title: Applying the AcciMap methodology to investigate the tragic Sewol Ferry accident in South Korea.
abstract: This study applies the AcciMap methodology, which was originally proposed by Professor Jens Rasmussen (1997), to the analysis of the tragic Sewol Ferry accident in South Korea on April 16, 2014, which killed 304 mostly young people and is considered as a national disaster in that country. This graphical representation, by incorporating associated socio-technical factors into an integrated framework, provides a big-picture to illustrate the context in which an accident occurred as well as the interactions between different levels of the studied system that resulted in that event. In general, analysis of past accidents within the stated framework can define the patterns of hazards within an industrial sector. Such analysis can lead to the definition of preconditions for safe operations, which is a main focus of proactive risk management systems. In the case of the Sewol Ferry accident, a lot of the blame has been placed on the Sewol's captain and its crewmembers. However, according to this study, which relied on analyzing all available sources published in English and Korean, the disaster is the result of a series of lapses and disregards for safety across different levels of government and regulatory bodies, Chonghaejin Company, and the Sewol's crewmembers. The primary layers of the AcciMap framework, which include the political environment and non-proactive governmental body; inadequate regulations and their lax oversight and enforcement; poor safety culture; inconsideration of human factors issues; and lack of and/or outdated standard operating and emergency procedures were not only limited to the maritime industry in South Korea, and the Sewol Ferry accident, but they could also subject any safety-sensitive industry anywhere in the world.
authors.affiliation: Daniel J. Epstein Department of Industrial & Systems Engineering, University of Southern California, 3715 McClintock Ave., GER240, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA.
authors.forename: Samuel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Daniel J. Epstein Department of Industrial & Systems Engineering, University of Southern California, 3715 McClintock Ave., GER240, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA.
authors.forename: Young Bo
authors.initials: YB
authors.lastname: Moh
authors.affiliation: Department of Manufacturing Systems Engineering & Management, California State University, Northridge, 18111 Nordhoff St., JD4510, Los Angeles, CA 91330, USA. Electronic address: maryam.tabibzadeh@csun.edu.
authors.forename: Maryam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tabibzadeh
authors.affiliation: Daniel J. Epstein Department of Industrial & Systems Engineering, University of Southern California, 3715 McClintock Ave., GER240, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA.
authors.forename: Najmedin
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Meshkati
mesh_terms: D000059:Accidents; D004190:Disasters; D006801:Humans; D056910:Republic of Korea; D017751:Safety Management / Q000379:methods*; D012767:Ships; D013597:Systems Analysis
keywords: AcciMap; Accident investigation; Complex systems; Human factors; Jens Rasmussen; Safety culture; Sewol Ferry accident; South Korea