High reliability organization: A literature review

Abstract

High Reliability Organization (HRO) is a specific classification of organizations that operate in high risk, high consequence environments and yet manage to operate error free for a long period of time. HRO research attempts to study and duplicate the method of operations of these organizations. HRO theory is relatively new in organization management, introduced in the 1980s. Since the introduction of HRO, the number of research studies to identify the characteristics of HRO increased and attempts to become an HRO also increased in a number of different industries. To date, HRO research has incorporated risk management, safety management, error management, organizational and safety culture, organizational learning, organizational behavior and resilience engineering. This paper provides a literature review on HRO research, discusses the implications of HRO on engineering management and the potential future research avenues of this field. Copyright, American Society for Engineering Management, 2011.