The role of standardization in safety management – A case study of a major oil & gas company

This article discusses the strengths and weaknesses of various kinds of standardization, when applied to the field of safety management. Recently, there are signs that organizations operating in high risk environments take further steps towards standardization. On the positive side, standardization has the potential to enhance the predictability of normal operations as well as facilitating the transfer of lessons learnt across organizational contexts. On the negative side, standardization is by definition a strategy for dealing with known hazards and accident scenarios. We discuss how too strong an emphasis on standardization can involve unintended negative consequences for organizations’ crisis-handling capabilities.

► Standardization and planning in advance are key principles of safety management.
► Major companies seem to be taking steps toward increasing standardization.
► Standardization is en effective means of remaining in control.
► Standardization is not necessarily effective in recovering control in crises.
► More research on standardization and improvisation in safety management is needed.