Abstract
Theoretical and practical approaches to safety based on sociotechnical systems principles place heavy emphasis on the intersections between social–organisational and technical–work process factors. Within this perspective, work system design emphasises factors such as the joint optimisation of social and technical processes, a focus on reliable human–system performance and safety metrics as design and analysis criteria, the maintenance of a realistic and consistent set of safety objectives and policies, and regular access to the expertise and input of workers. We discuss three current approaches to the analysis and design of complex sociotechnical systems: human–systems integration, macroergonomics and safety climate. Each approach emphasises key sociotechnical systems themes, and each prescribes a more holistic perspective on work systems than do traditional theories and methods. We contrast these perspectives with historical precedents such as system safety and traditional human factors and ergonomics, and describe potential future directions for their application in research and practice.Practitioner Summary: The identification of factors that can reliably distinguish between safe and unsafe work systems is an important concern for ergonomists and other safety professionals. This paper presents a variety of sociotechnical systems perspectives on intersections between social–organisational and technology–work process factors as they impact work system analysis, design and operation.
Highlights
For as long as there have been accidents, disasters and near-misses there have been attempts to explain why and how such events occur
human–systems integration (HSI), with its roots in systems engineering, and macroergonomics, representing a confluence of traditional human factors and ergonomics (HFE) and sociotechnical systems thinking, attempts to go beyond root cause, single-point-of-failure approaches to focus on systemic factors whose influences can contribute to the creation of safety risks
Our intent is to contrast these approaches with macroergonomics, HSI and the concept of safety climate which, as exemplars of the sociotechnical systems approach, we argue are based on more robust assumptions about the factors impacting contemporary workplace safety
Summary
For as long as there have been accidents, disasters and near-misses there have been attempts to explain why and how such events occur. While ‘human– systems integration’ is the term most commonly applied to this domain in the USA, ‘human-factors integration’ is the preferred designation within much of the European Union (e.g., Tainsh 2004) Each of these theoretical approaches seeks to shift the focus of research and practice from a traditionally reductionist or ‘microergonomic’ (Hendrick and Kleiner 2002) perspective towards a broader focus on the more systemic level of social, ecological, organisational and technical factors that create and sustain functional (or dysfunctional) work systems and environments. HSI, with its roots in systems engineering, and macroergonomics, representing a confluence of traditional human factors and ergonomics (HFE) and sociotechnical systems thinking, attempts to go beyond root cause, single-point-of-failure approaches to focus on systemic factors whose influences can contribute to the creation of safety risks
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