Operators' Improvisation in Complex Technological Systems

Résumé du livre

Complex safety-critical technological systems breakdowns, which are often characterized as 'low probability, high consequence', could pose serious threats for workers, the local public, and possibly neighboring regions and the whole country. System designers can neither anticipate all possible scenarios nor foresee all aspects of unfolding emergency. Front-line operators' improvisation via dynamic problem solving and reconfiguration of available recourses provide the last resort for preventing a total system failure. Despite advances in automation, operators should remain in charge of controlling and monitoring of safety-critical systems. Furthermore, at the time of a major emergency, operators will always constitute the society's both the first and last layer of defense; and it is eventually their improvisation and ingenuity that could save the day.