This paper investigated the influence of safetywashing in the case of 106 Indian newspaper articles relating to construction and 439 reader comments. Namely, they were interested in: · What safetywashing strategies are used? · What are the effects of safetywashing? Providing context: · Numerous safety strategies are used, ranging from design, technology and interpersonal. Some… Continue reading Safetywashing: The Strategic Use of Safety in the Construction Industry
Tag: major accidents
Escaping Failures of Foresight
An interesting discussion paper from David Woods, in response to a paper from Andrew Hopkins discussing process safety indicators (see my article from a few weeks back). ** I haven’t done a good job of this – so suggest you read the original paper. You might want a strong coffee. Woods takes a bit of… Continue reading Escaping Failures of Foresight
A Systems Thinking Approach to Leading Indicators in the Petrochemical Industry
I’m putting together the next Research Compendium, covering indicator definitions, frameworks and examples. Showing my own bias is a focus on Nancy Leveson’s work. This post has some extracts from her article ‘A Systems Thinking Approach to Leading Indicators in the Petrochemical Industry’. This is based on what Leveson calls “assumption-based indicators”. That is, developing… Continue reading A Systems Thinking Approach to Leading Indicators in the Petrochemical Industry
Thinking About Process Safety Indicators
This well-cited paper from Hopkins (2007) discusses some of the inconsistencies that existed at the time (and likely does still) about process safety indicators, and the definitions and uses of other indicators like leading and lagging. This paper sparked a number of interested follow-up papers from other authors – I’ll cover some of these soon.… Continue reading Thinking About Process Safety Indicators
Fantasy planning: The gap between systems of safety and safety of systems
Not sure if I ever properly shared this – but this was my first conference paper released back in 2018. It’s a HIGHLY condensed version of a much larger paper I wrote, and hope to publish one day. It covers a range of topics around symbolic safety, false assurance, ‘fantasy planning’, and catastrophic accidents which… Continue reading Fantasy planning: The gap between systems of safety and safety of systems
Quantitative Risk Assessments as Enabling Devices in Cybersecurity
Oof, a real banger Master’s from Colette Alexander, exploring the role of Quantitative Risk Assessments (QRA) as fantasy documents and enabling devices in cybersecurity. Can’t do this justice, so just a few extracts: Study link: http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9148570/file/9148571.pdf My site with more reviews: https://safety177496371.wordpress.com LinkedIn post: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/benhutchinson2_oof-a-real-banger-masters-from-colette-activity-7259318324717592576-y2Qs?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
Interventions and measurements of highly reliable/resilient organization implementations: A literature review
This reviewed literature on High Reliability Organisations (HRO) and similar approaches in Resilience Engineering (RE) from 1981 to 2020 to determine its impact. 34 articles out of 1400 met inclusion. For background: · “There is a class of organizations that can do catastrophic harm to themselves and a larger public” and within this set, there’s… Continue reading Interventions and measurements of highly reliable/resilient organization implementations: A literature review
Management walk-arounds: Lessons from the Gulf of Mexico oil well blowout
This 2011 paper from Andrew Hopkins discusses the function of management walkarounds, and their role in the genesis of major accidents, using the Macondo blowout accident. *** Note: This type of description is replete with counterfactuals and the clarity of hindsight, so keep that in mind. Overall, Hopkins argues that despite the best intentions of… Continue reading Management walk-arounds: Lessons from the Gulf of Mexico oil well blowout
What are we to make of safe behaviour programs?
This 2006 discussion paper from Andrew Hopkins critically discusses some assumptions underlying safe behaviour programs and some of their limitations in the context of complex systems. I can only cover some of the points, so recommend you read the full paper. Note: Trigger warning for those who violently object to ‘unsafe behaviour’. Overall, Hopkins argues:… Continue reading What are we to make of safe behaviour programs?
Models of drift: man-made disaster & incubation, systemic migration, normalisation of deviance, practical drift
More extracts from Foundations of Safety Science, this time some points around the different perspectives of drift and disaster incubation. Some points: · “Disasters do not come out of the blue, says man-made disaster theory” but are “preceded by sometimes lengthy periods of gradually increasing risk” · These risks often go unnoticed or unrecognised – incubation period… Continue reading Models of drift: man-made disaster & incubation, systemic migration, normalisation of deviance, practical drift
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