The document outlines a presentation by Eric Arne Lofquist on achieving real HSE improvement in high risk industries. The presentation discusses: 1) Organizational process models, socio-technical systems, complexity, dynamic adaptive behavior, and single vs double loop learning. 2) The leadership's role in safety improvement and how understanding organizational culture and changing underlying assumptions can improve safety performance. 3) The importance of organizational double loop learning - changing decision rules and mental models based on feedback about outcomes. Leaders must commit to safety, communicate consistency, and engage in monitoring to ensure a safe operating environment.

1. How can we achieve real HSE
improvement in high risk industries?
Training Portal Competence Days
Quality Airport Hotel Stavanger
24 April 2013

2. Agenda
• Background
• Organizational process model
• Socio-technical systems
• Complexity and dynamic-adaptive behavior
• Single vs. double loop learning
• The leadership’s role in safety improvement

3. Eric Arne Lofquist PhD
eric.lofquist@bi.no
• Second Generation Norwegian from St. Simons Island,
Georgia
• Associate Professor BI Norwegian Business School
• Health, Safety and Environment (HMS)
• Strategic Management
• Human Resource Management (HRM)
• Adjunct Professor Norwegian School of Economics
• International Strategy
• Strategic Crisis Management
• Research focus – Change leadership in high-risk industries

4. Eric Arne Lofquist PhD
eric.lofquist@bi.no
•Relevant educational background
• US Navy Flight School – Pensacola, Florida
• US Naval Post-Graduate School in Industrial Safety
• PhD in Strategy and Leadership from the Norwegian School of
Economics (NHH) – The affects of organizational change on
safety in Avinor

5. Eric Arne Lofquist PhD
eric.lofquist@bi.no
• In a former life
• 28-years as US Naval Officer
• 15-years flying F-14 “Tomcats” from US Navy
aircraft carriers around the world (cold war)
• 13-years as a senior military leader - including
leading a large military industrial complex
• 3-years as Director/CEO in Norwegian industry
• Powersim AS
• Nutec Crisis Management

6. USS Nimitz CVN-68

8. Historical view of safety in off-shore sector
Technology, technical engineering
Safety Management Systems
Organizational Behavior
Number of
accidents
Trend in
practice over time
Pre-1960
1960s-1970s
1980’s +

9. Leadership
Strategy
Leadership theories
HSE management
and domumentation
Program-level management
Rules and regulations/Labor law
Safety and
safety culture
Safety theories
Role of culture
Leadership
Psycho-socio
work environment
Effects on individuals
Health and environment
Risk and Crisis
Management
Systems thinking
Master of Management course in
Health, Safety and Environment (HSE)

10. Theoretical foundation
• Organizational safety theories
• Normal Accident Theory (Perrow)
• Organizational Accident Theory (Reason)
• High Reliability Organizations (Roberts et al.)
• Resilience Engineering (Hollnagel et al.)
• Culture
• Leadership
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11. Measuring the Effects of Strategic Change on Safety
in a High Reliability Organization (Lofquist, 2008)
The art of measuring nothing: the paradox of
measuring safety in a changing civil aviation industry
using traditional safety metrics. Safety Science
(Lofquist, 2010)
Literature

12. Lessons-learned
• Complexity and dynamic-adaptive behavior
• System interactivity (socio-technical systems)
• The problem with risk analysis (Bounded rationality)
• The effects of deliberate and incremental change on
system outcomes (internal and external)
• Organizational culture paradox
• Individual sensemaking and mindfulness
• The problem with rules and regulations (compliance)
• Organizational double-loop learning
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13. Double-loop learning
(Argyris & Schön, 1974)
Real world
signals
Information
feedback
Mental models of
real world
Action strategies
decision rules
Decisions
Single-
loop
Double-
loop

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Double-loop learning

15. Organizational «double-loop» learning
(Lofquist, 2008:2010)
Proactive
Phase
Interactive
Phase
Reactive
Phase
System Design System Operation System Outcomes
Time
Organizational Culture
Environment
Socio-technical system

16. Organizational «double-loop» learning
(Lofquist, 2008:2010)
Proactive
Phase
Interactive
Phase
Reactive
Phase
System Design System Operation System Outcomes
Time
Organizational Culture
Environment
Socio-technical system

17. Organizational «double-loop» learning
(Lofquist, 2008:2010)
Proactive
Phase
Interactive
Phase
Reactive
Phase
System Design System Operation System Outcomes
Time
Organizational Culture
Environment
Socio-technical system

18. Understanding the nature of systems
•How systems are designed and developed to
operate in an «expected» environment
•How systems evolve in response to the environment
•Based on anticipation – why a particular risk
assessment might be limited (risk analysis)
•Expecting that challenges to system performance
will occur – system evolution (signal detection)
•Mindfulness (Double-loop learning)

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Mindfulness

20. How can we improve safety performance?
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21. Change underlying assumptions
• Understanding culture on three levels (Schein, 1990)
• Obligation/pledge (symbols and artifacts)
• Verifying acts/actions (espoused values)
• Underlying cognitive processes
• Create shared values about safety
• Reinforce common beliefs about how to conduct safe
operations (system-wide)
• Change the behavioral norms about following
procedures, how to handle necessary deviations and
risk-taking
• Transmission of values, beliefs and accepted practices
to others (internal and external)

22. How do we change underlying assumptions?
• Starts at the top – perception that the top leader honestly
cares about, and is committed to, safety and safe operations
• That this commitment is communicated and consistent
throughout the organization, and external stakeholders
• That all levels of leadership are actively engaged in
monitoring the safety environment, and committing the
required resources, support, training and personnel to
ensure a safe operating environment
• That the leadership’s words and actions reflect
commitment to safety – consistently, over time
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23. Takk for meg

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26. Captain

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Mindfulness