We all have that friend that is usually not aware of how awkward and cringe he or she is, right? Sometimes, they can’t read the room. Heck, I bet it happens to everyone, not to just that one friend… Like in technology, understanding or “reading the room” is crucial! First for error prevention and then for performance improvement. And now about this….
We now that human error is an inevitable part of organizational life, but errors can have severe consequences and must be minimized. In today’s rapidly evolving technology world, situational awareness is essential for preventing errors, enhancing performance, and ensuring systems security. It involves understanding the current environment and predicting future states to manage risks and make informed decisions. Situational awareness involves understanding what is happening in the environment and its implications for the present and future. It distinguishes between the individual and their environment, focusing on relevant elements to achieve tasks effectively.
For example, In aviation, a pilot’s environment includes the aircraft, weather, and traffic. In business, a project manager’s environment includes the project team, stakeholders, and project progress. Situational awareness is vital in fast-paced and complex environments characterized by volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. We know that projects often face deviations, such as changing customer requirements or unforeseen issues. Early recognition of these deviations reduces their impact. High situational awareness allows project managers to anticipate and mitigate potential issues effectively.
So, achieving this safety, productivity, and quality in operations requires comprehensive situational awareness. For example, early recognition of IT infrastructure attacks or unsafe manufacturing conditions can prevent significant disruptions. But situational awareness aids continuous improvement by identifying issues before they escalate and facilitating structured learning to avoid future errors. It serves as a management tool to drive organizational learning.
Focusing on the three-level model of situational awareness, developed by cc in 1995, it includes a perceiving (Level 1): which is recognizing relevant data from systems, networks, and user feedback. A comprehending (Level 2), by understanding data within the context of operations, security protocols, and project goals. And finaly the predicting (Level 3) by projecting potential issues, such as security breaches or system failures, and planning mitigations.
So how to implement Situational Awareness in your organization or teams? Well, start with tailoring communication to the specific context and focusing on quality over quantity. Then prioritize important elements and planning for potential developments and scenarios. Obviously you need to “Go To The Gemba”, from the famous words of the Toyota Chairman “Go see, ask why, show respect”, and having this firsthand observations is key to understand the issues so that you can aggregate them in the visualization tools.
Now ask yourself “What did you look for the last time you went to the Gemba? What do you look for whenever you go to the Gemba?”. Then see it all through the different lenses of the solution, waste, problem and kaizen – seek for patterns, forms, tools, routines.
Bottom line; Situational awareness is essential in technology for preventing errors and ensuring optimal performance. Implementing strategies like effective communication, focused attention management, visualization tools, and direct observation can significantly enhance situational awareness in any organization. Visiting the actual site of work ensures accurate data collection and better situational awareness.





