Why Safety Cultures Degenerate: And How To Revive Them

From Chernobyl to Fukushima, have we come full circle, where formalisation has replaced ambiguity and a decadent style of management, to the point where it is becoming counter-productive?

Safety culture is a contested concept and a complex phenomenon, which has been much debated in recent years.

But it is not so much about what can be measured and pin-pointed as about what is difficult to fully articulate.

In some high-risk activities, like the operating of nuclear power plants, transparency, traceability, and standardisation have become synonymous with issues of quality.

Meanwhile, the experience-based knowledge that forms the basis of manuals and instructions is liable to decline.

Johan Berglund examines the background leading up to the Fukushima Daiichi accident in 2011 and highlights the function of practical proficiency in the quality and safety of high-risk activities.