It has been interesting to see the various comments on this thread and particularly the different interpretations of Just Culture. I am sure that a lot of the differences are simply about the use of terminology, I would like to pick up Arthur Daley on the comment about the concept that Just Culture is not a blame free culture. The simple fact that military aviation personnel are well paid and well trained doesn't step away from the fact that the foundation of Human Factors and Just Culture is the concept that to err is human. The suggestion that making a mistake is blameworthy in any way shows that there is still some way to go in the understanding of Just Culture in the middle management as well as the senior management.
Humans will make mistakes by their very nature and a good organisation should encourage people to report their "simple" mistakes so that others can learn from them. My take on it, for what it's worth, is that what we actually mean is that people who break the rules without good reason or cause should be blameworthy. There is quite a significant difference between the 2 and that is the difference between a good safety culture and a bad one, where people are scared to report their mistakes for fear of the consequences.
However, what the FAIR system and Just Culture is not there to do, is to replace the normal activities of a functioning supervisory system. It is easy to confuse the 2 things and I think that Easy Street has hit the nail on the head. FAIR should not lead people to expect that their performance won't be appropriately managed just because the Just Culture says they aren't blameworthy.
Last edited by thefodfather; 29th Oct 2013 at 07:16.