Safety and Complexity

Dear Colleagues,

Safety is a major concern in key industrial sectors as accidents have the potential for catastrophic consequences. Safety-critical and high-reliability organisations are characterized as complex systems with a great potential for stress, accidents, and injuries.

Recent calls have been made to move away from linear thinking regarding failure in complex systems, and to adopt a systems-thinking approach, where cause and effect are not distinguishable. This complexity arises from interactions between actors and the temporal and spatial gaps between actions and consequences—a feature in line with the principles of Complexity Science, which provides the premise for a flexible response to ‘emerging patterns and opportunities’.  In essence, complexity theory is about: (1) The interactions dynamics amongst multiple, networked agents, and (2) how emergent events, such as creativity, learning, or adaptability, arise from these interactions. Complexity theorist inquire into how such systems engage with each other, adapt, and influence things like emergence, innovation, and fitness.

In light of the above, this Special Issue will explore the challenges of safety with a focus on the application of complexity theory. Papers addressing the interface on how complexity theory can inform factors in the technological, organisational and human dimensions of safety are especially welcomed.

Prof. Sherif Mohamed
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Safety is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.