Controlling Risk ― Thirty Techniques for Operating Excellence

How do operators prevent the next accident that is inevitably trying to kill them? How do they improve performance? Can they do both simultaneously? Operators on the front lines of danger face hazards and make life-and-death decisions in dynamic, complex situations. They are the last line of defense, intended to prevent death and destruction. After accidents, organizations issue new rules. These will succeed (for a while) in preventing similar accidents. But, accidents are rarely so simple. Hardware does not “just break.” A company may be blindsided by another accident that no one thought would occur. Investigators determine the latest catastrophe was tragically similar to a forgotten previous accident. Again, new rules are issued and procedures are updated—yet the cycle of accidents continues. Organizations, and operators, must need something more than rules and procedures. To succeed in dangerous environments, people cannot and should not rely solely on the rules, even in organizations with the noblest intentions. Operators need techniques for controlling risk to supplement the rules and procedures intended to manage risk. Controlling risk keeps operators alive in dangerous operations. Since the beginning of the space program, astronauts have been developing techniques based on principles of operations to help flight crews execute successful missions and stay alive and accomplish dangerous missions in the unforgiving environment of space. Astronauts, and operators in every hazardous profession, have learned these techniques always create better performance, helping them accomplish more missions with higher quality. When embraced as a way of operating, the thirty Techniques for Operating Excellence, illustrated inControlling Risk, enable operators to work together, improve performance in high-risk businesses, and accomplish much more in this dangerous world!

Jim Wetherbee is the only astronaut to have commanded five Space Shuttle missions. After graduating from the University of Notre Dame with a bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, he began his life-long journey of controlling risk as a naval aviator, while flying in single-seat cockpits from aircraft carriers on the high seas. Wetherbee’s leadership roles as a military test pilot, astronaut, and safety executive in the oil and gas industry—from the front lines to the executive level – have given him valuable experiences and insights into dangerous businesses.