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A new approach to safety, based on systems thinking, that is more effective, less costly, and easier to use than current techniques. Engineering has experienced a technological revolution, but the basic engineering techniques applied in safety and reliability engineering, created in a simpler, analog world, have changed very little over the years. In this groundbreaking book, Nancy Leveson proposes a new approach to safety—more suited to today's complex, sociotechnical, software-intensive world—based on modern systems thinking and systems theory. Revisiting and updating ideas pioneered by 1950s aerospace engineers in their System Safety concept, and testing her new model extensively on r...
We are building systems today-and using computers to control them-that have the potential for large-scale destruction of life and environment. More than ever, software engineers and system developers, as well as their managers, must understand the issues and develop the skills needed to anticipate and prevent accidents. Nancy Leveson examines what is currently known about building safe electromechanical systems and looks at past accidents to see what practical lessons can be applied to new computer-controlled systems.
For Resilience Engineering, 'failure' is the result of the adaptations necessary to cope with the complexity of the real world, rather than a malfunction. Human performance must continually adjust to current conditions and, because resources and time are finite, such adjustments are always approximate. Featuring contributions from leading international figures in human factors and safety, Resilience Engineering provides thought-provoking insights into system safety as an aggregate of its various components - subsystems, software, organizations, human behaviours - and the way in which they interact.
Safety has traditionally been defined as a condition where the number of adverse outcomes was as low as possible (Safety-I). From a Safety-I perspective, the purpose of safety management is to make sure that the number of accidents and incidents is kept as low as possible, or as low as is reasonably practicable. This means that safety management must start from the manifestations of the absence of safety and that - paradoxically - safety is measured by counting the number of cases where it fails rather than by the number of cases where it succeeds. This unavoidably leads to a reactive approach based on responding to what goes wrong or what is identified as a risk - as something that could go...
This book contains all refereed papers that were accepted to the second edition of the « Complex Systems Design & Management » (CSDM 2011) international conference that took place in Paris (France) from December 7 to December 9, 2011. (Website: http://www.csdm2011.csdm.fr/). These proceedings cover the most recent trends in the emerging field of complex systems sciences & practices from an industrial and academic perspective, including the main industrial domains (transport, defense & security, electronics, energy & environment, e-services), scientific & technical topics (systems fundamentals, systems architecture& engineering, systems metrics & quality, systemic tools) and system types (transportation systems, embedded systems, software & information systems, systems of systems, artificial ecosystems). The CSDM 2011 conference is organized under the guidance of the CESAMES non-profit organization (http://www.cesames.net/).
Influencing the Quality, Risk and Safety Movement in Healthcare explores the inner workings of some of the most influential minds in healthcare quality, risk and safety. The book was created in cooperation with the Master of Science in Healthcare Quality graduate program, developed and delivered by Queen’s University, Canada. This is the only standalone interdisciplinary Master of Science graduate degree in Healthcare Quality in North America that focuses on creating tomorrow’s healthcare leaders. Following a one-to-one collaboration between each leader in healthcare with a dedicated learner of the MSc(HQ), readers are presented with a synopsis of the leader’s work followed by an in-de...
Space Safety and Human Performance provides a comprehensive reference for engineers and technical managers within aerospace and high technology companies, space agencies, operators, and consulting firms. The book draws upon the expertise of the world's leading experts in the field and focuses primarily on humans in spaceflight, but also covers operators of control centers on the ground and behavior aspects of complex organizations, thus addressing the entire spectrum of space actors. During spaceflight, human performance can be deeply affected by physical, psychological and psychosocial stressors. Strict selection, intensive training and adequate operational rules are used to fight performan...
Cockpit Resource Management (CRM) has gained increased attention from the airline industry in recent years due to the growing number of accidents and near misses in airline traffic. This book, authored by the first generation of CRM experts, is the first comprehensive work on CRM. Cockpit Resource Management is a far-reaching discussion of crew coordination, communication, and resources from both within and without the cockpit. A valuable resource for commercialand military airline training curriculum, the book is also a valuable reference for business professionals who are interested in effective communication among interactive personnel. Key Features * Discusses international and cultural aspects of CRM * Examines the design and implementation of Line-Oriented Flight Training (LOFT) * Explains CRM, LOFT, and cockpit automation * Provides a case history of CRM training which improved flight safety for a major airline
One of the world's great designers shares his vision of "the fundamental principles of great and meaningful design", that's "even more relevant today than it was when first published" (Tim Brown, CEO, IDEO). Even the smartest among us can feel inept as we fail to figure out which light switch or oven burner to turn on, or whether to push, pull, or slide a door. The fault, argues this ingenious -- even liberating -- book, lies not in ourselves, but in product design that ignores the needs of users and the principles of cognitive psychology. The problems range from ambiguous and hidden controls to arbitrary relationships between controls and functions, coupled with a lack of feedback or other ...
The book offers important insight relevant to Corporate, Governmentand Global organizations management in general. The internationallyrecognised authors tackle vital issues in decision making, howorganizational risk is managed, how can technological andorganizational complexities interact, what are the impediments foreffective learning and how large, medium, and small organizationscan, and in fact must, increase their resilience. Managers,organizational consultants, expert professionals, and trainingspecialists; particularly those in high risk organizations, mayfind the issues covered in the book relevant to their daily workand a potential catalyst for thought and action. A timely analysis o...