In this model, we discussed the different views of accident causation, the role of the human and safety analysis. We discussed the era’s of technical failures, human error and organizational accidents and how we are now transitioning into systems safety thinking.
We considered the human as the cause, recipient for failure or solution to safety. We discussed how people like Erik Hollnagel who is developing theories around safety 1 and 2, Sidney Dekker who is developing theories around doing safety differently and myself, interested in method development, try and find ways to study the interactions in the system that lead to accidents and safety, study interactions in normal performance and linking normal performance to safety and accidents.
We had a look at the Spanish rail accident in Santiago de Compostela. We reviewed news articles that came out after the accident and focused on the driver’s actions and the organizational failures. We also had a look at an extract from a human factors paper hat followed the investigation. This was written by Dr Steven Shorrock who is a strong advocate of systems safety and Erik Hollnagel’s work on safety 1 and safety 2.
He tries to challenge our thinking by offering more alternative systems explanations for the accident. Did he succeed? Some of you thought he might have taken this a step too far. Others feel that we need to push the boundaries to see how we can make a safe system safer. As we discussed in the lecture there is not necessarily a wrong or right, it is about a balancing act. Knowing the different views and how they affect safety thinking is important.
Assignment:
For the learning journal assignment. Please write an essay style in your learning journal which is 500 words. And the short essay should use the theories in lecture notes, and use them to answer the questions. There are no strict formatting requirements (e.g. font type and size) as long as I can read it and it is presented professionally.
The essay should involve these questions below.
l How does the perspective on safety and the role of humans influence the safety Management process? (Use the Spanish rail accident to provide examples).
l How does your perspective on safety and the role of humans influence the safety management process? (Use the Spanish rail accident to provide examples).
l Do we find different contributing factors in both extracts?
l Can a technical, human error, organizational accident or system safety view of the world change the way you interpret the investigation findings as well as both excerpts?
l As a safety manager how can you be aware of these views in your own assumptions and work?
l How can you make sure you do the balancing act right?
l Personal reflection: Were you aware of your assumptions and views influencing your analysis? How can you keep check and critically review the assumptions?
Links to the full news articles and Steve Shorrock’s paper below for your interest.
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