Methodology of organizational learning in risk management : Development of a collective memory for sanitary alerts

Abstract : In France, each Veterinary Central Department (VCD) is confronted with situations of food-related sanitary alerts occurring in its territory of responsibility. Management of those alerts often creates an interesting experience but the organization of the control is done in such a way that this experience is not shared outside this area. We present a method to capitalize and to share the experience obtained by the inspectors, based on the dynamics of the alert's management. Development of an alert is formalized as a succession of events and cycles of decision that constitute the base of actor's experience, which they use for management of new alerts. This set of cycles is going to constitute a support for formalization and capitalization of experience: a collective memory.