazards, risks
This is an expansion to my prior compendium on Critical Controls, Barriers and Energy thinking. Suggest you read that in conjunction to this, link here: Barriers, Critical Controls, Verifications, Energy Models If you’re after indicators check this mini-compendium out: Safety & Risk Performance indicators (lead, lag, drive, process safety + more) This compendium focuses on articles… Continue reading Compendium: SIFs, Major Hazards, Fatal & Traumatic hazards, risks
Are workplace psychosocial factors associated with work-related injury in the US workforce?
Another study on the links between work-related psychosocial factors and work injury. Data was based on the 2010 National Health Survey in the US, including >16k workers. Survey data, so consider limitations. Key findings: · In multivariate models, “job insecurity, work–family imbalance, and hostile work environment were each positively associated with WRI prevalence (odds ratio [OR]:… Continue reading Are workplace psychosocial factors associated with work-related injury in the US workforce?
Visualizing what’s missing: Using deep learning and Bow-Tie diagrams to identify and visualize missing leading indicators in industrial construction
This study, among a few other things, compared 633 incidents against >9 inspection reports with similar contexts to understand the overlap. Data was from a Canadian construction project over 3 years. E.g. They used multi-methods, including natural language processing, text mining, bow ties and more to evaluate if field inspections are looking at the same… Continue reading Visualizing what’s missing: Using deep learning and Bow-Tie diagrams to identify and visualize missing leading indicators in industrial construction
Control charts for accident frequency: a motivation for real-time occupational safety monitoring
This paper compares real-time or active monitoring of safety incidents via cumulative sum (CUSUM) control charts. It’s an interesting read, and if you’re not savvy with control charts or statistics then just skip over the technical stuff. Some of the findings are still pretty relevant. In saying that, I’ve skipped most of the dense statistical… Continue reading Control charts for accident frequency: a motivation for real-time occupational safety monitoring
Compendium of Nancy Leveson: STAMP, STPA, CAST and Systems Thinking
Although I don’t often mention or post about Leveson’s work, she’s probably been the most influential thinker on my approach after Barry Turner. So here is a mini-compendium covering some of Leveson’s work. Feel free to shout a coffee if you’d like to support the growth of my site: https://direct.mit.edu/books/oa-monograph/2908/Engineering-a-Safer-WorldSystems-Thinking-Applied https://doi.org/10.1177/0170840608101478 https://doi.org/10.1145/7474.7528 http://therm.ward.bay.wiki.org/assets/pages/documents-archived/safety-3.pdf http://sunnyday.mit.edu/papers/Rasmussen-Legacy.pdf https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/00140139.2015.1015623… Continue reading Compendium of Nancy Leveson: STAMP, STPA, CAST and Systems Thinking
Failing to learn and learning to fail (intelligently): How great organizations put failure to work to innovate and improve
An interesting paper from Mark Cannon & Amy Edmondson about failing intelligently. Opening the paper they argue that while the idea of organisations learning from their failures is obvious – “yet organizations that systematically learn from failure are rare”. They’ve also found that few organisations effectively experiment to learn, which requires by necessity generating failures… Continue reading Failing to learn and learning to fail (intelligently): How great organizations put failure to work to innovate and improve
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