Situational awareness has been around for a long time in various industries, such as healthcare, aviation, and the military. It can help improve the efficiency and safety of an organization by identifying and preventing potential threats. Let’s talk about the foundations of this concept of situational awareness. We will also look at how it can be used to improve the performance of an organization.
Error Prevention and Performance Improvement
Human error is a natural part of an organization’s culture. It can be a source of inspiration and learning, as well as a spark for innovation. Unfortunately, it can have detrimental consequences in specific industries, such as aviation and healthcare. This is why organizations must reduce their errors to a minimum and avoid them altogether.
For a long time, the concept and practice of situational awareness have been acknowledged as a vital part of improving an organization’s performance and safety. Both practitioners and scholars agree that this concept can help improve an organization’s efficiency and safety. This management tool can be very beneficial for your professional development.
Situational Awareness
One of the most critical concepts that distinguish situational awareness from other concepts is the distinction between an individual and the environment. In other words, situational awareness focuses on getting things done while avoiding distraction. This can be a task or a project that requires interaction with the various elements of an individual’s environment.
Benefits
There are many positive effects of situational awareness. One of these is its ability to prevent errors and deviations. According to a study by Goldenhar et al. in 2013, their efforts to improve the situational awareness of a healthcare facility resulted in a significant reduction in the number of unrecognized situations.
Another study conducted in 2017 revealed that implementing effective measures to improve the situational awareness of an organization can help prevent human error. This research also indicated that these measures could improve the organization’s safety performance.
Situational awareness is also fundamental when performing a task in a dynamic and complex environment. This is because it can help identify the necessary actions to complete the job. This type of management tool can help improve the performance of an organization. One of the most important factors you can consider when implementing this concept is the continuous alignment of your activities with the environment.