The Field Guide to Understanding 'Human Error'

Comments on the 2nd edition:'Insightful, useful, refreshing. A must-read for anyone tired of the old view of human error'Boyd Falconer, University of New South Wales, Australia'It is accessible, practical, eminently readable and will be of great use to safety practitioners whatever their background.'Health & Safety at Work, July 2007'This past year I read your book The Field Guide to Understanding Human Error based on a recommendation of a colleague. I must admit it is one of the best book that I have read on accident prevention and safety. I have been practicing as a construction safety professional for 17 years and have struggled to accurately and completely articulate the concepts you so eloquently describe in your book. Although it draws many examples from an aviation safety standpoint, your book stands up brilliantly as a framework for understanding human error and accident prevention in any industry. Subsequently, I am using it as the text for my course Safety in the Construction Industry here at Columbia this fall.The construction industry is so very stuck in the world of the Old View. Convincing construction management professional that removing bad apples is not the answer is a tough sell. Your book is making my job quite a bit easier. Thank you.'Ray Master, Columbia University, USA' No matter if the reader is an upper level executive in an aerospace company, a member of an accident investigation team, a safety engineer, or a university student, Sid's Field Guide is equally as useful. This book presents important ideas for those who regulate human factors investigation and research, making it an essential read for the academician, the research analyst, and the government regulator'International Journal of Applied Aviation Studies, Vol 7, No 2Comments on the 3rd Edition:'If you design equipment or operating procedures, if you investigate accidents or deal with safety, this is an essential book. Sidney Dekker, a leading world authority on human error has enhanced his already exceptional Field Guide to be a concise, readable guide to both design of equipment and procedures and also the analysis of mishaps. The label human error is misleading and its use prevents discovery and correction of the true underlying causes of incidents. So read about hindsight bias, about the difference between the view from inside the system rather than from outside, and about difference between the blunt end (where you should do your work) and the sharp end (where people tend to focus). Read, learn, and put these ideas into practice. The results will be fewer incidents, less damage, less injury.'Don Norman, author of The Design of Everyday Things