safety
Assigning a Value to Life
Monday, May 19th, 2008Why considering a monetary value of life is not only acceptable, but morally necessary
Typically, the first time we consider someone placing a monetary value on protecting a life, the risk of death, or other similar circumstances, we cringe. The mere mention of life in the context of money seems cruel and far too calculating. Rightly, […]
The Fallacy of Human Error
Monday, May 5th, 2008Why pilots (and humans in general) get a bad rap during accident investigations.
In my earlier article on root cause analysis, I mentioned that every cause present in a given situation can be considered equally responsible for the occurrence of the failure in question. Many times, however, investigations end up ascribing the fault of the entire […]
The Usefulness of Risk Assessment
Tuesday, April 15th, 2008What is Risk Assessment; how do we already use it; and how do we misuse it?
If our goal is to achieve progress, one of the ways we can determine that progress has been made is by a reduction in the quantity and severity of problems we face. Another way, would be to determine the quantity […]
Root Cause Analysis and True Solutions
Saturday, April 12th, 2008In Search of The Best Answer, Not a Better Answer
Whenever there is a major man-made disaster or some kind of accident, responsible officials usually convene a team that conducts an investigation. The results of that investigation will usually identify a “root cause” and several “contributing causes”. If it was a plane crash, the team will […]