Maladaptation in air traffic management: Development of a Human Factors methods framework

Human Factors methods play a key role in challenging assumptions, analyzing interactions, and informing decision-making in complex sociotechnical systems and organizations that manage safety risks. Structured methodological approaches also have a role to play in better understanding properties of systems such as adaptation. Adaptation is increasingly recognized as being an important feature that supports the production of safety in complex sociotechnical systems. A safety management intervention, introduced to address a real risk in UK air traffic control but which resulted in unanticipated, maladaptive, and emergent effects, is analyzed using the Hierarchical Task Analysis, Systems Theoretic Accident Model and Processes, Functional Resonance Analysis Method, Human Factors Analysis and Classification System, Cognitive Work Analysis, Critical Decision Method, and Event Analysis of Systemic Teamwork Methods. The results from the application of each of the methods are presented and the different perspectives on adaptation that the methods provide are compared. A methodological framework is presented that has the potential to explore the factors of adaptation across the organizational hierarchy and assist safety practitioners in supporting decision makers in safety-related organizations.