Sensemaking in Critical Situations and in Relation to Resilience—A Review

Abstract

Accidents and incidents, such as the capsizing of the anchor handling vessel Bourbon Dolphin in 2007 and the unintended list of the drilling rig Scarabeo 8 in 2012, underline the need for addressing sensemaking in safety-critical situations in the maritime domain to reduce risks. Sensemaking and risks must be understood as a part of the organizational context of the incidents. This paper presents the results of a comprehensive qualitative literature review conducted to establish more knowledge on sensemaking in the context of safety-critical situations and on the relation between the concepts of sensemaking and resilience. In the obtained literature sensemaking is used as a frame of reference for understanding accidents; it is used in relation to critical situations or complex operations in general; it is described by some as a process creating situational awareness; and it is explained by others mainly in terms of how it relates to resilience. Sensemaking creates the context for being resilient; at the same time sources of resilience help to make sense of the situation. Few authors provide explicit characteristics of sensemaking in safety-critical situations, where discrepancies can be supported by redundant systems or by training to ensure the needed questioning attitude. There is a lack of literature regarding sensemaking in safety-critical situations and in relation to resilience that also addresses important aspects of training and system design.

Surfing across industrial revolutions: A resilient sensemaking perspective on innovation

“…In socio-organizational terms, this is consistent with sensemaking (Kilskar et al, 2020;Maitlis & Christianson, 2014;Weick, 1993Weick, , 1995. Sensemaking is the process by which organizations and whole societies give meaning to their collective experiences; it has been defined as "the ongoing retrospective development of plausible images that rationalize what people are doing" (Weick et al, 2005, p. 409).…”

A light in the dark: How children make sense of COVID‐19

“…Therefore, undergoing an adverse life event may, for some, result in positive development and growth (Tedeschi & Calhoun, 2004). Furthermore, sensemaking, a social process to create meaning from events (Weick, 1995) may be an important element that influences individuals' ability to adapt, develop resilience, and emerge strengthened after a novel or traumatic situation (Kilskar, Danielsen, & Johnsen, 2020; Rankin, Lundberg, Woltjer, Rollenhagen, & Hollnagel, 2014; Vogus & Sutcliffe, 2007). Focusing on sensemaking may build resilience in disaster management (Takeda, Jones, & Helms, 2017) and in situations that have the potential to harm people, property or the environment (Kilskar, Danielsen, & Johnsen, 2018).…”

Emergent Properties of Organizational Sensemaking Systems: A Grounded Theory Assessment of The HITEC Project

“…When conventionally applied, sensemaking has emphasized the plausibility over the accuracy of the structured narrative, with the resulting principal value of the sensemaking process being how it can inform decision-making (Weick, 1988(Weick, , 1993. Since its inception by Weick, organizational sensemaking theories have been used widely in the management literature to inform various case studies and incident reports to help determine the root causes and contributing factors for both individual and organizational decisions (Boyatzis et al, 2017;de Graaff et al, 2019;Hayes, 2012;Kilskar et al, 2020;Kroon & Reif, 2023;Roberts, 2018;Weick, 1988).…”