Independent verification and peer-checking are some of the many mechanisms used to support safe operations in high risk industry and to capture potential error.

The collaborative PhD project principal aim is to investigate the efficacy of operational checks under different conditions. The first stage currently underway is gathering an understanding of checking definitions, advantages and disadvantages of checks, and key criteria for implementing checks. This initial stage is interested in all forms of operational checks across different contexts. Interviews with subject matter experts will supply the underpinning knowledge that will inform and guide the future studies.

This research will fill in the knowledge gaps around peer-checking in high-risk industry and enable greater understanding of cognitive processes underlying checking activities.

The PhD student for this project is Beatrix Duff, supervised by Dr Amy Irwin, Prof Amelia Hunt and Dr Nejc Sedlar.