FRAM: The Functional Resonance Analysis Method

The sheer number of variables of complex dynamic systems do not allow their workings or failures to be understood by linear thinking or standard analytical methods. Hollnagel (U. of Southern Denmark) further elucidates the Functional Resonance Analysis Method (FRAM) he introduced in Barriers and Accident Prevention (2004), that treats risk assessment cases. He discusses FRAM principles which explain performance outcomes in terms of functional coupling and resonance. The text includes application cases in medical, transport, and financial systems, and a model, in FRAM terms, of the main functions that comprise the method. Annotation c2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Erik Hollnagel (Ph.D., psychology) is Professor at the Department of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, Industrial Safety Chair at MINES Paris-Tech (France), Professor Emeritus at University of LinkA?ping (Sweden), and Visiting Fellow of the Institute for Advanced Study of the Technische UniversitA?t MA?nchen (Germany). Since 1971 he has worked within universities, research centres and industries in several countries facing problems from several domains, including nuclear power generation, aerospace and aviation, air traffic management, software engineering, healthcare, and land-based traffic. His professional interests include industrial safety, resilience engineering, accident investigation, cognitive systems engineering and cognitive ergonomics. He has published more than 250 papers and authored or edited 18 books, some of the most recent titles being The ETTO Principle (Ashgate, 2009) and Resilience Engineering in Practice (Ashgate, 2011). Erik Hollnagel is also Editor-in-Chief of the book series Ashgate Studies in Resilience Engineering.