systeembesering

Systeembesering is a term used to describe the propagation of disruption through a complex system as a result of interactions among its components, rather than due to a single defect. It emphasizes emergent harm that arises from coupling across technologies, processes, organizations, and human actors in socio-technical systems.

Etymology and usage: The word appears in Scandinavian-language risk and resilience discourse and is sometimes treated as a neologism combining the word for system with a root meaning harm or injury. It is not part of a standardized technical vocabulary, and its precise definition can vary by context.

Mechanisms: Systeembesering arises from feedback loops, dependencies, and cascading effects. Small faults can be amplified by interfaces, data flows, supply chains, or decision processes, producing disproportionate disruption at system level. Indicators include increased incident frequency, performance degradation, and near-miss events.

Contexts: The concept is used in risk assessment, systems engineering, and resilience planning for domains such as information technology, energy networks, healthcare, and transportation. Mitigation aims to decouple components, introduce redundancy, improve visibility, and design for graceful degradation.

Relation to other concepts: It overlaps with systemic risk, cascading failure, and resilience engineering. Critics note that the term is not universally defined and that established concepts may offer more precise terminology.