Disasters as systems failures

In this chapter it is argued that many of the popular ideas regarding the underlying causes of technological disasters are myths. Examples include the views that such events are the product of divine wrath, or are solely technical in nature. The former suggests we cannot learn from these events since divine intervention is inexplicable, while the latter suggests that an engineering solution will of itself be sufficient to prevent a recurrence of the incident. However, much research suggests that the underlying causes of catastrophes are far more complex than the simple explanations generated by such beliefs. Subsequent analysis of these events reveals that their underlying mechanisms invariably have organisational and social dimensions, while technological factors are sometimes, but not always, present. Utilising the theoretical framework of systems theory, and the concept of organisations as socio-technical systems, analysis allows technological disasters to be more appropriately understood as the result of human rather than divine actions. Similarly, this mode of analysis flags up the more complex socio-technical nature of these events as opposed to the exclusively technical.