High Reliability Solutions is one of the co-founders of the Pro-HRO network launched in November 2011. ProHRO is a non-for-profit network of HRO thought leaders with a background in science or practice. Since 2007, HRS is a business partner of Apollo 13 Consulting.
Apollo 13 is a management consultancy firm that supports organisations that develop into a high reliable organisation (HRO) combining high performance with high reliability. The focus is on development of mindful thinking and interaction within the organisation: alertness, flexibility and focus on what is necessary in the current situation. See www.a13c.nl.
The mission of the proHRO network is to find new approaches for reliable performance using practical experiences and research based evidence of High Reliability Organisations. See www.proHRO.com. ProHRO aims to further integrate the existing research, practical experience and professional disciplines. At the same time it aims to further develop HRO theory and research and HRO leading edge pilots by using an interdisciplinary, integrative approach. Although according to HRO research, challenges look for expertise anywhere in (or for that matter outside) organisations, HRO would propose that most often this expertise is found close to the operations. That is because situational awareness is better developed in those areas where survival depends on sensitivity to operations and deep knowledge of the system that is operated. Little surprise that early HRO research has uncovered most of the features by closely studying operations in various organisations. HRO in Europe promotes a renewed interest in daily practice and the powers of observation. Organisations need to be better able to learn in real time and make use of all the unexpected events that occur in daily operations.
The proHRO network is intended as an interesting laboratory to study (and tackle) how all issues related to improve reliability and quality or organisational performance work. HRO cannot be captured in bullet point “truths” in distant classrooms. HRO practitioners may often struggle with what they know about the “real” secret to success and reliable performance and the difficulty of getting this message across. It is the dialogue that matters here. HRO in Europe wants to assist HRO “experts” attempt to communicate their “expertise” to other professionals.
The proHRO network aims to “talk the walk”: it engages organisations in “HRO talk”, to adopt the HRO features as common ground and sharing information on operations and challenges in a very distinct, and strictly defined way. We will explore how to use conventional “education” and communication methods next to a host of other methods including appreciative inquiry techniques, visualisation tools, multi-media scenario’s and case-probing methods.