EC Research Training Network (RTN)

Information about the ADVISES nodes:
Glasgow

About Glasgow

The Glasgow Accident Analysis Group is a small team of researchers based in Glasgow University. Our aim is to improve our understanding of system `failures', managerial weaknesses and human `error'. We are interested in accident analysis and in incident reporting techniques. There are several strands to our work:

• new generations of causal analysis techniques. The increasing complexity of many technological systems has combined with a realisation that the causes of adverse events extend far beyond immediate human 'errors' to include the managerial and regulatory factors that create the context for an accident. These two trends have created new demands that cannot easily be satisfied using previous generations of root cause analysis techniques. We have worked on the application of several different `leading edge' techniques, including STAMP and Why-Because Analysis. We have also helped to develop a number of new approaches, including techniques specifically developed to support the analysis of computer-related mishaps Our expertise has been used both by regulatory organisations and in subsequent litigation.

• new techniques for incident reporting. Our work focusses on two ends of the spectrum. For local incident reporting systems, we are looking at ways in which workplace studies can be used to uncover the deeper causes that can lie behind individual incidents that are reported to these systems. For national schemes, we are looking at the automated support (case based reasoning and information retrieval tools) that is necessary to identify common causes amongst many thousands of incident reports.

• the use of leading edge visualisation techniques. We are trying to go beyond the use of fault trees and wire-frame simulations of major accidents. We are using imagemaps, photorealistic simulations and model based virtual reality to improve the visualisation of major failures using standard PCs and web browsers. A recent project was able to show that the position of the witness within 3D accident simulations can bias the viewers' interpretation of what caused an accident. These findings have led to guidelines on the use of 3D VR in the work of UK prosecution agencies and police forces.

• the pragmatic integration of cognitive models and human error models. Existing taxonomies of human error are often pitched at too high a level to support subsequent re-design. We are using cognitive models in conjuction with these taxonomies to represent and reason about the deeper causes of operator 'failure'.

• Observational methods for understanding technologies in use. While accident reports can help us understand problems after an event, we use observational methods to locate problems with technologies before an accident occurs. For example, while adaptation of devices and normalisation of problems have been cited as contributory factors to accidents, our studies look at how these behaviours come about and why they persist.

Chris Johnson is a professor in Computer Science at the University of Glasgow and is a member of the Glasgow Accident Analysis Group. His research focuses on developing new techniques to support the investigation and analysis of accidents and near-miss incidents. In 2003, he worked on a project led by Mark Bowell of the UK Health and Safety Executive to develop new causal analysis techniques for computer-related incidents in the process industries. In 2002, he worked on a NASA/ICASE fellowship which involved a post hoc analysis of the SOHO Mission interruption with Michael Holloway at the NASA Langely research Centre. Prior to that he was part of a EUROCONTROL team that developed minimum standards for incident reporting across European Air Traffic Management. A full list of relevant publications is available.

Some publications of interest

@article{Johnson:2003,
TITLE = "A Survey of Causation in Mishap Logics",
AUTHOR = "C.W. Johnson and C.M. Holloway",
JOURNAL = "Reliability Engineering and Systems Safety journal",
VOLUME = "80",
NUMBER = "3",
PAGES = "271-291",
YEAR = "2003"}

@article{Johnson:2003a,
TITLE = "The ESA/NASA SOHO Mission Interruption: Using the STAMP Accident Analysis Technique for a Software Related `Mishap'",
AUTHOR = "C.W. Johnson and C.M. Holloway",
JOURNAL = "Software: Practice and Experience",
NOTE = "Accepted and to appear",
PAGES = "",
YEAR = "2003"}

@inproceedings{Johnson:2003b,
TITLE = " Using IEC61508 to Guide the Investigation of Computer Realted Incidents and Accidents",
AUTHOR = "C.W. Johnson",
BOOKTITLE = "SAFECOMP 2003",
EDITORS ="S. Anderson and M. Felici and B. Littlewood",
NOTE = "Accepted and to appear, http://www.springer.de/comp/lncs/index.html",
PUBLISHER = "Springer Verlag",
ADDRESS = "Berlin, Germany",
NUMBER = "LNCS",
YEAR = "2003"}

@inproceedings{Johnson:2003c,
TITLE = " The Application of Causal Analysis Techniques for Computer-Related Mishaps",
AUTHOR = "C.W. Johnson",
BOOKTITLE = "SAFECOMP 2003",
EDITORS ="S. Anderson and M. Felici and B. Littlewood",
NOTE = "Accepted and to appear, http://www.springer.de/comp/lncs/index.html",
PUBLISHER = "Springer Verlag",
NUMBER = "LNCS",
ADDRESS = "Berlin, Germany",
YEAR = "2003"}

@techreport{Johnson:sub8,
TITLE = "Newspaper and Online News Reporting of Major Accidents: Coverage in The Sun, The Times and BBC Online of Concorde Flight AFR4590",
AUTHOR = "C.W. Johnson",
BOOKTITLE = "Submitted to the Workshop on the Investigation and Reporting of Incidents and Accidents 2003",
YEAR = "2003"}

Contact Detail

Chris Johnson,

Department of Computing Science, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 9QQ. Scotland, UK.