About

We follow a simple rule:

What is learned today must explain yesterday or be used tomorrow.

Research, and the practical experience of those making hard decisions in crisis events, come together to clarify what really works in critical live or die situations. We believe that the approach used for live or die moments derives from the same principles used in routine operations in uncertain situations.

Banks, investment firms, schools, construction firms, theater arts (dance, opera, stage, and film), small businesses, and large corporations all have exposure to risks and have experienced threats to their viability. The principles used to identify risk and threat and then develop a response are similar despite the varied nature of these organizations.

When one reviews these principles we see the similarity to those used by military combat, law enforcement, firefighting, and the Emergency Medical Services (EMS). When time pressures occur, all must respond to threat or uncertainty with existing resources. While the resources may vary, the processes do not.

Within each of these organizations, the point of contact between the organization and the threat is the individual. Here is where one person with the right attributes and attitude will identify the situation and interpret its level of risk. At this point, the individual must then translate this knowledge to others within the organization so that they also appreciate the situation and begin responding.

In some systems, such as the financial sector, health care, or public safety, attention has come to risk mitigation and improving safety as a priority. Scattered throughout these services, individuals have come to learn that safety and risk mitigation best develop in a culture that supports front-line workers.

These healthy safety cultures result in highly reliable organizations. The people in the group participating in this website also lead high reliability organizing (HRO) efforts within their own high-risk industries.

Beginning in 1989 several individuals from medicine, fire fighting, and EMS came together with the common interest of how individuals respond to emergencies, particularly by framing the crisis as a straightforward problem to solve.

"What you do everyday is what you do in an emergency"

-Joe Martin, Battalion Chief, Los Angeles City Fire Department, Retired

The San Bernadino Group

From the county that brought you McDonald's hamburgers and the Hell's Angels.

The San Bernardino Group coalesced from an informal group of health care and public safety professionals who began working together in 1989. We believed organizations must support the individual who faces the uncertain environment as this is where the unexpected is routine. Our goal was to improve our own performance by sharing with each other our painful and intimate lessons learned.

In 1995 we began working with Karlene Roberts, PhD, University of California, Berkeley, who introduced us to the principles of the High Reliability Organization (HRO). The following year, through Dr. Roberts, we developed a friendship with Karl Weick, PhD, University of Michigan, and Thomas A. Mercer, RAdm, USN (retired). Dr. Roberts taught us how the structure of an organization can encourage High Reliability. Dr. Weick and his associate Kathleen Sutcliffe, PhD, presented five principles that explain how we work together and how we interact with the environment to achieve High Reliability. RAdm Mercer reinforced our belief that it is our attitude when approaching a threat, uncertainty, the unexpected, or complexity that keeps us engaged until we reach resolution, thus maintaining High Reliability. Their advice and support not only explained what we did, they enabled us to explain our approach to others and enhance our routine and emergency operations. 

From a 1996 HRO conference at UC Berkeley we connected with others in the field besides Karl Weick (research) and RAdm. Mercer. We also began working with Bob Bea (academic, marine architecture and civil engineering), Tony Ciavarelli (Naval Aviation safety), Kathleen Sutcliffe (academic, health care), Chris Hart (commercial aviation), Earl Carnes (nuclear energy), Naj Meshkati (aviation safety, engineering), and David Christenson (wild land firefighting). Supported by the larger HRO community we held our first HRO conference at Crafton Hills College, Yucaipa, CA, in 2003. We gained international recognition 2004 when Bert Slagmolen, Apollo XII Consulting, introduced our group to Dutch railway authorities who were implementing HRO as High Performance Organizing (HPO). HPO is an approach developed by Dr. Slagmolen to translate the principles of HRO to organizations where failure is a business failure and not death or destruction.

The San Bernardino Group began bimonthly HRO discussions in 2005 to clarify useful concepts, examine nuances of High Reliability, and share experiences with implementation and application. This group continues and has grown to over 60 members from five countries. We now conduct regular international conferences to make HRO operational and have developed this website.

"Other people's stories are what make us strong."

-Tony Hare, PhD

The San Bernardino Group (current positions)



• Bruce Barton, BS, EMT-P, Riverside (CA) Emergency Medical Services Agency
• Racquel Calderon, BS, RCP, RRT, Totally Kids Specialty Health Care,
     San Bernardino, CA
• David Christenson, MA, US Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center, Tucson, AZ
• Jim Denney, MA, (deceased) Los Angeles City Fire Department
• Jim Holbrook, EdD, Crafton Hills College, Yucaipa, CA
• Febra Johnson, RD, Dietitian, Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital, CA
• Jeff F. Lewis LNHA, MA, LVN, Home of the Innocents, Louisville, KY
• Joe Martin, Battalion Chief, Los Angeles City Fire Department (retired)
• Tom Mercer, RAdm (USN, ret.), former Commanding Officer, USS Carl Vinson
     and Subic Bay Navy Base
• Susie Moss, BA, American Medical Response, San Bernardino County, CA
• Gary Provansal, Division Chief, San Bernardino County (CA) Fire Department (retired)
• Dwayne Thomas, RCP, CWO, US Marine Corps (ret.), RCP, Albuquerque, NM
• Daved van Stralen, MD, FAAP, Loma Linda University School of Medicine, CA