Preventing Accidents and Building a Culture of Safety: Insights from a Simulation Model
Name
2008-03.pdf
Size
221.83 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
911111d6e995077f552b376b4e402093
Author(s)
Madnick, Stuart
Lyneis, John
Date Issued
February 13, 2008
Publisher
Cambridge, MA; Alfred P. Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Series/Report no.
MIT Sloan School of Management Working Paper;4710-08
CISL Working Paper;2008-03
Abstract
Research has approached the topic of safety in organizations from a number of different
perspectives. On the one hand, psychological research on safety climate gives evidence for a
range of organizational factors that predict safety across organizations. On the other hand,
organizational learning theorists view safety as a dynamic problem in which organizations must
learn from mistakes. Here, we synthesize these two streams of research by incorporating key
organizational factors from the safety climate literature into a dynamic simulation model that also includes the possibility for learning. Analysis of simulation results sheds insight into the nature
of reliability and confirms the dangers of over-reliance on 'single loop learning' as a mechanism
for controlling safety behaviors. Special emphasis is placed on strategies that managers might
use to encourage learning and prevent erosion in safety behaviors over time.
Subjects
safety, simulations, models
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