The integration of alarm devices into socio-technical systems : The case of an airborne alert device (ACAS)

Three current views on safety management (i.e., the “additive”, the “linearity” and the “limited cognition” views respectively) are proposed and critically discussed in the light of an analysis of 3500 Incident Reports filled in by pilots and ATC after the triggering of an onboard anti-collision alarm. Findings indicate that the safety device doesn’t “act” as a stand-alone, last resort safety net. Rather, it intervenes into the practice as yet another agent. Integrating the output of the safety device into the ongoing flow of activities is shown to raise issues of “management cost”.