Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Broken components versus broken systems: why it is systems not people that lose situation awareness

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Cognition, Technology & Work Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This commentary is a response to Dekker’s insightful article in this issue on situation awareness (SA). This is a concept that continues to excite strong debate but only because of the profound implications for the theoretical foundations and the effects that different approaches have for the work of human factors practitioners. We argue that Dekker’s paper tacitly adopts one approach to SA, and in doing so will inevitably arrive at the point of questioning the concept in its entirety. If SA really is as deterministic and ‘broken component’ orientated as Dekker describes, then we would be in complete agreement, but instead we offer a counterpoint. We apply our distributed situation awareness approach to the key issues raised, answer all of Dekker’s concerns, and offer a useful way forward.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Bourbousson J, Poizat G, Saury J, Seve C (2011) Description of dynamic shared knowledge: an exploratory study during a competitive team sports interaction. Ergonomics 54(2):120–138

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • CAA (2011) Safety plan 2011–2013. Civil Aviation Authority, UK

    Google Scholar 

  • Dekker S (2011) Drift into failure: From hunting broken components to understanding complex systems. Ashgate Publishing Company, Burlington

    Google Scholar 

  • Dekker SWA (2013) On the epistemology and ethics of communicating a Cartesian consciousness. Saf Sci 56:96–99

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dekker SWA, Hummerdal DH, Smith K (2010) Situation awareness: some remaining questions. Theor Issues Ergon Sci 11(1–2):131–135

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dekker SWA (This issue). The danger of losing situation awareness. Cognition, Technology and Work

  • Endsley M (In Press). Situation awareness: misconceptions and misunderstandings. J Cogn Eng Decis Mak

  • European Aviation Safety Authority (2010) Annual Safety Review 2010. EASA, Cologne

    Google Scholar 

  • Fioratou E, Flin R, Glavin R, Patey R (2010) Beyond monitoring: distributed situation awareness in anaesthesia. Br J Anaesth 105(1):83–90

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Flach JM (1995) Situation awareness: proceed with caution. Hum Factors 37(1):149–157

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Golightly D, Wilson JR, Lowe E, Sharples S (2010) The role of situation awareness for understanding signalling and control in rail operations. Theor Issues Ergon Sci 11(1–2):84–98

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Golightly D, Ryan B, Dadashi N, Pickup L, Wilson JR (2013) Use of scenarios and function analyses to understand the impact of situation awareness on safe and effective work on rail tracks. Saf Sci 56:52–62

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grech M, Horberry T, Smith A (2002) Human error in maritime operations: analyses of accident reports using the Leximancer tool. Hum Fact Ergon Soc Annu Meet USA 46:1718–1722

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heinrich HW (1931) Industrial accident prevention: A scientific approach. McGraw-Hill, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Hollnagel E (1993) Human reliability analysis: context and control. Academic Press, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Hutchins E (1995) Cognition in the wild. MIT Press, Cambridge Massachusetts

    Google Scholar 

  • James W (1890) The principles of psychology. H.Holt and Company, New York

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Jones DG, Endsley MR (1996) Sources of situation awareness errors in aviation. Aviat Space Environ Med 67(6):507–512

    Google Scholar 

  • Leveson N (2004) A new accident model for engineering safer systems. Saf Sci 42(4):237–270

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Macquet A, Stanton NA (2014) Do the coach and athlete have the same ‘picture’ of the situation? Distributed situation awareness in an elite sport context. Appl Ergon (in press)

  • Office of Chief Investigator (2007) Level crossing collision V/Line passenger Train 8408042 and a truck near Kerang, Victoria, 5th June 2007. Rail Safety Investigation 841 Report No. 2007/09

  • Patrick J, Morgan PL (2010a) Approaches to understanding, analysing and developing situation awareness. Theor Issues Ergon Sci 11(1–2):41–57

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Patrick J, Morgan PL (2010b) Approaches to understanding, analysing and developing situation awareness. Theor Issues Ergon Sci 11(1):41–57

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rafferty LA, Stanton NA, Walker GH (2013) Great Expectations: a thematic analysis of situation awareness in fratricide. Saf Sci 56:63–71

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rail Safety & Standards Board (RSSB) (2009) The railway strategic safety plan 2009–2014. Rail Safety and Standards Board, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Rasmussen J (1997) Risk management in a dynamic society: a modelling problem. Saf Sci 27(2/3):183–213

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Salmon PM, Stanton NA (2013) Situation awareness and safety: contribution or confusion? Saf Sci 56:1–5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Salmon PM, Stanton NA, Walker GH, Baber C, Jenkins DP, McMaster R (2008a) What really is going on? Review of situation awareness models for individuals and teams. Theor Issues Ergon Sci 9(4):297–323

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Salmon PM, Stanton NA, Walker GH, Jenkins DP, Baber C, McMaster R (2008b) Representing situation awareness in collaborative systems: a case study in the energy distribution domain. Ergonomics 51(3):367–384

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Salmon PM, Stanton NA, Walker GH, Jenkins DP (2009) Distributed situation awareness: advances in theory, measurement and application to teamwork. Ashgate, Aldershot

    Google Scholar 

  • Salmon PM, Read G, Stanton NA, Lenné MG (2013) The crash at Kerang: investigating systemic and psychological factors leading to unintentional non-compliance at rail level crossings. Accid Anal Prev 50:1278–1288

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sparrow B, Liu J, Wegner DM (2011) Google effects on memory: cognitive consequences of having information at our fingertips. Science 333(6043):776–778

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stanton NA, Stewart R, Harris D, Houghton RJ, Baber C, McMaster R, Salmon PM, Hoyle G, Walker GH, Young MS, Linsell M, Dymott R, Green D (2006) Distributed situation awareness in dynamic systems: theoretical development and application of an ergonomics methodology. Ergonomics 49:1288–1311

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stanton N, Salmon PM, Walker GH, Jenkins DP (2009) Genotype and phenotype schema and their role in distributed situation awareness in collaborative systems. Theor Issues Ergon Sci 10(1):43–68

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trist E, Bamforth K (1951) Some social and psychological consequences of the longwall method of coal getting. Hum Relat 4:3–38

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walker GH, Stanton NA, Salmon PM, Jenkins DP (2009) Sociotechnical systems. Ashgate, Aldershot

    Google Scholar 

  • Walker GH, Stanton NA, Baber C, Wells L, Jenkins DP, Salmon PM (2010) From ethnography to the EAST method: a tractable approach for representing distributed cognition in air traffic control. Ergonomics 53(2):184–197

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walker GH, Stanton NA, Chowdhury I (2013) Situational awareness and self explaining roads. Saf Sci 56:18–28

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wegner DM (1986) Transactive memory: A contemporary analysis of the group mind. In: Mullen B, Goethals GR (eds) Theories of group behavior. Springer, New York, pp 185–208

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Arts and Business, School of Social Sciences, University of the Sunshine Coast Accident Research (USCAR), Maroochydore, QLD, 4558, Australia

    Paul M. Salmon

  2. School of the Built Environment, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, EH14 4AS, UK

    G. H. Walker

  3. Civil, Maritime, Environmental Engineering and Science, Faculty of Engineering and the Environment, University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, UK

    N. A. Stanton

Authors
  1. Paul M. Salmon
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. G. H. Walker
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. N. A. Stanton
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Paul M. Salmon.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Salmon, P.M., Walker, G.H. & Stanton, N.A. Broken components versus broken systems: why it is systems not people that lose situation awareness. Cogn Tech Work 17, 179–183 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10111-015-0324-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10111-015-0324-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation