Towards a unified model of accident causation: refining and validating the systems thinking safety tenets
Towards a unified model of accident causation: refining and validating the systems thinking safety tenets
The systems thinking tenets were developed based on a synthesis of contemporary accident causation theory, models and approaches and encapsulate 15 features of complex systems that interact to create both safety and adverse events. Whilst initial testing provided supportive evidence, the tenets have not yet been subject to formal validation. This article presents the findings from a three-round Delphi study undertaken to refine and validate the tenets and assess their suitability for inclusion in a unified model of accident causation. Participants with expertise in accident causation and systems thinking provided feedback on the tenets and associated definitions until an acceptable level of consensus was achieved. The results reduced the original 15 tenets to 14 and 10 were identified as important to include in unified model of accident causation. The refined systems thinking tenets are presented along with future research directions designed to facilitate their use in safety practice. Practitioner summary: This article presents a refined and validated set of systems thinking tenets which describe features of complex systems that interact to create adverse events. The tenets can be used by practitioners to proactively identify safety leading indicators and contributory factors during adverse event analysis.
Accident causation, accident analysis and prevention, complexity, safety, systems thinking
Salmon, Paul M.
8fcdacc0-31f9-4276-bd9e-8127db6c806e
Hulme, Adam
110afcb6-92b2-40ff-a6be-25f66ea133ca
Walker, Guy H.
50ec35f0-b93b-431e-b4e4-2f1a5fae7904
Waterson, Patrick
708fcc53-ddcc-45d1-9360-7a92b815cb3b
Stanton, Neville A.
351a44ab-09a0-422a-a738-01df1fe0fadd
9 August 2022
Salmon, Paul M.
8fcdacc0-31f9-4276-bd9e-8127db6c806e
Hulme, Adam
110afcb6-92b2-40ff-a6be-25f66ea133ca
Walker, Guy H.
50ec35f0-b93b-431e-b4e4-2f1a5fae7904
Waterson, Patrick
708fcc53-ddcc-45d1-9360-7a92b815cb3b
Stanton, Neville A.
351a44ab-09a0-422a-a738-01df1fe0fadd
Salmon, Paul M., Hulme, Adam, Walker, Guy H., Waterson, Patrick and Stanton, Neville A.
(2022)
Towards a unified model of accident causation: refining and validating the systems thinking safety tenets.
Ergonomics.
(doi:10.1080/00140139.2022.2107709).
Abstract
The systems thinking tenets were developed based on a synthesis of contemporary accident causation theory, models and approaches and encapsulate 15 features of complex systems that interact to create both safety and adverse events. Whilst initial testing provided supportive evidence, the tenets have not yet been subject to formal validation. This article presents the findings from a three-round Delphi study undertaken to refine and validate the tenets and assess their suitability for inclusion in a unified model of accident causation. Participants with expertise in accident causation and systems thinking provided feedback on the tenets and associated definitions until an acceptable level of consensus was achieved. The results reduced the original 15 tenets to 14 and 10 were identified as important to include in unified model of accident causation. The refined systems thinking tenets are presented along with future research directions designed to facilitate their use in safety practice. Practitioner summary: This article presents a refined and validated set of systems thinking tenets which describe features of complex systems that interact to create adverse events. The tenets can be used by practitioners to proactively identify safety leading indicators and contributory factors during adverse event analysis.
This record has no associated files available for download.
More information
Accepted/In Press date: 21 June 2022
e-pub ahead of print date: 9 August 2022
Published date: 9 August 2022
Additional Information:
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
Keywords:
Accident causation, accident analysis and prevention, complexity, safety, systems thinking
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 472527
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/472527
ISSN: 1366-5847
PURE UUID: e5cc1f11-3b66-4bd6-a7b2-a3172940effc
Catalogue record
Date deposited: 07 Dec 2022 17:51
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 03:17
Export record
Altmetrics
Contributors
Author:
Paul M. Salmon
Author:
Adam Hulme
Author:
Guy H. Walker
Author:
Patrick Waterson
Download statistics
Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.
View more statistics
