ABSTRACT
This chapter sets the scene for the growing importance of high reliability and resilience. The concept of High Reliability Organizations (HRO) suggests that accidents can be prevented through good organizational design and management/leadership. HROs generally develop peoples' strength through the actions of individuals who are highly aware and practice safe attitudes within their organizations which in turn over time creates an organizational culture which can be described as a High Reliability Culture. In HROs, directors and executive leadership must instill migratory decision-making processes that allow those who are closer to an incident to react to prevent escalation or otherwise known as “the empowerment within the hierarchy” to those who would be better informed and more knowledgeable. The human element remains critical and with weak management systems compounded with inevitable human errors, together they combine resulting in dangerous incidents.
