Review of Theoretical Foundations for Risk Minimal Operations in Complex Sociotechnical Systems: The Role of Human Error

Abstract

The shift from the traditional to the modern operational risk assessment and management forms in modern complex sociotechnical systems reflects some transitions from a human-focused perspective to a systemic-focused perspective. A key feature, in the later, is that when a human error is found, it is taken as the starting point for wider analysis of a system and not as the conclusion as it so often is in the human-focused perspective. This paper contributes with a comprehensive review of scholarly work aiming at assessing and elaborating on theoretical foundations of the developments that have been taking place within high-risk industries. Some interesting distinctions could be found, mainly, between realist positions and constructivist epistemologies. Both developments show the relevance of taking into account the philosophical antecedents of applied research in explaining the modern trends and how this is valuable toward new paradigms to resolve risk assessment and management issues relating to complex systems, particularly when the dynamics of human, technological, and organizational issues take into perspective.