The Dual Face of HOF in High-Risk Organizations

Corinne Bieder

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-25639-5_13

Abstract

High-risk organizations commonly acknowledge the importance of human and organizational factors (HOF). However, in practice the role played by HOF specialists and their share of voice varies dramatically from one organization to another. Within organizations themselves, there are some recurrent tensions around HOF and the role HOF specialists are understood to play. This delicate situation seems to partly stem from the gap between conventional wisdom on HOF in high-risk organizations and how HOF specialists see HOF and their role and contribution to organizations. Exploring this dual face of HOF and trying to better understand where it comes from may help to reduce misunderstandings and suggest ways forward to build on the remaining inevitable organizational contradictions to improve the way HOF are considered in high-risk industries.

Highlights

The importance of human and organizational factors (HOF) for safety is widely and commonly acknowledged in high-risk organizations, the reality is more qualified as to how this ‘importance’ translates into practice
Drawing a general picture that would pretend to be representative of all high-risk organizations or even of all parts of a given organization would be oversimplifying a diverse reality
The way HOF are taken into account varies in time, along with the context, the people and probably many other factors that would be worth exploring

Summary

Introduction

The importance of human and organizational factors (HOF) for safety is widely and commonly acknowledged in high-risk organizations, the reality is more qualified as to how this ‘importance’ translates into practice. In some parts of some organizations, as the issues raised by FonCSI’s industrial partners go to show, there is a recurrent emergence of tensions around HOF and the role HOF specialists are understood to play. These tensions seem to partly stem from the gap between conventional wisdom on HOF in high-risk organizations and how HOF specialists see HOF and their role and contribution to organizations.

Bieder (B)

How HOF Specialists See HOF and How They See their Role

How to Make these Tensions Constructive