Four Kinds of Thinking: 2. Systems Thinking

Understanding and intervention for system performance and human wellbeing is rooted – to some extent – in four kinds of thinking. In this short series, I outline these. This post concerns Systems Thinking.

Shorrock’s Law of Limits

“When you put a limit on a measure, if that measure relates to efficiency, the limit will be used as a target.”

Four Kinds of Human Factors: 4. Socio-Technical System Interaction

This is the fourth in a series of posts on different ‘kinds’ of human factors, as understood both within and outside the discipline and profession of human factors and ergonomics itself. This post explores a fourth kind of human factors: Socio-technical system interaction.

Never/Zero Thinking

There has been much talk in recent years about ‘never events’ and ‘zero harm’, similar to talk in the safety community about ‘zero accidents’. It sounds obvious: no one would want an accident. And we all wish that serious harm would not result from accidents. But as expressed and implemented top-down, never/zero is problematic for many reasons. In this post, I shall outline just a few, as I see them.

Systems Thinking for Safety: From A&E to ATC

This article summarises a EUROCONTROL Network Manager White Paper called Systems Thinking for Safety: Ten…

Paramedics Under Pressure: A Case Study for Systems Thinking

Learning systems thinking is best done by doing. Case studies are useful ways to understand…

The Whole Picture

During my teenage years, I was primarily interested in the arts, not the sciences. I…

If It Weren’t for the People…

In Kurt Vonnegut’s dystopian novel ‘Player Piano’, automation has replaced most human labour. Anything that…

Target Culture: Lessons in Unintended Consequences

By Steven Shorrock & Tony Licu The text in this article first appeared in HindSight…

Why Do We Resist New Thinking About Safety and Systems?

Something I have been thinking about for a while is the way that we look…