This course introduces participants to Human and Organizational Performance (HOP), a modern approach to managing safety and risk in complex work environments. It explores how human error is a symptom, not a cause, and how organizations can shift from blame to learning by examining systemic factors that influence behavior. The course highlights the importance of building resilient systems, encouraging reporting, and designing work environments that account for human fallibility. Participants will gain insight into how HOP principles align with risk-based strategies to drive continuous improvement and safer outcomes.

Participants will gain a comprehensive understanding of the principles that form the foundation of HOP, with a focus on minimizing undesirable events in high-risk industries. Through an exploration of defense-in-depth strategies, error-prevention tools, and coaching techniques, participants will discover how to build adaptive capacity and resilience within organizations. The course emphasizes the importance of human dignity, fallibility, systemic influences, and risk management as central components of achieving high reliability.

Human error is a normal part of work, but in high-risk industries it can lead to serious consequences if not understood and managed. This course explores the second HOP principle—that error is inevitable—and examines the types of errors (active, latent, omission, and commission) that contribute to risk. Drawing on Dr. James Reason’s research and real-world industry examples, participants will learn how system weaknesses create error traps, why a systems-thinking approach is essential, and how focusing on critical steps and risk-important actions strengthens safety and reliability across organizations.

This course explores common error traps that can lead to mistakes, misunderstandings, or unsafe practices in professional environments. It focuses on how human tendencies—such as confirmation bias, complacency, and assumptions—can compromise performance and decision-making. Through practical examples and real-world scenarios, the course provides tools for increasing self-awareness, improving communication, and fostering a culture of reliability and accountability. Participants will gain strategies to detect and mitigate error traps before they lead to critical incidents.

This course explores the GEMS Model (Generic Error Modeling System) and its critical role in human performance, particularly in safety-sensitive industries. By examining the three primary performance modes—Skill-Based, Rule-Based, and Knowledge-Based—participants gain insight into how errors occur depending on the mode in which an individual is operating. The course breaks down the cognitive differences and associated risks within each mode and introduces effective strategies to recognize and mitigate performance errors. A strong emphasis is placed on organizational and situational awareness to support safer and more effective operations.

This course introduces the Defense-in-Depth model, focusing on the CBS strategy—Controls, Barriers, and Safeguards—as essential components of operational risk management. Participants will explore how these layers work together to prevent, interrupt, and mitigate harm in high-risk work environments. The course connects CBS concepts to practical tools such as pre-job briefings and tailboards, emphasizing resilience through layered defenses. Learners will gain insight into how failures in these systems can lead to catastrophic outcomes and how reinforcing each layer strengthens organizational safety.

This course highlights how outdated processes, poorly communicated expectations, flawed design, and organizational pressures can create environments where failure becomes more likely. It encourages a shift from reactive blame to proactive system improvement, emphasizing that people operate within the context of their systems. By focusing on identifying and strengthening weak points before failure occurs, organizations can build safer, more resilient operations that support human performance.

This course explores how high-risk operations depend on correctly managing actions and conditions that precede and shape CRITICAL STEPS—those moments where mistakes lead to irreversible harm. Built-in hazards such as energy, matter, or information are essential for creating value, but they also pose significant risks if not controlled. By identifying Risk-Important Actions (RIAs) and Risk-Important Conditions (RICs), organizations can ensure that the system is properly prepared before executing safety-critical tasks. Proactive management of these elements enhances operational reliability and helps prevent harm to people, property, and the environment.

This course explores the concept of risk-important actions and their role in operational safety across high-risk industries. Learners will examine how these actions—if done incorrectly—can introduce hidden dangers that lead to failure during CRITICAL STEPS. Through real-world examples and structured methods, the course outlines how to identify, monitor, and control these high-impact human actions. It also highlights the importance of error-checking systems and timely interventions to strengthen safety and reliability.