Managing the Risks of Organizational Accidents

Major accidents are rare events due to the many barriers, safeguards and defences developed by modern technologies. But they continue to happen with saddening regularity and their human and financial consequences are all too often unacceptably catastrophic. One of the greatest challenges we face is to develop more effective ways of both understanding and limiting their occurrence. This lucid book presents a set of common principles to further our knowledge of the causes of major accidents in a wide variety of high-technology systems. It also describes tools and techniques for managing the risks of such organizational accidents that go beyond those currently available to system managers and safety professionals. James Reason deals comprehensively with the prevention of major accidents arising from human and organizational causes. He argues that the same general principles and management techniques are appropriate for many different domains. These include banks and insurance companies just as much as nuclear power plants, oil exploration and production companies, chemical process installations and air, sea and rail transport. Its unique combination of principles and practicalities make this seminal book essential reading for all whose daily business is to manage, audit and regulate hazardous technologies of all kinds. It is relevant to those concerned with understanding and controlling human and organizational factors and will also interest academic readers and those working in industrial and government agencies. This Is A Practical Book Aimed At Those Whose Daily Task It Is To Think About And Manage Or Regulate The Risks Of Hazardous Technologies. The Book Is Not Targeted At Any One Domain, But Attempts To Identify General Tools And Principles That Are Applicable To All Organizations Facing Dangers Of One Sort Or Another. This Could Include Banks And Building Societies Just As Much As Nuclear Power Plants, Oil Exploration And Production, Chemical Process Plants, And Air, Sea And Rail Transport. The Emphasis Is Placed Upon The Principles And Practicalities Of Defenses Against Accidents, And How To Meet The Challenges And Minimize Risk. 1. Hazards, Defences And Losses -- 2. Defeating The Defences -- 3. Dangerous Defences -- 4. The Human Contribution -- 5. Maintenance Can Seriously Damage Your System -- 6. Navigating The Safety Space -- 7. A Practical Guide To Error Management -- 8. The Regulator's Unhappy Lot -- 9. Engineering A Safety Culture -- 10. Reconciling The Different Approaches To Safety Management. James Reason. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Le document focalise sur les différents types d'accidents qui peuvent se produire dans les organisations ou l'administration de services (organizational accidents). Au contraire des accidents que peuvent rencontrer les individus, les accidents organisationels peuvent se révéler catastrophiques et avoir plusieurs causes impliquant plusieurs personnes oeuvrant à différents niveaux de l'organisation et avoir des conséquences importantes pour la collectivité. L'auteur aborde la question des dangers, des systèmes de défence, de la prévention, des facteurs humains, de l'environnement sécuritaire, de la gestion des risques et des erreurs et du changement des mentalités et des attitudes chez le personnel This lucid book presents a set of common principles to further our knowledge of the causes of major accidents in a wide variety of high-technology systems. Its unique combination of principles and practicalities make this seminal book essential reading for all those whose daily business is to manage, audit and regulate hazardous technologies of all kinds.