Application of classification principles to improve the reliability of incident classification systems: A test case using HFACS-ADF.

Accident classification systems are important tools for safety management. Unfortunately, many of the tools available have demonstrated poor reliability of coding, making their validity and usefulness questionable. This paper demonstrates the application of four strategies to improve the reliability of accident and incident classification systems.

Development of safety incident coding systems through improving coding reliability.

This paper reviews classification theory sources to develop five research questions concerning factors associated with incident coding system development and use and how these factors affect coding reliability. Firstly, a method was developed to enable the comparison of reliability results obtained using different methods. Second, a statistical and qualitative review of reliability studies was conducted to investigate the influence of the identified factors on the reliability of incident coding systems.

Reliability studies of incident coding systems in high hazard industries: A narrative review of study methodology.

This paper reviews the current literature on incident coding system reliability and discusses the methods applied in the conduct and measurement of reliability. The search strategy targeted three electronic databases using a list of search terms and the results were examined for relevance, including any additional relevant articles from the bibliographies. Twenty five papers met the relevance criteria and their methods are discussed.

Evaluation of the HFACS-ADF safety classification system: inter-coder consensus and intra-coder consistency.

This article evaluates an adaptation of the human factors analysis and classification system (HFACS) adopted by the Australian Defence Force (ADF) to classify factors that contribute to incidents. Three field studies were undertaken to assess the reliability of HFACS-ADF in the context of a particular ADF air traffic control (ATC) unit. Study one was designed to assess inter-coder consensus between many coders for two incident reports.