'Samhandling': On the nuances of resilience through case study research in emergency response operations

Standard emergency-management procedures offer guidance on how organizations can improve their handling of all types of emergencies. However, such a generalization undermines uncertainties and oversimplifies the complexity of real work practices during an emergency response operation (ERO). The handling of the COVID-19 pandemic highlights how uncertainty and escalating consequences reinforce the need for resilience in EROs. To illustrate the key elements of our suggested approach and its practical implications, we discuss the issues in light of a case study related to a COVID-19 outbreak on a floating oil rig in the North Sea. The analysis reveals several instances of creative problem solving, and individual and collective efforts beyond the scope of the standard procedures. It also underlines how the shortcomings of resource allocation and over-planning might lead to inflexibility, thus harming EROs' efficiency. Our analysis highlights that the key to resilient EROs lies in robust coordination, the ability to improvise, transparency, and trusting communication between the actors involved. Greater focus on network building—proactively maintained through regular training and exercise activities—strengthens resilience in emergency-management systems. All these traits link to the Norwegian term “samhandling,” a notion which is here proposed to summarize and connect these resilience capacities.'Samhandling': On the nuances of resilience through case study research in emergency response operationspublishedVersio

Military Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Operations Through the lens of a high reliability system: Challenges and Opportunities

This study examines the impact of regulations and standard procedures on safety outcomes in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) operations, specifically focussing on Norwegian military UAV systems, from a high reliability organization (HRO) perspective. By analysing data from existing regulations, accident reports, and interviews with military drone pilots using thematic analysis, we identify key recurring themes. Our findings highlight the importance of fatigue and exhaustion due to the absence of regulations on resting time for military drone pilots. This poses substantial risks and increases the likelihood of accidents and incidents in UAV operations. Additionally, we uncover gaps in safety reporting and accountability for military UAV pilots, indicating the need for improved reporting procedures that consider the unique operational elements of UAVs. Effective communication between stakeholders, including drone pilots, ground crew, and air traffic controllers, emerges as a critical factor in maintaining situational awareness. This emphasis on communication is consistent with HRO principles and supports the essential safety tasks of UAV pilots, namely sense-making, decision making, and performance. By uncovering the impact of regulations and operational procedures on safety outcomes and addressing fatigue in UAV operations, this research contributes to enhancing the safety and reliability of Norwegian military UAV systems.publishedVersio

Håndtering av langvarige beredskapshendelser: Læringspunkter etter covid-19-utbrudd på West Phoenix

Den tradisjonelle risiko- og sårbarhetsanalysen er utgangspunkt for dagens beredskapsplaner, som består av rammer og prosedyrer for håndtering av definerte fare- og ulykkessituasjoner (DFU-er). Turbulente endringer, økende gjensidig avhengighet på tvers av organisasjoner samt økende grad av usikkerhet skaper imidlertid utfordringer som ligger utenfor grensene for den tradisjonelle beredskapstilnærmingen. Håndteringen av beredskapshendelser knyttet til koronaepidemien synliggjør hvordan usikkerhet, tidspress og eskalerende konsekvenser forsterker behovet for resiliens, altså motstandsdyktighet, i beredskapsarbeidet. Gjennom studien trekker vi frem læringspunkter fra hvordan et covid-19-utbrudd på den flytende oljeriggen West Phoenix ble håndtert på operativt og strategisk nivå. Basert på en metodetriangulering utforsker studien rollene til oljeselskapets beredskapsorganisasjoner og deres håndtering av utbruddet. Resultatet fra vår analyse av empiriske funn fremhever at nøkkelen til resilient beredskapsarbeid ligger i koordinering samt evne til improvisasjon, åpenhet, samarbeid og tillitsfull kommunikasjon mellom involverte aktører.acceptedVersio

Resilient flood-risk management at the municipal level through the lens of the Functional Resonance Analysis Model

This exploratory study takes a closer look at the flood Risk Management (RM) system at a municipality level. The current practices of RM in municipalities follow to a large extent, a standard structure of RM processes. Their application comes short of addressing the wide range of local specificities and other complexity related socio-technical factors that can have widespread impacts, much beyond the municipal scope. This study uses concepts and ideas from the resilience engineering literature to enhance the practices of the RM system. We apply the Functional Resonance Analysis Method (FRAM) to investigate the extent to which key RM activities are in line with generating anticipating, monitoring, responding and learning capabilities in the flood RM system. We examine the performance of RM functions, how they are coupled, and whether they can be sustained in the wake of a flood event. A triangulation of various qualitative research approaches is adopted, namely using semi-structured interviews, document analysis and workshop. Our findings reveal how the application of FRAM provides a deeper understanding of the underlying factors that shape the resilience of the RM process

Håndtering av langvarige beredskapshendelser: Læringspunkter etter covid-19-utbrudd på West Phoenix

