Are best practices really best practice?

In the safety critical industry, best practices are often used as a justification to assure that a risk is properly managed. The reliance on best practices seems to have become a best practice in itself However, best practices present limitations that could lead to a more hazardous situation than initially thought. This paper identifies five limitations of best practices and reflects on their consequences on safety management. Before concluding that best practices are a sound starting point for any safety analysis one should always challenge their applicability and relevance in this particular situation and not hesitate to challenge them in order to continue to innovate.