
Feb 5, 2010:
Universities using this site added
Jan 11- 30, 2009:
Rebuilt site
Capella University - an accredited online university
Crafton Hills College - a fully accredited community college
is dedicated to the advancement of High Reliability Organizations, especially those in high-risk occupations and endeavors.
Banks, investment firms, schools, construction firms, theater arts (dance, opera, stage, and film), small businesses, and large corporations all have exposure to risks and have experienced threats to their viability. The principles used to identify risk and threat and then develop a response are similar despite the varied nature of these organizations.
When one reviews these principles we see the similarity to those used by military combat, law
enforcement, firefighting, and the Emergency Medical Services (EMS). When time pressures occur, all must respond to threat or uncertainty with existing resources. While the resources may vary, the processes do not.
Within each of these organizations, the point of contact between the organization and the threat is the individual. Here is where one person with the right attributes and attitude will identify the situation and interpret its level of risk. At this point, the individual must then translate this knowledge to others within the organization so that they also appreciate the situation and begin responding.
In some systems, such as the financial sector, healthcare, or public safety, attention has come to risk mitigation and improving safety as a priority. Scattered throughout these services, individuals have come to learn that safety and risk mitigation best develop in a culture that supports front-line workers.
These healthy safety cultures result in highly reliable organizations. The people in the group participating in this website also lead high reliability organizing (HRO) efforts within their own high-risk industries.
Beginning in 1989 several individuals from medicine, fire fighting, and EMS came together with the common interest of how individuals respond to emergencies, particularly by framing the crisis as a straightforward problem to solve.
This group has since worked together with internationally renowned HRO researchers and HRO practitioners to identify, at the level of the individual, successful methods of operations, teaching methodologies, barriers to implementation, and causes of failure (individual, systemic, and organizational). The group is now active with several international, HRO-seeking industries and organizations assisting with successful HRO education and implementation efforts through conferences, workshops, adult learning and direct collaboration.
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Research, and the practical experience of those making hard decisions in crisis events, come together to clarify what really works in critical live or die situations. We believe that the approach used for live or die moments derives from the same principles used in routine operations in uncertain situations.
"What you do everyday is what you do in an emergency" (Joe Martin, Battalion Chief, Los Angeles City Fire Department, Retired).