A STAMP-based causal analysis of the Korean Sewol ferry accident

The increased complexity of socio-technical systems has revealed the limited contributions of existing event-based accident analysis methods on sustainable safety improvements. Systems-Theoretic Accident Model and Processes (STAMP) constructed upon Systems Theory deploys a holistic approach to safety and provides broad insights into accident causality via the integration of the analysis from both direct and indirect factors involved. A dedicated STAMP-based analysis is conducted in this paper by taking the recent Sewol ferry tragedy as an example, to illustrate the utility of applying the STAMP Model to the maritime transportation domain and to stimulate a broader view of accident mechanisms that expands casual analysis beyond immediate physical failures to a systemic view. Some recommendations are developed for continuous improvements and corrective actions to prevent such catastrophic accident from future occurrences. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.