ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the bad apple theory of human error. In the view on human error, progress on safety is driven by one unifying idea: complex systems are basically safe they need to be protected from unreliable people. The choice between the bad apple theory in one of its many versions, or what has become known as the new view of human error. The bad apple theory suggests that failure is an aberration, a temporary hiccup in an otherwise smoothly performing, safe operation. So why would anyone adhere to the bad apple theory of human error? There are many reasons. One is that it is a relatively straightforward approach to dealing with safety. It is simple to understand and simple, and relatively cheap, to implement. Another reason to adhere to the bad apple theory of human error is that practitioners in safety-critical domains typically assume great personal responsibility for the outcomes of their actions.
