From operating theatres to trading floors, and from oil platforms to airline cockpits, organizations are engaged in a continuous struggle for safety and control. It has become essential for organizations to identify, understand and learn from close calls and 'near-miss' events quickly, before minor errors and failures can enlarge into catastrophic accidents. This book is about the practical work that transforms moments of risk into sources of resilience. It specifically examines the world of airline flight safety investigators, whose job it is to oversee one of the most technologically advanced, one of the safest, but also one of the least forgiving operational environments that exist: commercial air transport. Drawing on extensive first-hand observations and unique access to major airlines, Close Calls presents a compelling and richly detailed account of the challenges faced by these modern risk managers and the innovative strategies they adopt to analyse risk and improve safety. It is a must-read for all those who seek to understand and improve the oversight, analysis and management of risk and safety in complex organizations.

Drawing on extensive and detailed fieldwork within airlines-an industry that pioneered near-miss analysis- this book develops a clear set of practical implications and theoretical propositions regarding how all organizations can learn from 'near-miss' events and better manage risk and resilience.