The Bogeyman Unveiled: Safety and effectiveness within the Royal Netherlands Air Force

In my nearly 24 years as an aviation psychologist in the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF), I have seen first-hand the dynamics and complexity of the daily work situations of pilots and crew. I have also seen an organisation trying to enhance safety, prevent negative incidents and advocate the importance of learning. And I have seen this same...

Goal Conflicts, Classical Management and Constructivism: How Operators Get Things Done

In this study we identify the differences in goal realisation when applying two conflicting paradigms regarding rule perception and management. We gathered more than 30 scenarios where goal conflicts were apparent in a military operational unit. We found that operators repetitively utilized certain routines in executing their tasks in an effort...

‘Ladder’-based safety culture assessments inversely predict safety outcomes

There is little empirical evidence on the predictive value of safety culture assessments (SCAs) in relation to how accident-prone an organisation might be. Recently, Antonsen not just demonstrated how a quantitative SCA mispredicted future safety outcomes, but actually showed an inverse relationship between the assessment and subsequent critical...