Managing human error by managing the work environment

This paper will discuss the role of human error in the incident causation process and indicate what the most effective means to identify and manage human error. Human is an important contributing cause in up to at least 90% of all incidents. Consequently the elimination of human error should be a most promising target for incident prevention. Human error prevention concentrates on systemic factors and the way in which management decisions can propagate into substandard conditions and actions at the work place. It attempts to help the organization to understand and control the incident causation process and not to focus mainly on the individual worker or the negative outcomes of incidents. Optimal control of the controllable workplace conditions that cause human error makes an organization maximally intrinsically safe. Managing these conditions is the next step in getting as close to zero incidents as economically and logistically feasible.