Toward a resilient organization: The management of unexpected hazard on the polar traverse

Abstract The aim of this research is to understand the organizational resilience through the safety management when unexpected events occurred, on an atypical transport environment, the polar traverse. Three polar traverses were studied, one of which being a detailed case study. Thus, ethnological observations over 3 year periods from 2012 to 2015 (to understand the traverse logic, functioning through unexpected event) and all-day interviews during a traverse (to understand actions and strategies of organizational resilience to cope unforeseen events) were collected. The main results, from quantitative and qualitative analysis, indicated (1) mechanical, organizational and both interventions allowed to face unexpected incidents on the traverse, (2) great possibilities to take actions on the convoy organization enabled to develop a pro-active management of the safety in alternation with reactive adjustments; (3) the importance was to preserve the machines functionality even if operators have to face environment hostility to repair; and (4) the variation of the convoy organization was permanent in its whole even if the incidents concerned only one road track. The strategies of organizational resilience building will be discussed in this article, around the proactive–reactive management, the organizational dynamic, the risk evaluation, and the risk taken to preserve the room manoeuver.