Implementing and Sustaining Human Reliability Programmes of Work- a Managers´ Guide

Over the past few years, human reliability has had considerable experience of applying qualitative risk assessment techniques in a range of organisations. Our observation is that, once the commitment has been made to undertake this type of work, its ultimate success depends, to a large degree, on how certain organisational issues are managed. Drawing on our practical experience, this paper is designed to provide some insights into these issues for organisations taking their first steps in this field. To this end, a case study is used to demonstrate one type of qualitative human reliability risk assessment and illustrate potential pitfalls. Guidance is provided regarding the planning, resources and timescale issues that need to be managed in order to successfully complete such analyses. The paper ends with some conclusions about the impact of this task- based process on wider human factors issues within process organisations.