Den tradisjonelle risiko- og sårbarhetsanalysen er utgangspunkt for dagens beredskapsplaner, som består av rammer og prosedyrer for håndtering av definerte fare- og ulykkessituasjoner (DFU-er). Turbulente endringer, økende gjensidig avhengighet på tvers av organisasjoner samt økende grad av usikkerhet skaper imidlertid utfordringer som ligger utenfor grensene for den tradisjonelle beredskapstilnærmingen. Håndteringen av beredskapshendelser knyttet til koronaepidemien synliggjør hvordan usikkerhet, tidspress og eskalerende konsekvenser forsterker behovet for resiliens, altså motstandsdyktighet, i beredskapsarbeidet. Gjennom studien trekker vi frem læringspunkter fra hvordan et covid-19-utbrudd på den flytende oljeriggen West Phoenix ble håndtert på operativt og strategisk nivå. Basert på en metodetriangulering utforsker studien rollene til oljeselskapets beredskapsorganisasjoner og deres håndtering av utbruddet. Resultatet fra vår analyse av empiriske funn fremhever at nøkkelen til resilient beredskapsarbeid ligger i koordinering samt evne til improvisasjon, åpenhet, samarbeid og tillitsfull kommunikasjon mellom involverte aktører

Norwegian Oil Market Concentration and its Effects on the Oil Service Companies 1993-2013

This paper explores the effect of market concentration of the Norwegian oil production sector (NPS) on Norway's second-largest industry, the oilfield services companies (OFS). To capture this effect, we use the system generalized method of moments approach (GMM) to estimate an empirical model, spanning the period 1993–2013. The findings indicate that increased market concentration is consistent with lower profitability of the oilfield services companies, as the bargaining power of oil companies relative to service companies increases. Increased knowledge about this effect could contribute to improving strategies for the further development of these industries by stakeholders

Engineering resilience in a prison's performance management system

While organisations are becoming more complex than ever, their applied performance management (PM) systems are still based on the conventional PM approach, derived from the need for control and accountability. On the other hand, turbulent changes, growing interdependencies across organisations, and increasing uncertainty have created challenges beyond the boundaries of traditional approaches. This study explores how principles and methods from the resilience engineering (RE) field can be applied to improve organisations' adaptive capacity in the sense that they anticipate, recognise, adapt to and absorb external or internal disturbances. By discussing features of different components of PM systems and ideas in RE, we provide a framework that links the elements of a PM system and the main features of RE at the cultural, strategic, and operational levels. The approach is instantiated and validated in the context of correctional service institutes, focusing on both security threats and related safety implications for staff and other inmates. We use a Norwegian prison as a case study and apply the proposed framework to assess the institute's resilience potentials

'Samhandling': On the nuances of resilience through case study research in emergency response operations

Standard emergency-management procedures offer guidance on how organizations can improve their handling of all types of emergencies. However, such a generalization undermines uncertainties and oversimplifies the complexity of real work practices during an emergency response operation (ERO). The handling of the COVID-19 pandemic highlights how uncertainty and escalating consequences reinforce the need for resilience in EROs. To illustrate the key elements of our suggested approach and its practical implications, we discuss the issues in light of a case study related to a COVID-19 outbreak on a floating oil rig in the North Sea. The analysis reveals several instances of creative problem solving, and individual and collective efforts beyond the scope of the standard procedures. It also underlines how the shortcomings of resource allocation and over-planning might lead to inflexibility, thus harming EROs' efficiency. Our analysis highlights that the key to resilient EROs lies in robust coordination, the ability to improvise, transparency, and trusting communication between the actors involved. Greater focus on network building—proactively maintained through regular training and exercise activities—strengthens resilience in emergency-management systems. All these traits link to the Norwegian term “samhandling,” a notion which is here proposed to summarize and connect these resilience capacities

'Samhandling': On the nuances of resilience through case study research in emergency response operations

Standard emergency-management procedures offer guidance on how organizations can improve their handling of all types of emergencies. However, such a generalization undermines uncertainties and oversimplifies the complexity of real work practices during an emergency response operation (ERO). The handling of the COVID-19 pandemic highlights how uncertainty and escalating consequences reinforce the need for resilience in EROs. To illustrate the key elements of our suggested approach and its practical implications, we discuss the issues in light of a case study related to a COVID-19 outbreak on a floating oil rig in the North Sea. The analysis reveals several instances of creative problem solving, and individual and collective efforts beyond the scope of the standard procedures. It also underlines how the shortcomings of resource allocation and over-planning might lead to inflexibility, thus harming EROs' efficiency. Our analysis highlights that the key to resilient EROs lies in robust coordination, the ability to improvise, transparency, and trusting communication between the actors involved. Greater focus on network building—proactively maintained through regular training and exercise activities—strengthens resilience in emergency-management systems. All these traits link to the Norwegian term “samhandling,” a notion which is here proposed to summarize and connect these resilience capacities

Patterns of Learning: A Systemic Analysis of Emergency Response Operations in the North Sea through the Lens of Resilience Engineering

Crisis-induced learning (CIL), as a concept, has an ancient history. Although the academic literature offers a range of sophisticated approaches to address CIL, it is still not quite clear how we learn, how we know we have learned, and what challenges and opportunities are involved in the CIL process. To address these questions and navigate ways forward, we need to use a specific real-world subject to capture contextual issues involved in a crisis cycle, which affects the learning process. In this paper, we uncover patterns of learning by exploring contextual issues involved with “actual scenarios” related to three COVID-19 episodes (emergencies) between August and December 2020. To analyze the study’s findings, we use three different themes from the DARWIN Generic Resilience Management Guidelines: (1) supporting the coordination and synchronization of emergency-response operation activities, (2) managing adaptive capacity, and (3) developing and revising procedures and checklists. Looking into these “real scenarios” seems fruitful for understanding patterns of learning, and it results in several learning recommendations. Among others, this study reveals how the uncertainty involved in emergency-response operations creates cognitive demands for emergent problem-solving