Indicators of Organizational Resilience in Critical Sociotechnical Systems: A Qualitative Study for the Refinery Complex

Background: Resilience engineering is a new approach for safety management. The purpose of this paper was to determine indicators constructing organizational resilience as an important part of overall resilience. Methods: This was a qualitative study. The data collection method was semi-structured interviews as well as the discussion group method. The data were analyzed with conventional qualitative content analysis. Results: Overall, 232 primary codes were classified in 81 sub-indicators and 11 indicators. Eleven indicators were as follows: management commitment, performance management system, flow of information/communication, involvement culture, error management system, education, preparedness, flexibility, innovation culture, change management, and human resource management. Conclusions: Refineries and other firms are recommended to evaluate the situation of any identified indicators, therefore, they can promote the level of resilience by improving any indicator.