The cause of a safety related occurrence is multi-layered in nature. The top layer or the tip of the iceberg is usually easily identified and reported but it does not present the whole picture. The underlying layers often reveal a cascade of factors that contributed to the eventual accident.

Investigating the layers beneath the surface involve analyzing factors that directly influenced the human performance, assessing the difference between how work is expected to be performed and how it is actually performed to match encountered demands, and understanding the organizational culture that has an overall influence on constraints. To prevent the reoccurrence of an incident it is important to correct issues within those bottom layers.

Currently, both the maritime and aviation sectors lack a systematic approach to collect and assess Human Factors information, in normal and emergency conditions as well. To overcome this gap, SAFEMODE investigates past safety occurrences and data from everyday operations, addressing the following key question “How to capture data on human elements, and on their interaction with the other system elements, to enhance safety in maritime and aviation operations?”

A core element for accident investigation and learning that has been developed within SAFEMODE is the Human Factors Taxonomy

Explore the HF Taxonomy