Process Safety and Environmental Protection, Vol.88, No.4, 236-242, 2010
Learning organisations for major hazards and the role of the regulator
A learning organisation is one that not only values and encourages learning from its own experiences, but also looks beyond itself for lessons, and avoids complacency. To be a learning organisation is a key part of the safety culture of any organisation involved with major hazard processes. It facilitates learning which can reduce the risk from major accident hazards. The paper provides a learning organisation toolkit which synthesises, from various literature sources, an understanding of what a learning organisation is and how to begin to develop one within an organisation. The paper illustrates how the regulator can be a learning organisation for major hazards, using the example of HSE's offshore fire, explosion and risk assessment team. Crown Copyright (C) 2010 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of The Institution of Chemical Engineers. All rights reserved.