Eurocontrol, the organisation responsible for the safety of air navigation around Europe, commissioned e-learning solutions firm XOR to create a bespoke risk management course for controllers responsible for airspace stretching from the Mediterranean to Scandinavia.

XOR converted what was previously a two-hour lecture into an online session, drawing on lessons learned from high-profile disasters - including the King's Cross underground station fire and the space shuttle Challenger explosion - to highlight how accidents happen and how organisations can avoid them.

XOR business development manager John O'Sullivan said: "In today's culture, responsibility for accidents is increasingly placed on organisations rather than individuals. Organisational accidents usually happen as a result of a combination of factors, or chain of events, linked to organisational deficiencies.

"Potential problems may have been incubating for several years before being triggered by abnormal events. Problems result not exclusively from human or technical reasons, but from the interaction between the two, complicated by the environment at the time. Setting up procedures means that patterns can be seen, potential problems resolved and accidents avoided."

The online programme, which controllers can complete in their own countries, will form the introduction to new safety management procedures training which will continue with a two-day classroom course at Eurocontrol's headquarters in Luxembourg. Controllers from more than 30 countries will use the programme.

Training air traffic controllers online will save Eurocontrol training budget and controllers' precious time and will mean that each student begins the rest of the course equipped with the same knowledge.

Al Barnett, head of training for Eurocontrol, said: “Harmonised safety training for air traffic control staff throughout Europe is a high priority and training in risk management is an essential element of such training. By using an elearning solution we can reach more people, more quickly and cost effectively than with traditional training methods.”

XOR believes that the tailor-made Eurocontrol programme has the potential to be adapted for, and applied to the activities of, a wide range of similar organisations - including the emergency services. The company will be launching a generic version at the eLearning conference in London next month.