The contribution of social sciences to analysis of major accidents: two models in comparison

Abstract

Major accidents are a relevant social problem, because they can affect certain important pillars of contemporary societies such as population, infrastructures, and the very organizations in which the events occurred. Major accidents arise in high-risk organizations, where technical, technological, social, and organizational factors interact. In this paper we confront the theory of High Reliability Organizations (HRO) and the Normal Accidents Theory (NAT), exploring the virtues and limitations of each model.