Shortcuts and Safety: Lessons from the Challenger Explosion

As we mark the 40th anniversary of the Challenger explosion, the lessons from that January morning in 1986 remain as urgent as ever. The tragedy wasn’t the result of a single breakdown; it was the culmination of small, tolerated deviations that accumulated until the system finally failed. It was not an accident; it was a “predictable surprise.”

As noted in The Challenger Launch Decision: Risky Technology, Culture, and Deviance at NASA by author Diane Vaughan, a key factor in the Challenger disaster was the failure of the O-rings, rubber seals in the solid rocket boosters that weren’t designed to perform in cold temperatures, such as the cold temperatures on launch day.

Engineers had observed O-ring erosion on prior missions. But because those launches still ended “successfully,” the warning signs were gradually normalized. What should have triggered a stop-and-fix response became an accepted risk.

NASA leaders and contractors didn’t set out to invite catastrophe; they reinterpreted abnormal data as acceptable because no one had been hurt—yet. That pattern isn’t unique to aerospace. It can—and does—repeat in almost every industry.

Safety Performance and Everyday Patterns

Safety performance is rarely won (or lost) in a single moment. It’s shaped by the everyday patterns people repeat, especially under pressure. One of the most dangerous cultural failures any organization can experience is normalization of deviance: the slow, almost invisible drift from standards as shortcuts and rule-bending become “just how we do it.”

The Normalization of Deviance

Safety performance is rarely won (or lost) in a single moment. It’s shaped by The Normalization of Deviance

Normalization of deviance takes hold when teams stray from established processes and nothing bad happens right away. Over time, those small deviations get quietly reclassified as “safe,” not because they are safe, but because the absence of consequences creates false confidence. The truth is simple: the lack of an incident doesn’t make a shortcut safe; it only makes the danger harder to see.

The road to normalization of deviance is usually paved with good intentions. People want to deliver. They want to stay on schedule, meet expectations, satisfy customers, and conserve resources. When a shortcut “works” once, it gets repeated. Then it becomes routine.

Supervisors stop noticing. Leaders assume compliance. Meanwhile, real-world behavior drifts farther and farther from written procedures.

This drift rarely feels reckless; it feels efficient. It feels smart. But every time an unsafe deviation is tolerated (or worse, rewarded) we send a clear message: outcomes matter more than process.

Preventing normalization of deviance demands leadership vigilance and a culture of accountability.

Watching for Normalization of Deviance

Normalization of deviance shows up in everyday workplace behaviors:

Driving while using a cell phone
Skipping pre- and post-shift briefings
Ignoring lock-out/tag-out procedures
Not wearing required PPE

These behaviors may not cause harm today, or even next week, but they can quietly erode the integrity of your safety system. Over time, “good luck” replaces “good practice.”

The Antidote to Normalization of Deviance

The antidote is simple, but not easy: unconditional respect for process. Leaders must model it, enforce it, and celebrate it. Employees must feel safe speaking up when they see drift. Processes must evolve as risks change—and near-misses and minor incidents must become opportunities to learn, not reasons to blame.

Here are a few tips to help ensure respect for process:

Make it easy to follow: Provide clear steps, checklists, and templates so the “right way” is the simplest way.
Explain the “why”: Tie the process to outcomes people care about: safety, quality, time saved, fewer re-dos.
Lead by example: Leaders and supervisors should follow the process visibly and consistently.
Build accountability: Define roles, review key checkpoints, and address shortcuts the same way every time.
Invite feedback and improve it: Create a simple way to suggest changes, then update the process and communicate what changed.

The antidote is simple, but not easy: unconditional respect for process.

In Conclusion

Forty years after the Challenger tragedy, the message is unchanged: luck can be the most dangerous teacher. Every time we “get away with it,” we drift a little farther from safety. Whether you run a plant, drive a truck, manage a jobsite, or lead a corporate team, the lesson holds: shortcuts can threaten safety performance.

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About the Author

Brian Fielkow

Acrisure Risk Resources

Brian Fielkow helps Acrisure clients grow their safety cultures and manage risk with his executive, operational, and safety leadership. Fielkow has published several books and articles, including Leading People Safely: How to Win on the Business Battlefield, co-authored with James T. Schultz.