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“Human Error” Is the Scapegoat for Systemic and Organizational Failures

25 points by kiyanwang 3y ago

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
seeknotfind 3y ago
Couldn't agree more. You identify it as human error, and it's inevitable. Don't give up, and you will find a way to solve problems, and usually not how you suspect.
function_seven 3y ago
Someone posted a Chemical Safety Board video here a few days ago, and I’ve been watching them ever since. From the dozen-or-so that I’ve seen, human error has consistently been the smallest contributing factor out of the typical five identified. It’s the very last thing that went wrong in a sequence of errors. Terrible management, little or no oversight, and creeping complacency all rank higher in my opinion. (And all of these overlap somewhat) That reminds me, I need to test my backups…
- worthless-trash 3y ago
  The fact that they have found other factors other than attributing "human error" means that the company has decided to move on from the simplest possible solution to creating an environment where they can make actual improvements to the process/environment to prevent the problems from happening in the future.
worthless-trash 3y ago
If you're interested in fixing this problem, read Sydney Dekker. The man is on on a crusade.
- scrubs 3y ago
  Drucker or total quality management the Japanese way by Ishikawa are also good. In the later, which goes into root cause in depth, it's management that is usually to blame not the guy/gal on the line. All the more for systemic, recurring problems
  - worthless-trash 3y ago
    Thank you for the info, Its now in my reading list.
  - EligibleDecoy 3y ago
    If you are looking for other books, I’d also recommend “Normal Accidents” by Charles Perrow which is focused on what kinds of systems lend themselves to catastrophic malfunctions. From bakeries to nuclear reactors. It has a huge focus on how unimportant (and predictable) “human error” is to causing systemic problems and catastrophes. Once you start seeing systems in terms of how coupled, complex, and the catastrophic potential they have/are, it gives you a new insight into how things work and function (at least it did for me)
remram 3y ago
This reminds me of this video, about why cars crash into buildings so much in the USA, but not elsewhere: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ra_0DgnJ1uQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ra_0DgnJ1uQ TLDR It is because in the USA it is blamed on "human error", bad drivers or youngsters going too fast. While in other places, it is seen as a systemic problem, like bad visibility, long stretches of straight roads encouraging speeding, etc.
gmerc 3y ago
On the positive side, that’s gonna be the one thing preventing all jobs going to AI /s

25 points by kiyanwang 3y ago

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

Couldn't agree more. You identify it as human error, and it's inevitable. Don't give up, and you will find a way to solve problems, and usually not how you suspect.

function_seven 3y ago

Someone posted a Chemical Safety Board video here a few days ago, and I’ve been watching them ever since. From the dozen-or-so that I’ve seen, human error has consistently been the smallest contributing factor out of the typical five identified. It’s the very last thing that went wrong in a sequence of errors. Terrible management, little or no oversight, and creeping complacency all rank higher in my opinion. (And all of these overlap somewhat) That reminds me, I need to test my backups…

worthless-trash 3y ago
The fact that they have found other factors other than attributing "human error" means that the company has decided to move on from the simplest possible solution to creating an environment where they can make actual improvements to the process/environment to prevent the problems from happening in the future.

worthless-trash 3y ago

If you're interested in fixing this problem, read Sydney Dekker. The man is on on a crusade.

scrubs 3y ago
Drucker or total quality management the Japanese way by Ishikawa are also good. In the later, which goes into root cause in depth, it's management that is usually to blame not the guy/gal on the line. All the more for systemic, recurring problems
- worthless-trash 3y ago
  Thank you for the info, Its now in my reading list.
- EligibleDecoy 3y ago
  If you are looking for other books, I’d also recommend “Normal Accidents” by Charles Perrow which is focused on what kinds of systems lend themselves to catastrophic malfunctions. From bakeries to nuclear reactors. It has a huge focus on how unimportant (and predictable) “human error” is to causing systemic problems and catastrophes. Once you start seeing systems in terms of how coupled, complex, and the catastrophic potential they have/are, it gives you a new insight into how things work and function (at least it did for me)

remram 3y ago

This reminds me of this video, about why cars crash into buildings so much in the USA, but not elsewhere: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ra_0DgnJ1uQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ra_0DgnJ1uQ TLDR It is because in the USA it is blamed on "human error", bad drivers or youngsters going too fast. While in other places, it is seen as a systemic problem, like bad visibility, long stretches of straight roads encouraging speeding, etc.

gmerc 3y ago

On the positive side, that’s gonna be the one thing preventing all jobs going to AI /s