ABSTRACT
This paper considers the characteristics of long-cycle situation awareness in those industries where the plant may be in place for decades, and where the potential for disaster exists for all that time. The main characteristics affecting long-term situation awareness are firstly, the rate of change to the process, secondly the pressures for greater efficiency from the plant as competitors make improvements, thirdly the inevitable changes in personnel within the plant which will occur, and fourthly the cultural changes which will take place over that period. Through all of these changes, the integrity of the plant must be maintained, and those people designated as responsible for the safe operation of the plant must be able to identify any drift from safe operation of the plant. The paper discusses structural issues for civilian high-reliability organisations capable of delivering this behaviour.
