“Normalization of Deviance” – The Cause of Accidents in a Complex Era?

A quote from the New York Times article:

“Another sociologist, Diane Vaughan, has written extensively about Challenger and served on the commission that investigated the Columbia horror. She has advanced the theory of ‘normalization of deviance,’ meaning that in many organizations — NASA certainly being no exception — some problems and risks are understood to be acceptable — part of doing business, if you will. Take those problematic O rings on Challenger. Their erosion had been evident on earlier launchings, but flying with them became routine. To Ms. Vaughan, NASA’s decision to forge ahead on that fateful January day in 1986, despite new concerns about the O rings that were raised, did not reflect cold, bottom-line thinking or an amoral bending of rules. ‘They applied all the usual rules,’ she told Retro Report. Regrettably, they did so ‘in a situation where the usual rules didn’t apply.’”

The video presents Interesting concepts about accident causes. Mark Paradies, President of System Improvements, will present a talk about Normalization of Deviance at the 2015 Global TapRooT® Summit. Watch for more information as Summit planning progresses. The 2015 Global TapRooT® Summit will be held on June 1-5, 2015 in Las Vegas, NV.