• Jim Wetherbee

    With thirty-five years of experience in high-hazardoperational environments, Jim enjoys consulting with leaders and operators in dangerous endeavors with critical mission objectives. He is the only American astronaut to have commanded five missions in space, and is the only person to have landed the Space Shuttle five times. Jim earned a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Notre Dame in 1974. He began his career as a Naval Aviator aboard the USS John F Kennedy, flying the A-7 Corsair. After graduating from the US Naval Test Pilot School, Jim performed flight-testing of the F/A-18 Hornet. In 1984, Jim was selected to join NASA in its tenth group of astronauts. Over a twenty-year career, he flew six times on the Space Shuttle. The five-time commander flew two missions to the Russian Space Station, Mir, and two missions to the International Space Station. In 1998, he was appointed as the Director, Flight Crew Operations, specifically selected to improve the flight and ground safety in the astronaut corps. Based on that success, Jim was selected after the Columbia accident to enhance the safety aspects in the organizational culture at the Johnson Space Center, home of NASA’s human space flight program. Bringing his experience from the aerospace industry as a former NASA executive and astronaut, Jim joined the oil and gas industry as a Safety and Operations Auditor for BP. Four years later, he was selected as a VP for Operating Leadership. In this role, he supported efforts to improve performance results consistently over the long-term, by emphasizing effective leadership behaviors as a key way to influence and inspire people to conduct safe and high-quality operations. After successful careers in naval aviation, aerospace, and the oil and gas industry, Jim is passionate about helping leaders and operators perform successfully in hazardous environments.

    • 09:15 - 10:35 Controlling Risk - In A Dangerous World
      How do operators prevent the next accident that is inevitably trying to kill them? How do they prevent unpredictable accidents? Can they simultaneously improve
      performance?

       
      On the front lines of danger, operators are the last line of defense trying to
      prevent death and destruction. What happens if they don’t succeed? After
      accidents, organizations typically issue new rules. These will work—until the next
      accident. Again, new rules are issued and procedures are updated. Yet, the cycle
      of accidents continues. Organizations and operators must need something more
      than rules and procedures to prevent unpredictable accidents. The solution is
      found in the principles of operating excellence.

      Since the beginning of the space program, astronauts have been following
      these principles and developing techniques to help flight crews stay alive and
      accomplish dangerous missions in the unforgiving environment of space. In

      Controlling Risk, you will learn how to operate better, work together, and improve
      performance in your high-risk business to accomplish much more in your
      dangerous world!
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