In order to not have safety problems, people should do as they are told. They should be compliant with what managers and planners have figured out for them. Indeed, managers and others above them are smart—they have put in place those treatises, those prescriptive procedures, those safety rules.

All the dumb operators or practitioners need to do is follow them, stick to them! How hard can that be?

Apparently it can be really hard. But the reason is also clear: it is because of people’s negative attitudes which adversely affect their behaviors. So more work on their attitudes (with poster campaigns and sanctions, for example) should do the trick.

This view, the Old View, is limited in its usefulness. In fact, it can be deeply counterproductive. It has been tried for decades, without noticeable effect.

– Sidney Dekker in The field guide to understanding human error.