“Sa e in an unsa e wo ld: B inging Sa e y-II in o p ac ice"
P o . E ik Hollnagel, P o esso a he Uni e si y o Sou he n Denma k
The sus ained exis ence o mode n socie ies depends on he sa e and e icien unc ioning o
mul iple sys ems, unc ions, and specialised se ices. Because hese o en a e igh ly coupled,
sa e y canno be managed simply by esponding whene e some hing goes w ong. Bo h heo y
and p ac ice make clea ha sa e y managemen ha ollows de elopmen s a he han leads
hem uns a signi ican isk o lagging behind and o becoming educed o uncoo dina ed and
agmen a y i e- igh ing. (The same, o cou se, goes o he managemen o quali y and
p oduc i i y.) In o de o p e en his om happening, sa e y managemen mus look ahead,
no only o a oid ha hings go w ong bu also – and mo e impo an ly – o ensu e ha hey go
igh .1 P oac i e sa e y managemen mus ocus on how e e yday pe o mance usually goes
well a he han on why i occasionally ails, and mus ac i ely y o imp o e he o me a he
han simply p e en he la e .