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)
Tag: business
Mini-Compendium: Psychological Safety
Given the prominence of Psychological Safety (PS), it’s worth sharing some research. It’s likely among the most studied modern concepts in organisational theory – so I can barely scratch the surface. Focus first is articles I’ve summarised, and then on any other full-text items I can find. In my haste, I’ve probably included some psychological… Continue reading Mini-Compendium: Psychological Safety
Deming’s system of profound knowledge: 14 points for system improvement
Another from Deming while I’m on the theme. Not much needs to be said – I think it does a lot of talking itself. Deming promoted: · Ceasing the dependence of trying to inspect-in quality · Aim for continuous learning, testing and improvement (e.g. plan, do, STUDY, act) · He was critical of zero defect approaches, arguing them… Continue reading Deming’s system of profound knowledge: 14 points for system improvement
On Some Statistical Aids Toward Economic Production
A banger from Deming in 1975, talking about applying statistical control to manufacturing and production variability. He says that much of this paper is based on “principles taught in Japan since 1950”. Don’t let the topic fool you – you’ll find a lot of similarities and overlaps with principles of HF/E, work design, New View… Continue reading On Some Statistical Aids Toward Economic Production
The rise of learning teams: How organisations in Australia are adopting group learning practices for safety improvement
This Master’s thesis from Andrew Barrett explored group learning practices, like learning teams, for safety improvement. Specifically, he studied the following question via institutional ethnographic interviews: · how are organisations in Australia adopting group learning practices for safety improvement? Way too much to cover – so check out the thesis. Some background extracts: · “Safety… Continue reading The rise of learning teams: How organisations in Australia are adopting group learning practices for safety improvement
Human factor analysis of cockpit work incidents in high-speed workboats: the mystery hidden between the lines
This study unpacked what investigators look at and how they construct causes in high-speed workboats. It employed a Safety-II / HOP / HF perspective. Tl;dr: human factors are poorly evaluated and largely seen as individual-level factors. Some extracts: · “Although the analysis focused on negative observations, it also identified HFs that supported the activity” · “Many pivotal… Continue reading Human factor analysis of cockpit work incidents in high-speed workboats: the mystery hidden between the lines
The mixed blessing of risk defences and redundancy: James Reason
A few random extracts from James Reason’s timelessly awesome Managing the Risks of Organizational accidents. (Note: This isn’t an endorsement of the somewhat linearity of defences-in-depth, since we have evidence that emergent behaviour can playout in reality and with equifinality etc) There’s hundreds of things I could extract (and maybe will in time), but here’s… Continue reading The mixed blessing of risk defences and redundancy: James Reason
Industrial Accidents and Industrial Diseases – 1909 article
Another interesting read from 1909, talking about ‘social responsibility’ and industrial accidents & diseases in the US. Really modern thinking here – that: 1) ‘trade’ should bear the fair burden of injury 2) compensation is about justice and social responsibility 3) a worker’s free will to work in dangerous industries is a myth (they often… Continue reading Industrial Accidents and Industrial Diseases – 1909 article
Automation’s lacklustre effects on fatal accidents & cheap migrant labour hampering adoption of engineering controls
REALLY interesting findings from Associate Professor Masahiro Yoshida. It suggests that automation over a historical context didn’t really drive down workplace injuries since it tended to be employed in already mature industries. And, ready access to cheap migrant workforces may hinder broader industrial risk reduction due to a negative correlation with automation investment. And the… Continue reading Automation’s lacklustre effects on fatal accidents & cheap migrant labour hampering adoption of engineering controls
Compendium: Blame, Just Culture & language
Here’s another compendium of articles exploring blame and language in the construction of post-hoc causality explanations, or how blame effects learning and investigations. The other part covers some articles around Just Culture and restorative culture. Note: I’ve mostly focused on articles that I’ve either already summarised or that I could find a full text link… Continue reading Compendium: Blame, Just Culture & language
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