What You May Not Know About Mark Paradies, President of System Improvements, Inc.
Who is Mark Paradies and what should you know about him?
The picture above is Mark with his “big mustache” at about the time he started System Improvements and started developing the TapRooT® System.
If you’re a TapRooT® User, you probably know that Mark Paradies is President of System Improvements, is one of the co-creators of the TapRooT® Root Cause Analysis System, and is a co-author of the TapRooT® Series of books and many articles on the TapRooT® Root Cause Analysis Blog.
You may have heard that he has extensive experience with root cause analysis, incident investigation, and human performance improvement. But did you know that…
Mark Paradies is a Certified Professional Ergonomist (CPE).
He was the 85th person to be certified in ergonomics and human factors by the Board of Certified Professional Ergonomists. Mark has worked extensively on projects aimed at improving human performance and reducing human errors.
His master’s degree research at the University of Illinois was focused on the proper roles of operators and automation for the next generation of nuclear power plants (human factors function allocation).
Before starting System Improvements Inc., he worked at DuPont on projects to improve aspects of human performance (including procedure usability and usage, and operator, maintenance, and technical training). He also developed a system for managing performance improvement in a resource-limited environment (an integrated living schedule).
Once he started his own company, he used his human factors knowledge and experience to build the TapRooT® System, including the ability to analyze and fix human performance/human behavior issues.
Mark was in Admiral Rickover’s Nuclear Navy (a high-reliability organization).
Mark has studied high-reliability organizations. But Mark has one major advantage over most of those who do academic research and speak about high-reliability organizations: He has worked in a high-reliability organization, the Nuclear Navy (the original high-reliability organization). Therefore, he knows firsthand what works, why it works, and what doesn’t work BECAUSE HE HAS BEEN THERE. He understands Admiral Rickover’s management systems and practical methods to guard against the normalization of deviation.
Mark has a unique understanding of “process safety.”
Mark has two engineering degrees (BSEE and MS Nuc E), human factors training, and experience working in Admiral Rickover’s Nuclear Navy (where he achieved his Engineer Certification). This gives him a unique understanding of process/nuclear safety. He has written about this experience and provided talks for companies around the world that are interested in improving their process safety systems and senior management’s understanding of process safety.
Mark has developed trending techniques for infrequently occurring safety and quality data.
Mark used the work of statistical experts Dr. Donald Wheeler, Dr. Walter Shewhart, and W. Edwards Deming to develop techniques for finding statistically valid trends in infrequently occurring accident data. Mark wrote a book about performance measurement and trending, titled “Performance Measures and Trending for Safety, Quality, and Business Management,” and developed a trending course.
Is Mark a TV celebrity?
Well, not exactly. He has appeared on three different TV shows (on Fox Business News, CNBC, and Bloomberg TV—one was recorded in Hollywood, next to the studio where Johnny Carson filmed the Tonight Show) where he was interviewed about advanced root cause analysis. Here are two videos of his appearances on shows…
Of course, Mark has appeared in scores of TapRooT® TV episodes, podcasts, and webinars (recorded in our offices in Knoxville, TN).
Mark is a renowned, valued source of logic, wisdom, and hands-on practical experience.
In his spare time between working for high-reliability organizations (the Nuclear Navy and DuPont) and leading System Improvements, Mark designed and built roads (driving a bulldozer, track loader, excavator, and dump trucks), produced hardwood lumber from trees, and helped design two houses. While working in college, getting his BS in Electrical Engineering, he was a field supervisor (in actual agricultural fields), supervised a commercial kitchen, and installed and repaired cable TV networks. While pursuing his MS in Nuclear Engineering and Human Factors, he served as an Assistant Professor of Naval Science, teaching midshipmen naval weapons theory and naval history. While still in high school, Mark worked in agricultural jobs, construction, and retail, and ran his own lawn-mowing/landscape business (which he started in the 5th grade).
Those are the lesser-known facts about Mark’s experience.
Summit Organizer and Track Leader
Mark has been the Global TapRooT® Summit Organizer since 1993 (for the first TapRooT® Summit in 1994). This year, he also serves as the Track Leader for the High-Reliability Organization Best Practices Track.
CLICK HERE for more information about the track and CLICK HERE for complete Summit information.
Questions?
If you have questions for Mark or would like to consult with him about your improvement efforts, put in a request, or call 865-539-2139. You can be guaranteed to learn something you can immediately apply.
