Can safety training contribute to enhancing safety?

International audienceTraining has always been an obvious response to any operational issue and safety issues are no exception. Further to an accident, training, and more specifically safety training, almost always forms part of the recommendations. More than that, safety training has always been considered by many as one of the major pillars for ensuring the safety of hazardous activities. This is the case in regulatory requirements as well as in many internal safety policies. Although this seems to make sense intuitively, intuition is not always of sound advice when it comes to safety. In reality, safety training conveys a number of implicit assumptions as to what contributes to making the operation of an organization safe. These assumptions, once made explicit, become debatable. However, unravelling them makes it possible to examine potential ways forward to reach beyond what seems to be the current safety training escalation dead-end

Safety science: A situated science: An exploration through the lens of Safety Management Systems

International audienceA number of key concepts have punctuated the development of Safety science. Reflecting on what the next ones could be is a tricky exercise. How come certain safety concepts or theories or dispositive in the sense of Foucault emerge and become ‘dominating concepts’ or turning points in safety science? The paper considers a case from the past, namely that of Safety Management System (SMS), as a proxy to shed light on this question. The origins of SMS are explored to unravel what lies behind its emergence and development. The research is based on a literature review and open-ended interviews of 15 people who played a personal part in safety science or practices development before and/or when SMS started to emerge. Overall, the sample of interviewees represents a range of safety stakeholders (academia, industry, regulatory bodies, consulting companies) and high-risk industries to provide a diversity of perspectives on the emergence of SMS. The analysis of this material highlights several aspects that contributed to converge towards an approach like the SMS, beyond the identified limitations of safety science at that time. First, the intellectual context in which SMS emerged, was that of major developments on organizational and managerial dimensions of safety. Second, most safety stakeholders had motivations beyond safety enhancement to move towards a new approach. Last, the overall environment, way beyond safety and high-risk industries, facilitated the convergence towards an approach like the SMS. Eventually, this research demonstrates that safety is a situated science, situated not only in time, but also in a much wider economic, industrial, political, societal context. Putting safety into such perspective opens new avenues for reflecting about the future of safety science considering current trends not only in safety but also way beyond

Should safety disappear to move forward ? The case of the Safety Management System (SMS) and its origins

Le SGS (Système de Gestion de la Sécurité) est présenté dans l'aviation comme l'approche la plus prometteuse pour améliorer la sécurité. Pourtant, son efficacité perçue en tant qu'approche de management de la sécurité est mitigée. Cette thèse explore comment le SMS a été adopté dans l'aviation dans les années 2010, comme un changement radical dans le management de la sécurité et un moyen de réduire les occurrences d'accidents. Plus précisément, deux questions sont abordées : Comment le SGS de l'aviation tient-il ses promesses en matière de sécurité ? Comment le SGS a-t-il atterri dans l'aviation ?Sur la base d'une revue de littérature et d'une analyse des guides et outils pour le SGS produits par les autorités de l'aviation civile de trois régions représentatives, différentes philosophies du SGS sont mises en évidence : d'une approche basée sur la conformité, s'appuyant fortement sur une customisation minimale de documents génériques mis à disposition par les autorités, à une approche réflexive amenant les organisations aéronautiques à réfléchir sur leurs propres pratiques et à proposer leurs propres mesures pour gérer au mieux la sécurité.Une analyse critique de la manière dont le SGS tient ses promesses est alors effectuée. Elle passe en revue des raccourcis conceptuels (ex : confusion entre sécurité et SGS ; assimilation de la sécurité à la gestion des risques), les écueils méthodologiques, et les biais introduits par la mise en œuvre pratique du SGS.Pourtant, malgré ces limites, le SGS a été massivement adopté dans les industries à haut risque. Une recherche complémentaire s’imposait pour dépasser ce constat. Elle a été réalisée au moyen d'une approche socio-historique combinant l'analyse de traces écrites et l'interview de 18 ‘anciens’ du management de la sécurité déjà acteurs du domaine au moment de l'émergence et de la diffusion du SGS (fin des années 70 à 90 essentiellement). Cette analyse met en évidence les motivations des différents acteurs de la sécurité à changer d’approche de management de la sécurité, allant de l'amélioration de la performance globale, à des enjeux de responsabilité et de transparence. Elle souligne également le rôle du contexte global dans la convergence vers une approche de type SGS, en particulier : l'élan sociétal vers le New Public Management basé sur la gestion des risques et les audits généralisés ; la diffusion des systèmes de management de la qualité dans l’industrie. Enfin, l’histoire des idées autour du management de la sécurité est explorée. Elle souligne le rôle des communautés, en particulier des communautés de pratique au sein des industries, des communautés d'utilisateurs et des communautés scientifiques, ainsi que celui de certains individus et mécanismes qui ont favorisé la transversalité entre communautés. Au final, le SGS s'avère être l'émanation d'un contexte complexe mêlant de multiples aspects interdépendants.Ces constats conduisent à proposer trois voies à explorer, allant crescendo dans leur décalage avec les pratiques actuelles : 1/ Une extension du cadre, de l’horizon temporel et de la portée de l'analyse des risques, et des méthodes de travail plus inclusives dans le processus de gestion des risques ; 2/ Une extension de la définition de la sécurité au-delà de la gestion des risques reconnaissant l'incertitude, et le développement de capacités à faire face aux inévitables imprévus. Cela implique une flexibilité des modes d’action et de décision pour s’adapter aux situations et par suite, une évolution des modèles de gouvernance vers des modèles plus contextualisés et plus inclusifs ; 3/ Dépasser le périmètre de la sécurité pour mieux la manager, en appréhendant la complexité du contexte global et les multiples enjeux avec lesquels elle interagit. Par ailleurs, aborder la question des enjeux multiples sous un angle favorisant les synergies entre eux plutôt les tensions. Cela passe notamment par une révision des modes de gouvernance et structures organisationnelles.The SMS (Safety Management System) is presented in aviation as the most promising approach to enhance safety. Yet, the perceptions on its efficiency as a safety management approach are mixed. This thesis explores how the SMS was adopted in aviation in the mid-2010s with the promise to be a step change in the management of safety and a way to reduce the occurrences of accidents. More specifically, two questions are addressed: How does the aviation SMS hold up to its safety promises? How did the SMS land in aviation?Based on a literature review and an in-depth document analysis of SMS guidance material and toolkits produced by Civil Aviation Authorities from three representative regions, different philosophies of the SMS are highlighted. They range from a compliance-based approach to safety management, mainly relying on almost ready-to-use material made available by Authorities, to a reflexive approach leading aviation organizations to reflect on their own practices and come up with their own measures to best manage safety.On this basis, a critical analysis of how the SMS holds up to its promises is performed. Conceptual shortcuts such as the assimilation of safety and SMS or of safety and risk management as well as the limitations of hierarchical risk control models are discussed. The pitfalls of the bowtie method (most widely used in aviation) are explained and illustrated. The biases introduced by the practical implementation of the SMS are examined.Realizing that, despite its safety limitations, the SMS was massively adopted in high-risk industries, invites to reach beyond its face value. This was done by means of a socio-historical approach combining the analysis of written traces and the interview of 18 old-timers of safety management who played a personal role they played in safety at the time of the emergence and spreading of the SMS (late 70s to 90s in most high-risk industries). This analysis highlights the motivations, including beyond safety, of the various safety stakeholders to change safety management approaches, ranging from the improvement of the performance as a whole to liability and transparency purposes. It also underlines the role played by the overall context in the convergence towards an approach like the SMS, especially: the societal push towards a New Public Management based on the risk management of everything and generalized audits; the industrial trend to massively adopt quality management systems. Lastly, it uncovers how the ideas on safety management were discussed and spread. It emphasizes the role of communities, especially industry-specific communities of practice, communities of users (especially of the International Safety Rating System) and scientific communities, as well as that of some individuals and mechanisms that fostered transversality between communities. Based on this analysis, the SMS turns out to be an emanation of a complex context where multiple interrelated aspects came into play.These findings lead to propose three ways forward posing increasing challenges as to their implementation: 1/ An extension of the scope, time frame and reach of the risk analysis, and more inclusive ways of working in the risk management process; 2/ Extending the definition of safety beyond the management of risks to acknowledge the existence of the unexpected and develop the capabilities to cope with the inevitable contingencies. This involves recognizing the need for adaptation and change of performance modes according to the situation, thus requires an evolution of governance models towards more contextualized and inclusive ones; 3/ Reaching beyond safety to manage it in order to apprehend the complexity of the overall context and the multiple stakes it interrelates with. Within this broader scope, a change in perspectives fostering the synergies between the various interests rather than nurturing the tension, calling for revisiting modes of governance and organizational structures

