Rhona Flin

Professor Rhona Flin is a distinguished academic at Robert Gordon University's Aberdeen Business School, where she conducts groundbreaking research on human performance in high-risk work settings. Her expertise spans safety culture, organizational psychology, and non-technical skills development across various high-stakes industries including oil and gas, emergency management, and healthcare.

Professor Flin earned her Bachelor's degree in Psychology from the University of Aberdeen in 1977, followed by a PhD in Psychology from the same institution in 1983. Her academic journey has positioned her as a leading expert in understanding how psychological factors influence safety, decision-making, and technology adoption in complex work environments.

Professor Flin's research primarily focuses on human performance in high-risk settings, examining safety culture, organizational dynamics, and critical non-technical skills including situation awareness, decision making, teamwork, leadership, and coping with stress and fatigue. Her work bridges psychological theory with practical applications in industries where human error can have catastrophic consequences. A significant portion of her recent research investigates the psychological factors that influence the adoption of new technologies, particularly in the energy sector, where she has conducted innovative benchmarking studies on organizational innovation culture.

Analysis of Professor Flin's recent publication record reveals several key trends. Her work increasingly focuses on emergency management decision-making, with multiple 2024 publications examining cognitive challenges in crisis situations and the training methods needed to improve performance. She has also expanded her research into renewable energy sectors, particularly wind power, where she investigates human factors in both onshore and offshore operations. Another significant thread in her recent work involves the development of behavioral marker systems for assessing non-technical skills across various domains, from helicopter operations to surgical settings.

Professor Flin has contributed to professional guidelines such as those developed with the Difficult Airway Society and the Association of Anaesthetists on implementing human factors in anesthesia, demonstrating the practical impact of her research.

As an academic supervisor, Professor Flin has guided numerous doctoral candidates through their research journeys. Her current and recent supervisees are investigating diverse topics including implementation of ISO 45003 in UK HEIs, sustainable business practices in the oil and gas industry, challenges facing Omani citizens in logistics, and decision-making competence in health supply chains. Her supervision portfolio demonstrates her ability to mentor research across multiple disciplines while maintaining focus on core themes of human performance, safety, and organizational culture.

Professor Flin is actively involved in the Energy, Sustainability & Society Research Group at Robert Gordon University. Her collaborative approach is evident in her numerous multi-institutional projects that bring together experts from psychology, business, engineering, and healthcare to address complex human factors challenges in high-risk environments.