Safety at work in the process industry as a group Accomplishment: Shadowing safety-as-done

Abstract

In this paper, work safety in the process industry is approached as a collaborative group accomplishment. It presents the methodological approach and findings of the ‘Teaming Up for Safety!’ research project, in which an ethnographic observation method called ‘shadowing’ was used to research group phenomena in relation to work safety. The potential of shadowing in examining safety-related team phenomena, especially situational awareness (SA), is discussed. Ethnographic research methods’ potential to deepen understanding of safety-related group phenomena and to help safety research focus on work- and safety-as-done is examined. The results detail the aspects onto which process industry teams focus SA and the means of establishing it and point out the relevance of SA in process industry work. The results show how establishing and maintaining SA is central in accomplishing the goals of operative production and maintenance tasks safely.