Human Factors Topic: ORGANIZATION

What is the impact of organization on performance?Organization

Organizational structure influences how information flows and decisions are made. Are operators empowered to make decisions or are they in place to implement decisions of others in the organization?

Ensuring that this structure is both defined and understood within the organization is critical; in fact, poor organizational structure was a criticism of BP during the Texas City event.

 

KEY QUESTIONS/ISSUES FACING INDUSTRY TODAY

  • Can “safety culture” be defined and measured?
  • What it is that makes a safety culture?
  • What would an incident reporting database look like?

Do you have a question or hot button issue that isn’t on our list?
We’d like to hear from you so send us an email with your concerns and suggestions.

MORE INFORMATION

  • Changing Workforce Drives Control Room Modernization
    Author: Grant Gerke
    Publication: Automation World, January 28, 2013, Access Article
  • Control Systems, Oh, No…Not Again!
    The Process Industries Have Been Faced with a Continuing Series of Refinery, Chemical Plant, Mining and Even Food Plant Disasters. These Continue to Happen with Distressing Regularity. Who’s at Fault? It’s the Culture, Not the Control Systems.
    Author: Walt Boyes
    Publication: ControlGlobal.com, April 2010, Access Article
  • Drift into Failure: From Hunting Broken Components to Understanding Complex Systems
    This is a must read for anyone involved in plant safety. Dekker challenges many current paradigms on both why systems fail and what is needed to make them succeed. The work is well written and engaging, with cogent arguments throughout.
    Author: Sidney Dekker
    Publisher: Ashgate Publishing, Burlington, VT, 2011