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Falconbury

Managing Human Error: A Strategic Approach for Pharmaceutical Managers Training Course

Transform your approach to managing human error with evidence-based insights. Essential training for managers covering cognitive biases, process improvement and organisational communication failures.

28 January 2026
+ 1 July 2026 »

from £499

Need help?  Enrol/reserve

Course overview

Managers in all sectors, including pharmaceutical, are facing a major challenge - the issue of human error. It's crucial that this risk is fully understood and carefully managed in today’s commercial environment.

It’s a common myth that error is just ‘one of those things’, that it’s part of human behaviour and there’s simply nothing you can do about it. There’s actually a lot you can do both to reduce the incidents of human error and to minimise the effects of those errors that do happen.

It is commonly accepted that human error can contribute to product deviations, quality faults and even costly recalls. That might seem straightforward - but is human error the root cause, or merely a symptom of deeper process and system failures? Does it tell the full story, or is it more complicated than it first appears?

This one-day seminar looks in detail at the topic of managing human error, an issue which should be of importance to all managers since they are responsible for the safe operation of their businesses.

Human error can not only damage the organisation's commercial reputation and lead to loss of revenue but, more importantly, errors can lead to accidents, injuries and, potentially, loss of life. The expert trainer will help you identify different ways to review and improve work processes to reduce the chance of human error in your organisation.

Using references to the work of leading academics in the field of human error, international case studies across many industries, including pharmaceutical, will be discussed to help embed the learning; and topics will be introduced both to challenge understanding of the issues and to form the basis of a robust safety management plan.

By attending this event you will enhance your professional skillset which, in turn, will support your position as a member of your organisation's management team. And, in addition, by providing a valuable insight into the management of human error, this webinar will improve the performance of your operation, and the company in general.

This training course is part of our collection of Facilities Management Training Courses which offer a wide range of topics to help assist you in navigating potential risks in relation to fire safety, industrial accidents and all the vital aspects of facilities and property management.

Benefits of attending

By attending this course you will:

  • Understand the impact of human error on an organisation
  • Learn about some of the psychological factors behind human error
  • Navigate the minefield of managing human error
  • Get to grips with key assumptions and cognitive biases
  • Be aware of organisational and communication failures and how they happen
  • Identify different ways to review and improve work processes to reduce the chance of human error within your business

Who should attend?

This course is highly relevant to pharmaceutical professionals in roles with responsibility for people, processes, quality and compliance, including:

  • Line managers and team leaders
  • Production managers
  • Manufacturing supervisors
  • Operations managers
  • Quality and compliance managers and supervisors
  • Senior managers and directors

This is a vital topic area for all professionals who want to get to grips with understanding, managing and reducing human error within their organisations. 

Although primarily aimed at pharma industry professionals, this course will also be of benefit to team leaders, senior managers and directors in other business sectors. 

Enrol/reserve

This course will cover:

Are people always the problem?

  • Risk assessments assume that outcomes are predictable – but people can be unpredictable – does that make them a problem?
  • Do people have a passive or an active role to play in achieving tasks?
  • The mind and its link to human error

Assumptions

  • What do we mean by the term “assumptions”?
  • Case study – how an assumption led to a tragedy

Selective attention

  • The "gorilla effect"
  • How can you not see a dead deer in the road?

Heuristics

  • Mental shortcuts – helpful or not?

Cognitive biases

  • Hindsight bias
  • Anchor Bias
  • Confirmation bias

Errors and violations

  • Understanding the differences between an error, a mistake and a violation
  • Mistake categories
  • Violation categories

Organisational failure

  • The link between human error and flawed management systems
  • Case study – the error that was proved to be the company’s fault
  • Normalisation of deviance (NoD)

Communications

  • How do communications actually work?
  • What can go wrong in communications?

Blame

  • What do we mean by “blame”?
  • Is blame necessary?
  • The "no blame" culture

Looking ahead – action plans

  • How to devise an action plan which will both improve work processes and reduce the possibility (and effect) of errors
  • Policies
  • Working practices
  • Disciplinary procedures

Enrol/reserve

Andy Farrall
Management & Safety Training Ltd

Andy Farrall  FIIRSM  CMIOSH  MIIAI  MIoL is a chartered safety management consultant and accident investigator with over 16 years’ experience.  He is accredited with the Occupational Safety and Health Consultants’ Register (OSHCR) and holds a wide range of professional memberships and qualifications.

His professional experience covers fields as diverse as law enforcement (he was a specialist investigator with two elite law enforcement agencies); emergency services (12 years in the NHS ambulance service – both as emergency crew and as a control room officer); safety management consultancy; accident investigation; and accredited health & safety trainer. 

Examples of projects he has been involved in during his varied career include:

  • Being invited in 2022 to speak at the IXth International Scientific & Practical Conference on Health & Safety. This online conference, hosted from Warsaw, promoted the best in European safety management techniques to the Ukrainian national workforce. It was delivered on behalf of the Ukraine government.
  • Being invited by the Irish National Ambulance Service College to develop, and then present, to their senior ambulance officers and operational paramedics, a series of courses on making critical decision. 
  • The development and presentation of a specialist safety course for senior managers in the gas engineering sector.
  • Conducting a forensic investigation, at the request of defence counsel, into potential safety management failures behind a major building collapse in central London.
  • The investigation of a near-fatal accident in which an employee sustained serious crush injuries when struck by a reversing 9.7 tonne telehandler unit.

More details

NEW higher discounts for multiple bookings - bring your colleagues to make your training budget go further:

  • 30% off the 2nd delegate*
  • 40% off the 3rd delegate*
  • 50% off the 4th delegate*

Please contact us for pricing if you are interested in booking 5 or more delegates

28 January 2026

Live online

09:30-17:00 UK (London) (UTC+00)
10:30-18:00 Paris (UTC+01)
04:30-12:00 New York (UTC-05)
Course code 16709

  • GBP 499 599
  • EUR 699 839
  • USD 803 959

Until 24 Dec

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Not ready to book yet?

for 7 days, no obligation

1 July 2026

Live online

09:30-17:00 UK (London) (UTC+01)
10:30-18:00 Paris (UTC+02)
04:30-12:00 New York (UTC-04)
Course code 16710

  • GBP 499 599
  • EUR 699 839
  • USD 803 959

Until 27 May

View basket 

 
Not ready to book yet?

for 7 days, no obligation

* Early booking discounts may not be combined with other discounts or offers. As such, the discounts for 2nd/3rd/4th delegates are based on the full price; and apply only when booking multiple delegates on the same date.

Multiple colleagues? See above for details of our discounts for 2, 3, or 4 delegates. For more, talk to one of our training experts to discuss how to:

Run this course conveniently and cost-effectively in-house for your staff and colleagues

Aleksandra Beer

Aleksandra BEER
Training expert

Yesim Nurko

Yesim NURKO
Training expert

+44 (0)20 7749 4749

inhouse@ipiacademy.com