Safety leadership and systems thinking: application and evaluation of a Risk Management Framework in the mining industry.
Safety leadership is an important factor in supporting safety in high-risk industries. This article contends that applying systems-thinking methods to examine safety leadership can support improved learning from incidents. A case study analysis was undertaken of a large-scale mining landslide incident in which no injuries or fatalities were incurred. A multi-method approach was adopted, in which the Critical Decision Method, Rasmussen's Risk Management Framework and Accimap method were applied to examine the safety leadership decisions and actions which enabled the safe outcome. The approach enabled Rasmussen's predictions regarding safety and performance to be examined in the safety leadership context, with findings demonstrating the distribution of safety leadership across leader and system levels, and the presence of vertical integration as key to supporting the successful safety outcome. In doing so, the findings also demonstrate the usefulness of applying systems-thinking methods to examine and learn from incidents in terms of what 'went right'. The implications, including future research directions, are discussed. Practitioner Summary: This paper presents a case study analysis, in which systems-thinking methods are applied to the examination of safety leadership decisions and actions during a large-scale mining landslide incident. The findings establish safety leadership as a systems phenomenon, and furthermore, demonstrate the usefulness of applying systems-thinking methods to learn from incidents in terms of what 'went right'. Implications, including future research directions, are discussed.
a Human Factors Group , Monash University Accident Research Centre (MUARC), Monash University , Clayton , Australia.
Sarah-Louise
SL
Donovan
b Centre for Human Factors and Sociotechnical Systems, Faculty of Arts and Business , University of the Sunshine Coast , Maroochydore , Australia.
Paul M
PM
Salmon
a Human Factors Group , Monash University Accident Research Centre (MUARC), Monash University , Clayton , Australia.
Michael G
MG
Lenné
a Human Factors Group , Monash University Accident Research Centre (MUARC), Monash University , Clayton , Australia.
Tim
T
Horberry
D003657:Decision Making; D006801:Humans; D007857:Leadership; D008906:Mining; D016272:Occupational Health; D019982:Organizational Case Studies; D012308:Risk Management / Q000379:methods*; D012449:Safety; D013597:Systems Analysis
Safety leadership; learning from incidents; safe performance; systems-thinking