Practical drift is a gradual movement away from officially defined operating procedures which develops over time where operators adjust workflows and procedures to better suit their needs, usually intending to increase efficiency of operations.[1]
History
editPractical drift is a hypothesis proposed by Scott Snook to describe how the day-to-day work carried out by people in an organization can deviate significantly over time from the documented procedures that they are supposed to follow.[2] Snook developed the theory of practical drift when researchering the events leading up to the 1994 Black Hawk shootdown incident, when United States Air Force F-15 fighter aircraft shot down two United States Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, because the pilot mistakenly believed that they were Iraqi Mil Mi-24 "Hind" helicopters.
References
edit- ^ Baron, Bob (1 May 2016). "The Safety Space and Practical Drift". Flight Safety Foundation. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
- ^ Snook, Scott A. (2000). Friendly fire : the accidental shootdown of U.S. Black Hawks over Northern Iraq. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-1-4008-4097-7. OCLC 759160416.