What does REA do?
The term Resilience Engineering is used to represent a new way of thinking about safety.
Whereas conventional risk management approaches are based on hindsight and emphasise error tabulation and calculation of failure probabilities, Resilience Engineering looks for ways to enhance the ability at all levels of organisations to create processes that are robust yet flexible, to monitor and revise risk models, and to use resources proactively in the face of disruptions or ongoing production and economic pressures.
In Resilience Engineering failures do not stand for a breakdown or malfunctioning of normal system functions, but rather represent the converse of the adaptations necessary to cope with the real world complexity. Individuals and organisations must always adjust their performance to the current conditions; and because resources and time are finite it is inevitable that such adjustments are approximate. Success has been ascribed to the ability of groups, individuals, and organisations to anticipate the changing shape of risk before damage occurs; failure is simply the temporary or permanent absence of that.
Purpose: To develop a community of practitioners and users of Resilience Engineering
Means: To create ways to share experience and learning, such as:
- summer schools and industry partnerships,
- conferences and workshops,
- books and papers.
To create a sense of identity:
- a collegial community of practitioners and users,
- a confederation of industrial partnerships,
- opportunities to speak with a common voice in professional and industrial settings.
To promote a shared understanding of what resilience engineering means:
- debate and discussion,
- examples of applications in diverse ways and fields,
- point and counterpoint.