Humanising Safety and Embracing Real Risk
Geoff McDonald – Awarded Order of Australia Long time readers of this blog will fondly remember the work of George Robotham who passed away suddenly in 2013, leaving behind an incredible legacy. Many of George’s articles (like this one) mention the extraordinary work of Geoff McDonald – George’s friend and mentor. Sadly, Geoff passed away in July 2016 after a long illness but he has just been awar … [Continue reading...] about Geoff McDonald–Awarded Order of Australia
New Video Available - Semiotics Walk Workshop A semiotic walk is an awareness activity and experience that seeks out how signs and symbols are present and part of the collective unconscious. It is best to undertake such a walk with someone who has some expertise in semiotics, semiosis and an understanding of the semiosphere. The idea of a semiosphere helps us understand that our whole world and … [Continue reading...] about New Video Available – Semiotics Walk Workshop
Investigations and Heuristics One of the traps investigators fall into is thinking that people are the sum of inputs and outputs, that the behaviourist myth is true. Decision making in complex and far more sophisticated than the naïve proposals of the behaviourist worldview. Rewards and punishments are not primarily the cause of behaviours. There are a host of social psychological factors at play … [Continue reading...] about Investigations and Heuristics
Investigations and Power In the previous blog I raised concerns about the nature of Investigations and truth telling, and the affect of culture on one’s capability to extract the truth in investigations (https://safetyrisk.net/investigations-and-truth-telling/ ). In this blog I wish to raise the important issue of power in the process of investigating. One of the benefits of studying critical a … [Continue reading...] about Investigations and Power
Investigations and Truth Telling One of the essentials to undertaking an investigation is truth telling. However, there are many dynamics in organizational culture that mitigate against truth telling. ‘Honesty may be the best policy’ but ‘blame is the big game’ when it comes to safety investigations, especially in zero organizations. It is not possible to create an open and honest investigation in … [Continue reading...] about Investigations and Truth Telling
