Introduction to human factors & work psychology
On 23 March 2005, a massive explosion and fires killed 15 people and injured another 180 at the BP Texas City Refinery, Texas. This disaster led to many investigation reports. It has been said that BP failed to learn from numerous warning signs that could have prevented the disaster. Many years later, I question how much wider industry has learnt - and provide a reflection toolkit based on 12 quotes from the investigations.
Five years ago, I launched this website with a series of articles about the Nimrod XV230 disaster. Today, on the 15th anniversary of this tragedy, I'd like to reflect on the key recommendations. From the subtitle of the independent Review - "A failure of leadership, culture and priorities" - it's obvious that there may be lessons for us all. The question is, have we learned these lessons?
Trevor Kletz was a safety hero. Over a career spanning nearly 70 years, his thoughts on human factors, human error and accident investigation helped to move the industry from a focus on individual behaviour to organisational and system failures. His proposal that we should shift from blame to learning is the basis of current safety thinking.
The first of several articles related to organisational failures highlighted in The Nimrod Review
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