Normal Accidents: Living with High Risk Technologies

Reviewing High Reliability Team (HRT) Scholarship: A 21st Century Approach to Safety

“…This assertion inspired the articulation of normal accident theory, which states accidents will result from the unanticipated interaction of multiple failures within a complex system (Perrow, 1984). Although some early critics panned Perrow for “yearning for significance, [and] his dissatisfaction with merely creating a new science of accident research” (Sills, 1984, p. 185) others embraced the theory for expanding risk assessment research across disciplines including organizational science and psychology (Cummings, 1984), human resource management (McGill, 1984), organization management (Grimes, 1985), and environmental sociology (Buttel, 1987). As globalization’s effects on potential organizational risk grew by the end of the decade, organizational scholars tested NAT boundary conditions; these led scholars to develop the new reliability organization theory (Roberts, 1989).…”

Collaboration And Awareness Amongst Flight Attendants

“…Even within a highly coordinated and equipped training system, as is the case in the aviation industry, individuals may still experience difficulty in accessing shared knowledge or may encounter a mismatch in shared expectations (Perrow, 1985;Rogers & Ellis, 1994). This can lead to major breakdowns and a failure to act in the right manner at the right time (Rogers & Ellis, 1994).…”

“I hope they shouldn't happen”: Social vulnerability and resilience to urban energy disruptions in a digital society in Scotland

“…However, it is not possible to guarantee a completely reliable electricity supply. As a highly complex system, accidents will still occur, usually due to unexpected combinations of factors which are challenging to predict or to completely avoid [1,2]. New risks are also emerging, which challenge even the most secure energy system [3,4].…”