Industrial safety in the age of “living with”: Uncertainty, complexity and rising expectations

Abstract

Climate change, digital transformation, political, economic and geopolitical tensions, an increasingly arms-length relation to work: can industrial safety (and in particular, its management) continue to be conceived of, modeled and practiced in the same way as in the past, despite the major changes that have arisen over the past decades? The FonCSI invites interested stakeholders to join a debate on this question, which will involve critical analysis at the academic, industrial and practical levels.

To kick off this debate, the current document provides an overview of the significant changes that have occurred since the beginning of the century and analyzes their potential impacts on safety management. These impacts are analyzed at both the conceptual (are the hypotheses and principles that underlie most safety models still valid?) and the practical (what are the implications for safety management professionals?) level. 

This exercise leads us to propose a number of possible paths forward for reflecting upon and managing safety in our changing world. We will be working with the academic community and interested stakeholders to discuss, improve and develop more practically oriented suggestions for reimagining safety management as a way of living with uncertainty and complexity rather than a commitment to ensuring control.