Operational Decision-Making in High-Hazard Organizations: Drawing a Line in the Sand

This book describes research on safety-related decision-making by operations supervisory personnel in three different high-hazard industries, and features a case study illustrating each: a chemical plant, a nuclear power station and an air-navigation service provider.A large body of research about industrial decision-making already exists, but the focus is almost invariably control-room operators, field staff and other frontline personnel. Another large body of research about managerial decision-making covers strategic issues. The focus of this research is quite different and unique: those who supervise the frontline personnel and essentially provide the organizational link between senior management and minute-by-minute system operations.