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Beyond Compliance - Understanding Everyday Work Variability Through an Observational Study of Worker Interaction With Paper and Digital Procedures in a Petrochemical Facility
DescriptionProcedures are essential for maintaining safety in high-risk industries, but strict adherence can paradoxically impede job performance. The traditional Safety-I approach emphasizes eliminating deviations from prescribed procedures or Work-As-Imagined (WAI). However, work inevitably varies from WAI due to inevitable adaptations to dynamic conditions, known as Work-As-Done (WAD). The emerging Safety-II perspective accepts this performance variability as normal and necessary. While Safety-II highlights the importance of understanding WAI-WAD gaps, empirical research documenting such gaps in high-risk sectors like oil/gas remains limited. Prior studies relied on self-reports of non-compliance rather than observational data. This research aims to assess via observations on how workers deviate from written procedures during normal operations in the absence of incidents when expected goals are met. By exploring actual WAD deviations from WAI and reasons behind them, the study seeks to inform procedure design that accommodates normal performance variability instead of enforcing strict compliance.
Event Type
Lecture
TimeTuesday, September 10th3:40pm - 4pm MST
LocationFLW Salon C
Tracks
Safety