SOL – Safety through organizational learning: A method for event analysis

Under the guidance of Bernhard Wilpert† a research group at the Berlin University of Technology developed an event analysis methodology called safety through organizational learning (SOL). The method has been adopted by the Swiss and German nuclear industries as standard procedure for their in-depth event analyses. SOL aims at facilitating organizational learning from events by supporting the process of analyzing events, ensuring its standardized conduct and mobilizing expert knowledge and creativity in the analysis. In this paper we provide a short description of SOL and its theoretical background. We summarize the empirical evidence and practical experience regarding SOL, which proves it to be a valid methodology that gives sufficient support to analysts. Finally, practical experiences and challenges for future research are discussed.