Document

Author
James Bunn, Simon Dunford, Neil Hunter & Mary Marshall
Abstract
Safety Critical Task Analysis (SCTA) is an established methodology in high-hazard industries for identifying and managing the human contribution to the risk of major accidents. It seeks to identify which tasks could contribute to the initiation or escalation of a major accident, and then identifies the steps within those tasks where additional controls may be required to mitigate against the effects of human failure. An incident investigation that incorporates examination of human and organisational factors would also be expected to examine where and how failures occurred, the efficacy of control measures in place and where remedial actions are required. This paper describes how the incident investigation process and investigation findings and the SCTA process can support each other and sets out a case for connection and improved alignment between them. This is a connection that has been underexplored to date, yet which has benefits for both risk management and human factors integration.