Learning in the Heat of the Moment: An Interview With Sabrina Cohen-Hatton

In the heat of the moment, how do we make decisions, individually and collectively? And how can we improve decision-making at work? Steven Shorrock interviews firefighter and psychologist Sabrina Cohen-Hatton, about her work on decision-making in the emergency services, her journey from firefighter to Chief Fire Officer, and her extraordinary life.

The Curious Incident of the Runway Incursion in the Night-Time

Sometimes after an incident, a system-wide change is implemented that makes work more difficult and creates new problems. This story is one such example, which contains useful lessons for responding to rare events. Steven Shorrock recounts the tale.

A Surgeon’s Take on Human and Organisational Factors: A Conversation with Manoj Kumar

Healthcare is perhaps the most complex safety-critical sector, and the challenges have only increased throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Increasingly, human and organisational factors have come under the spotlight. Manoj Kumar is a consultant general surgeon with a background also in safety, human factors, and training. In this conversation with Steven Shorrock, Manoj provides insights and perspectives on the realities of work in healthcare, and the team’s role in improvement.

A Desk Is a Dangerous Place From Which to Watch the World

This article is a reproduction of an article published in HindSight magazine issue 28 in February 2019 on the…

Work-As-Imagined Solutioneering: Ten Traps Along the Yellow Brick Road

On major projects, some surprises unfold slowly via ‘work-as-imagined solutioneering’. Based on observations in several industries, Steven Shorrock presents ten traps that we can all fall into.

Why Learn from Everyday Work?

This article is a reproduction of the Editorial published in HindSight magazine issue 31 in December 2020…

Surprises in Healthcare

Surprises in healthcare are common and can have lasting effects on clinicians. Steven Shorrock asked clinicians to reveal aspects of their experience with implications for learning.

Surprises, Fast and Slow: Preparing for the Limits of Work-as-Imagined

This article is a reproduction of the Editorial published in HindSight magazine issue 34 in…

HindSight 34: Handling Surprises (Tales of the Unexpected) is out now

HindSight is a magazine on human and organisational factors in operations. HindSight magazine is free…

Getting a Handle on Three Zones of Performance

Reflections on what distinguishes the three zones of performance in the well-known graph associated with Safety-II.