Author: Sidney Dekker
Part rant, part outpouring of immensely useful knowledge, built over years of practical experience and honed by academic rigour, this clear and passionate how-to guide provides the forward-thinking practitioner or operational leader an edgy and entertaining journey through the real world of human behaviour.
It’s easy to become transfixed with trying to coordinate and control everything when it comes to workplace safety. This book encourages balanced objectivity, nudging us towards the role of ‘concerned outsider who understands the inside’ and advocates that in order to more fully understand and truly build responsibility for safety at the frontline, we must look at the work people do, not just the person doing the work.
The central theme of this book is around the danger of the ‘label’ of ‘human error.’ Starting with 1940s studies on the subject, Dekker explains that human error is no more than a judgment made – after the fact – about certain behaviour, pointing out that ‘human error’ may be ‘normal’ behaviour to some people, or perhaps even a positive investment in resilience building.
This new edition explores the diversity of human behaviour and balances this with the need for accountability – or ‘just culture’. Whether we are driving safety culture or building an effective H&S department, Dekker warns of the risks of falling into ‘out of context thinking’ – an easy trap that many (if not all) of us have made at some point. Our propensity for hindsight bias is explained as we are reminded that the people involved in an accident just didn’t know at the time that the bad outcome was going to occur.
This is Dekker at his best; if you haven’t yet read him, buy this book. If you’re already familiar, buy this book. It will, without doubt, change your perspective on humans, their ‘errors’, and their behaviour.
Andrew Sharman is chief executive at RyderMarshSharman.
The Field Guide to Understanding ‘Human Error’ is available from Ashgate for £20.00.
