Error management culture

Van Dyck, C., Frese, M., Baer, M. and Sormentag, S. 2005. Organizational error management culture and its impact on performance A two-study replication. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90(6), 1228-40. 

Development of programs to create an appropriate culture to support the error management system... 

Development of a Plant Culture to Support the Error Management Program... 

Risk management culture, where an engineering view of human error causation is dominant. Errors and accidents are analysed in terms of mismatches between the operator and his environment. Remedial actions typically include design changes and provisions of procedural support. 

Systemic safety management culture, where the causes of errors are analysed in relation to the total work context. Not only are traditional causes such as poor design and procedures considered, but also such aspects as unclear responsibilities, lack of knowledge and a low morale. These in turn are traced back to management liability issues. 

Organizational factors create preconditions for errors, At the operational level, plant and corporate management inadvertently support conditions for errors. The safety culture of the... 

The last area addressed by the systems approach is concerned with global issues involving the influence of organizational factors on human error. The major issues in this area are discussed in Chapter 2, Section 7. The two major perspectives that need to be considered as part of an error reduction program are the creation of an appropriate safety culture and the inclusion of human error reduction within safety management policies. 

As discussed earlier in this chapter, the main requirements to ensure an appropriate safety culture are similar to those which are advocated in quality management systems. These include active participation by the workforce in error and safety management initiatives, a blame-free culture which fosters the free flow of information, and an explicit policy which ensures that safety considerations will always be primary. In addition both operations and management staff need feedback which indicates that participation in error reduction programs has a real impact on the way in which the plant is operated and systems are designed. 

Sociotechnical approach (control of error through changes in management policy and culture) Occupational/process safety Effects of organizational factors on safety Policy aspects Culture Interviews Surveys Organizational redesign Total Quality Management More frequent in recent years... 

The model of human error held by management and the plant culture constitutes the environment in which the data collection system operates. Within this environment, all data collection systems need to address the topics listed in Figure 6.1. These topics, from the types of data collected, to the feedback systems that need to be in place, will be addressed in subsequent sections of this chapter. 

The type of data collected on human error and the ways in which these data are used for accident prevention will vary depending upon the model of error and accident causation held by the management of an organization. This model will also influence the culture in the plant and the willingness of personnel to participate in data collection activities. In Chapters 1 and 2 a number of alternative viewpoints or models of human error were described. These models will now be briefly reviewed and their implications for the treatment of human error in the process industry will be discussed. 

The two categories of data described above relate to immediate causes of error. However, the question of how these factors came to be as they are, involves a consideration of the effects of organizational, and management and cultural issues. 

Management must modify the culture and develop human factors awareness in the hazard identification teams so that they will be capable of identifying the potential for human error. A good practice is to involve operators in the hazard identification team. 

The general approach that has been advocated in this chapter is that it is the responsibility of an organization, through its safety management policies, to create the systems, environment, and culture that will minimize human error and thereby maximize safety. 

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