Examining alternatives to traditional accident causation models in the offshore oil and gas industry

Several recent studies assert that in complex systems, mishaps often result from non-linear interactions between very normal behaviours. These interactions gradually shift the system to a point at which safety is compromised. Exploring such a paradigm can shine a light on the reasons behind the failure of current safety models. This paper attempts to assess accident causation theory and complexity and systems thinking in the offshore oil and gas industry. Additionally, the lack of a theoretical basis to deal with complex socio-technical environments has been a common theme, so this paper further seeks out patterns that emerge after-the-fact, which could help to identify relevant theories. The paper recommends chaos theory and resilience engineering as alternative theoretical foundations for safety frameworks in the offshore oil and gas industry.