Team adaptation and safety in aviation

Abstract

Managing complexity in safety–critical sociotechnical systems requires practitioners to adapt continuously to new challenges. However, adaptation has been subjected to a variety of interpretations depending on the particular research paradigm, which makes it difficult for practitioners to understand and apply to safety management. We use a systematic review of the literature on human adaptation in order to derive a model of team adaptation to guide further research and application to new circumstances by both researchers and practitioners. The cybernetic model and its associated taxonomy of adaptation strategies have been used in a retrospective analysis of human performance data. All elements of the taxonomy are explained in the context of an emergency scenario of Quanta’s flight QF32. Practical implications from this study are highlighted for modern Resilience and Safety II approaches to safety management.