Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book contains five major reasons for making errors. However, the underlying cause of each reason is the failure of the decision maker to use critical thinking to develop a list of questions and then honestly answer those questions before implementing the decision. Human errors exist because to err is human. Some are costly and some inconsequential. The definition of human error varies somewhat depending on the source, but all contain the statement that an error was committed involving a human who failed to achieve a desired outcome. The error may occur in either the execution or the planning stages. Plans can be improperly made but implemented correctly; it could be properly made but poorly implemented; and in the worst case, it could be both poorly made and poorly implemented.