Safety at the Sharp End

Many 21st-century operations are characterized by teams of workers dealing with significant risks and complex technology, in competitive, commercially driven environments. Informed managers have realized the necessity of understanding the human dimension of their operations if they hope to improve production and safety performance. A key aspect is the non-technical skills of the system operators based at the ‘sharp end’ of the organization. These include the cognitive and social skills required for safe and efficient performance, often termed ‘Crew Resource Management (CRM) skills’.

This book is a general guide to the theory and practice of non-technical skills (NTS) for safety. Now fully updated in this new edition, Safety at the Sharp End: A Guide to Non-Technical Skills considers the growth of interest in Crew Resource Management (CRM) approaches to identifying, training and assessing CRM/NTS skills. It covers the identification, training and evaluation of NTS and has been written for use by individuals who are studying or training these skills in CRM and other safety or human factors courses. It outlines the underlying principles, as well as practical techniques and advice and has been revised to cover the latest developments by drawing on a wider sample of work settings where an NTS approach is being adopted. A full literature review is offered, and the authors have drawn upon an international network of contacts across industry, military and healthcare occupations and academic sources to deliver current practice and emerging issues. The reader will develop a thorough understanding of the theory and practice of non-technical skills for safety from this title.

This book is an ideal read for professionals and those practising or studying human factors or industrial safety programmes. Its appeal will extend to those in safety-critical industries including healthcare, aviation, rail, maritime, energy production and the military.

This book:

• Delivers a comprehensive and accessible guide on non-technical skills (NTS) for practitioners.
• Focuses on the latest scientific evidence for each skill category written in an accessible manner.
• Explains the application of an NTS approach across a wide range of occupations.
• Covers the authors’ extensive research and experience of collaborating with practitioners across a range of higher risk work settings resulting in practical examples throughout the text.
• Details a good range of sources provided for further reading and additional information.