Year
2013
Abstract
High consequence facilities like a nuclear weapons plant and chemical plants required continuous and uninterrupted attention to safety and security. Significant safety and security (surety) incidents have occurred in these plants and typically these events are caused by multiple failures with complex systems and human interactions with those systems. Failures in human interactions with complex systems can include human error, poor judgment, ignorance (lack of training), arrogance, cultural mindset and/or complacency. When human interactions with complex systems including strict systematic procedural requirements are mundane, routine, uneventful, underemphasized and/or repeated, adherence to specified requirements can become complacent over time. Situational awareness can weaken and can cause performance issues especially with the integrity of the overall operational safety and physical protection systems within high asset facilities. Humans are the link between complex systems and the risks associated with external threats. Common expectation is that complex systems are solutions to protecting against threats; however the human aspects of interfacing with these systems are often overlooked, underestimated and thereby a weak-link to a robust and secure facility. This paper will address the relationship between complex systems, risks, security culture and the human interactions relative to situational awareness over time.