A Mindful Governance model for ultra-safe organisations

Abstract Mindful organising is a key integrating concept in resolving the organisational accident. Mindful organising is both the unique source of critical information about the normal operation, as well as the key recipient of intelligence about the operation, ensuring that operational actions are always informed by the most current, relevant information about potential risks no matter how remote. However, the mindful organising construct has never been operationalised as a practical and effective approach for complex ultra-safe systems. Within the Future Sky Safety programme the construct has been reworked to reinforce the idea that mindful organising is more than just a state of mind. It is about the gathering and flow of information to ensure awareness and appropriate action, both at the operational level and amongst middle management in ensuring improvements are effectively implemented. A novel model has been advanced which provides an organisational context for its implementation, based on the behavioural-economic principle that being well informed about an issue, having an effective and practical solution and being accountable, creates a compelling obligation to act in an appropriate manner. It is suggested how the operationalisation of this model could be supported through a set of generic prototype software applications. The potential applicability of this approach covers not only all sectors of aviation, but also all industries that carry a significant operational risk, including other transport modes, health and social care, emergency services and financial services.