Sidney Dekker (PhD Ohio State University, USA, 1996) is professor of social science at Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia, where he runs the Safety Science Innovation Lab. He is also Professor (Hon.) of psychology at The University of Queensland, and Professor (Hon.) of human factors and patient safety at Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital in Brisbane. Previously, he was Professor of human factors and system safety at Lund University in Sweden. After becoming full professor, he learned to fly the Boeing 737, and worked part-time as an airline pilot out of Copenhagen. He is author of, most recently: The End of Heaven: Disaster and Suffering in a Scientific Age (2017); Just Culture: Restoring Trust and Accountability in Your Organization (2016); Safety Differently (2015); The Field Guide to Understanding ‘Human Error’ (2014); Second Victim (2013); Drift into Failure (2011); Patient Safety (2011). More at sidneydekker.com
In his new book Foundations of Safety Science, Sidney Dekker provides an exposition of the science of safety that paves the way for OHS to enhance its recognition as a profession. Taking each decade from the 1900s through to the 2010s he examines the safety theories of the time, how they interact and how they are reflected in practice then and now. In Sidney's inimitable way he challenges our thinking but this book is different to his other books. This book, I believe can be a watershed in the development and recognition of safety as a (social) science and as a profession. I encourage all OHS professionals and practitioners, OHS educators and students as well as those involved in OHS policy-making and OHS regulation to read it and then re-read it. - Pam Pryor AO, OHS Body of Knowledge