ABSTRACT
This chapter evaluates the theoretical debate between two dominant schools on the origins of accidents and reliability, Normal Accident Theory and High Reliability Theory (HRT). Normal Accident Theory holds that, no matter what organizations do, accidents are inevitable in complex, tightly-coupled systems. HRT asserts that organizations can contribute significantly to the prevention of accidents. The chapter examines to break through this deadlock, the mutual effects of complexity and tight-coupling and reliability-enhancing strategies. The Berkeley school on HRT, however, claims to have discovered organizational strategies with which organizations facing complexity and tight-coupling, have achieved outstanding safety records. Highly reliable organizations apply several strategies so as to operate as reliably as they do. First, highly reliable organizations apply a strategy of redundancy: if one component fails, another backs it up; if one operator fails to carry out his task, another one takes over his position; if danger lurks, multiple channels are used to transmit warnings.
