Preventing major accidents: Conditions for a functional risk ownership

Abstract

In this article, we use the concept of risk ownership to clarify the question of agency in matters that concern the prevention of major industrial accidents. We determine who may be considered as a risk owner and what functions risk owners may have, given the challenges inherent in complex systems. We argue that major accidents may be viewed as failures of risk ownership and that improving risk ownership may help resolve particular systemic issues highlighted in investigation reports. To support such improvements in practice, we propose ten conditions for the emergence of a functional risk ownership, eight of them applying to all risk owners and two concerning pivotal risk owners. They focus on the context of risk owners, on what may enable them to make sense of their task and what may help them intervene in a way that, in sum, serves the prevention of major accidents. They emphasise on the need for continuous adaptation and for disrupting oversimplifications. They advocate complementarity rather than unification of insights and judgments, and problematize the lack of critical thinking, contradictions and disagreements. They recommend to develop strong “safety advocates” with the necessary legitimacy to make the case for system safety throughout a socio-technical system.