Human performance, levels of service and system resilience

Abstract

The concept of resilience has spread widely in recent years and is broadly used to examine the dynamic response of critical sectors to disruptions. Resilience is frequently associated with the ability of a system to return to normal operational conditions subsequent to a shock event. Numerous definitions of resilience have been introduced and measures of resilience developed. Yet, the existing literature shows a lack of agreement in operationalising resilience. This chapter expresses resilience in relation to systems performance and levels of service. As people at all levels of an organisation play a significant role on creating (or not) resilience, the human contribution to the resilience of critical infrastructure is discussed. Here, the four resilience cornerstones, i.e., knowing what to do, look for, expect, and has happened, help structure the discussion. This standpoint is found to support a robust operationalisation of resilience.