Safety Management Systems and their Origins: Insights from the Aviation Industry

International audienceSafety Management Systems and their Origins: Insights from the Aviation Industry presents different perspectives on SMS to better decode what it means as a safety approach and what it implicitly conveys beyond safety. The book uses the aviation industry as a basis for analyzing where the SMS stands in terms of safety enhancement. Through a socio-historical analysis of how SMSs emerged and spread across high-risk industries and countries, the book also explains the other stakes underpinning this new approach to safety management

Safety Management Systems and their Origins: Insights from the Aviation Industry

International audienceSafety Management Systems and their Origins: Insights from the Aviation Industry presents different perspectives on SMS to better decode what it means as a safety approach and what it implicitly conveys beyond safety. The book uses the aviation industry as a basis for analyzing where the SMS stands in terms of safety enhancement. Through a socio-historical analysis of how SMSs emerged and spread across high-risk industries and countries, the book also explains the other stakes underpinning this new approach to safety management

Les facteurs humains dans la gestion des risques : évolution de la pensée et des outils

International audience"Une erreur humaine serait à l'origine de l'accident...". L'analyse des accidents révèle souvent des divergences de vues sur le rôle des facteurs humains dans la sécurité. Les facteurs humains dans la gestion des risques propose une revue des différents regards possibles sur les facteurs humains et explore les hypothèses sous-jacentes, souvent implicites, sur le fonctionnement de la sécurité et le rôle joué par les facteurs humains. Cet ouvrage s'interroge aussi sur l'efficacité et les limites de ces approches dans la réduction des risques. Les approches existantes sont-elles adaptées ? Existe-t-il des freins à la nécessaire intégration des facteurs humains dans la gestion des risques ? Comment progresser dans ce domaine ? Autant de questions sur lesquelles ce livre apporte un éclairage

What Does it Take to Live With Uncertainty?

International audienceThis book explores the implications of acknowledging uncertainty and black swans for regulation of high-hazard technologies, for stakeholder acceptability of potentially hazardous activities and for risk governance. The conventional approach to risk assessment, which combines the likelihood of an event and the severity of its consequences, is poorly suited to situations where uncertainty and ambiguity are prominent features of the risk landscape. The new definition of risk used by ISO, “the effect of uncertainty on [achievement of] one’s objectives”, recognizes this paradigm change. What lessons can we draw from the management of fire hazards in Edo-era Japan? Are there situations in which increasing uncertainty allows more effective safety management? How should society address the risk of potentially planet-destroying scientific experiments?This book presents insights from leading scholars in different disciplines to challenge current risk governance and safety management practice