Operational Decision-making in High-hazard Organizations: Drawing a Line in the Sand

by Jan Hayes

Overview

This book describes research on safety-related decision-making by operations supervisory personnel in three different high-hazard industries, and features a case study illustrating each: a chemical plant, a nuclear power station and an air-navigation service provider. The focus of this research is unique: those who supervise the frontline personnel and essentially provide the organizational link between senior management and minute-by-minute system operations.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781409474128
Publisher:	Ashgate Publishing Ltd
Publication date:	06/28/2013
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Jan Hayes has 25 years’ experience in safety and risk management. She holds a Senior Research Fellow appointment at the Australian National University where she is Program Leader for the social science research activities of the Energy Pipelines Co-operative Research Centre. Dr Hayes is a member of the Advisory Board of the Australian National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority.

Table of Contents

Contents: Foreword; Preface; Introduction; Theoretical perspectives on making safe decisions; Part A Decision-Making in Three High Reliability Organizations: At the nuclear power station - ’We put a line in the sand’; At the chemical plant - ’If it’s not safe, we don’t do it’; Air traffic control - ’When you kick a ball, you don’t know where it’s going to land’. Part B Acting Both as Employees and as Professionals: Decision-making and identity; Rules and compliance; Professionals at work; Professional relationships; Decisions, risks and barriers; Creating environments for better decision-making; References; Index.

Editorial Reviews

This book is an enormously valuable addition to the literature on high reliability organizations. Andrew Hopkins, Emeritus Professor of Sociology, Australian National University, Canberra ’Overall this is a tightly written and well-argued book, which clearly shows that, despite little understanding or acknowledgement, organisations rely critically on the experience and judgement of professionals to keep workers and general public safe.’ The RoSPA Occupational Safety & Health Journal, September 2013

From the Publisher