Abstract
High-risk organizations are inherently complex and depend on the latest technologies to survive and function properly. Therefore, introducing new technology to such an organization is inevitable. Studies show that the installation of new technology always involves some changes to the organization and its members. The railroad industry, as an example of a high-risk and safety-critical organization, strives to avoid catastrophic events, while performing dynamic tasks under strict time constraints, operating technology posing large-scale physical hazards. High Reliability Organizations (HROs) are a subset of high-risk organizations designed and managed to avoid such accidents. This paper discusses the adaptation of HRO principals as part of the implementation process for the Positive Train Control (PTC) technology in a safety-sensitive railroad organization.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Majchrzak, A., Meshkat, N.: Aligning technological and organizational change. In: Handbook of Industrial Engineering, Technology and Operations Management, 3rd edn., ch. 36, pp. 948–974. Wiley-Interscience Publication (2001)
Bea, R., Mitroff, I., Farber, D., Foster, H., Roberts, K.H.: A new approach to risk: the implications of E3. Risk Manag. 11(1), 30–43 (2009)
Long, R.J.: Human issues in new office technology. In: Computers in the Human Context: Information Technology, Productivity, and People, T. Forester. MIT Press, Cambridge (1989)
Black, L.J., Carlile, P.R., Repenning, N.P.: A dynamic theory of expertise and occupational boundaries in new technology implementation: building on barley’s study of CT scanning. Adm. Sci. Q. 49(4), 572–607 (2004)
DeSanctis, G., Poole, M.S.: Capturing the complexity in advanced technology use: adaptive structuratio theory. Organ. Sci. 5(2), 121–147 (1994)
Barley, S.R.: Technology as an occasion for structuring: evidence from observations of CT scanners and the social order of radiology departments. Adm. Sci. Q. 31, 78–108 (1986)
Griffith, T.L., Northcraft, G.B.: Cognitive elements in the implementation of new technology: can less information provide more benefits? MIS Q. 20(1), 99–110 (1996)
Ciborra, C.U., Lanzara, G.F.: Formative contexts and information technology: understanding the dynamics of innovation in organizations. Acc. Manag. Inf. Technol. 4(2), 61–86 (1994)
Majchrzak, A., Markus, M.L.: Technology Affordances and Constraints in Management Information Systems (MIS). Encyclopedia of Management Theory (2012)
Tyre, M.J., Orlikowski, W.J.: Windows of opportunity: temporal patterns of technological adaptation in organizations. Organ. Sci. 5(1), 98–118 (1994)
Weick, K.E., Sutcliffe, K.M.: Managing the Unexpected: Assuring High Performance in an Age of Complexity, Jossey-Bass (2001)
Carnes, E.: Highly reliable governance of complex socio-technical systems. In: The Macondo Blowout 3rd Progress Report, pp. 135–165 (2010)
Meshkati, N., Khashe, Y.: Operators’ improvisation in complex technological systems: successfully tackling ambiguity, enhancing resiliency and the last resort to averting disaster. J. Contingencies Crisis Manag. 23(2), 90–96 (2015)
Placencia, G., Meshkati, N., Moore, I.J., Khashe, Y.: Technology and high reliability organizations in railroad operations safety: a case study of Metrolink/SCRRA and Positive Train Control (PTC) Implementation. In: ASME/IEEE Joint Rail Conference, Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA (2014)
IAEA, Safety Culture in Pre-Operational Phases of Nuclear Power Plant Projects - Safety Reports Series 74. International Atomic Energy Agancy (2012)
Hartley, R.S.: High reliability organizations and practical approach. In: CCRM HRO Conference (2011)
Ditmeyer, S.: Confused about PTC yet? Trains 71(10), 24–31 (2011)
Southern California Regional Rail Authority (Metrolink), SCRRA Positive Train Control System Concept of Operations (2010)
Federal Railroad Administration, Human Reliability Analysis in Support of Risk Assessment for Positive Train Control, U.S. Department of Transportation, Cambridge, MA (2003)
Khashe, Y., Meshkati, N.: Evaluation of human-systems interaction of the PTC technology in railroad, a preliminary study. In: Proceedings of the 2015 Industrial and Systems Engineering Research Conference (2015)
Hartley, R.S.: High reliability organization implementation. In: 8th Annual HRO Conference, Fort Worth, TX (2014)
Hollnagel, E.: The four cornerstones of resilience engineering. In: Resilience Engineering Perspective, Preperation and Restoration ed., vol. 2, Farnham, Surrey: Ashgate, pp. 117–133 (2009)
Wong, D.S., Desai, V.M., Madsen, P., Roberts, K.H., Ciavarelli, A.: Measuring organizational safety and effectiveness at NASA. Eng. Manag. J. 17(4), 59–62 (2005)
Weick, K., Sutcliffe, K.: Managing the Unexpected - Sustained Performance in a Complex World, 3 edn. Wiley, Hoboken (2015)
Khashe, Y., Meshkati, N.: Human and organizational factors of positive train control safety system - the application of high reliability organizing in railroad. In: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 2019 Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA (2019)
National Transportation Safety Board, Amtrak Train Collision with Maintenance-of-Way Equipment Chester, Pennsylvania April 3, 2016, NTSB (2017)
Laughlin, J.: Safety took a back seat at Amtrak, feds say. Then workers died, 14 Nov 2017. http://www.philly.com/philly/business/transportation/ntsb-report-amtrak-derailment-april-2016-chester-pennsylvania-20171114.html?mobi=true
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this paper
Cite this paper
Khashe, Y., Meshkati, N. (2020). New Technology Implementation in High-Risk Organizations - The Application of HRO Principles in New Technology Implementation in Railroad Industry. In: Stanton, N. (eds) Advances in Human Aspects of Transportation. AHFE 2020. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, vol 1212. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-50943-9_16
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-50943-9_16
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-50942-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-50943-9
eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)