Drifting into failure: theorising the dynamics of disaster incubation
Ergonomic theory holds that accidents are preceded by periods of gradually increasing (but essentially unrecognised) risk, known originally in man-made disaster theory as the incubation period. This paper discusses the theorising of the dynamics of such accident incubation. It considers theoretical...
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Published in: | Theoretical issues in ergonomics science 2014-11, Vol.15 (6), p.534-544 |
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Main Authors: | , |
Format: | Article |
Language: | eng |
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | Get full text |
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Summary: | Ergonomic theory holds that accidents are preceded by periods of gradually increasing (but essentially unrecognised) risk, known originally in man-made disaster theory as the incubation period. This paper discusses the theorising of the dynamics of such accident incubation. It considers theoretical contributions - ranging from high-reliability to control theory to resilience engineering - for their ability to illuminate the driving forces behind a gradual shift in norms and erosion of safety margins, and for their ability to effectively track and represent such changes over time. |
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ISSN: | 1463-922X 1464-536X |