1st Edition
Critical Steps Managing What Must Go Right in High-Risk Operations
Critical Steps happen every day at work and at home, purposefully. Work does not happen otherwise. If an operation has the capacity to do work, then it has the capacity to do harm. Work is energy directed by human beings to create value. But people are imperfect—we make mistakes, and sometimes we lose control of the work. Therefore, work is the use of force under conditions of uncertainty. A Critical Step is a human action that will trigger immediate, irreversible, and intolerable harm to an asset, if that action or a preceding action is performed improperly. Whether the human action involves clicking on a link attached to an e-mail message, walking down a flight of stairs with a newborn baby in arms, engaging the clutch on a gasoline-driven chain saw, or administering a medication to a patient in a hospital, these all satisfy the definition of what constitutes critical risks in our daily lives, professionally or personally. The overarching goal of managing Critical Steps is to maximize the success (safety, reliability, productivity, quality, profitability, etc.) of people’s performance in the workplace, to create value for the organization without losing control of built-in hazards necessary to create that value.
Positive Control. 6. Managing CRITICAL STEPS. 7. CRITICAL STEP MAPPING. 8. Integrating and Implementing CRITICAL STEPS. 9. Epilogue: People have Dignity and Value. 10. Appendix 1: Glossary of Terms. 11. Appendix 2: Managing Human and Organizational Performance – A Primer. 13. Appendix 3: Answer Key for “Checks for Understanding”.
Biography
Tony Muschara, Ron Farris, Jim Marinus
"We are in the midst of a renaissance in safety thinking that includes new concepts for managing operations with fatal and serious injury and illness potential. Critical Steps takes us deeper through the use of real-world examples, first principles, and tried-and-true practices that can be put to immediate use. Simply put, this book will save lives. In our profession, nothing is more important."
Stephen Newell, JD
EH&S Executive Advisor
ORC HSE, A National Safety Council Workplace Safety Group
"Critical Steps is a must-read book for organizations seeking to build safety resilience in their operations. I thought I knew the concepts behind safety resilience until I read this book. With clear explanations and rich examples, I boosted my understanding. I am now more prepared to continue to lead my organization on a journey to safety resilience."
Juan Alvarez
Executive Vice President, Battelle Energy Alliance
Chief Operating Officer, Idaho National Laboratory
"Critical Steps provides great insight into managing the risk of human error where it is most important. The authors provide excellent examples and stories to anchor these concepts in real- world situations. When you’re ready to get started, this book shows the way with pointers for managing change with step-by-step guidance for mapping and managing your critical steps."
Amy D. Wilson, PhD
Global Human Performance Director, BioPharmaceutical Operations
