I had to chuckle when I was sent this piece. One should normally expect leadership and professionalism from a peak body but in this case there is all the evidence of the opposite neuroscience-behind-how-workers-make-conscious-safety-choices. The key to leadership is discernment and wisdom and … [Read more...] about Turning Neuroscience into Behaviourism
Envisioning Risk in Canada
Envisioning Risk in Canada As I landed in Vancouver enjoying the snow-capped Rockies and myriad of islands, I wondered about meeting the ‘safety heretic’. After landing with a smashed bag and seeking a replacement I meet Jeff Lyth and we chatted about falling out with ‘the faith’ and about … [Read more...] about Envisioning Risk in Canada
I am a Spreadsheet King
I am a Spreadsheet King I have had numerous conversations with safety people this week who lament the amount of time they have to spend doing spreadsheets reporting on everything from injury rates, TRIFR, near miss etc. One a GM of a tier 1 organisation tells me he hasn’t had time to walk the floor … [Read more...] about I am a Spreadsheet King
No Hope for Safety
No Hope for Safety One of the fascinating things about culture in safety is an extraordinary satisfaction with a lack of definition and a phenomenal acceptance of assumptions about critical issues. For example, you won’t find discussion anywhere in safety about the nature of Hope, nor the nature of … [Read more...] about No Hope for Safety
Mapping Social Influence Strategies
Mapping Social Influence Strategies People who train in STEM-only industries like those in risk, safety and security tend to be naïve and mis-educated about the nature of social influence. A search through any of the texts in risk and safety curriculum on the marked indicate strong influences of … [Read more...] about Mapping Social Influence Strategies
Safety Surveying What You Already Know
Safety Surveying What You Already Know I received a post this week from someone who had conducted the typical orthodox safety survey. There are many such surveys on the market, all infused with STEM-only assumptions about materialist-rationalist safety. As I looked through the survey results and … [Read more...] about Safety Surveying What You Already Know
I Don’t Serve Systems
I Don’t Serve Systems It’s a strange experience to read a science-managerial text on compliance. It’s strange because of the absence of any reference to human interaction or social psychological influences on behavior and human decision making. This is the case with Singh and Bussen’s book … [Read more...] about I Don’t Serve Systems
Transdisciplinary Safety
Transdisciplinary Safety In the latest issue of The Risk Magazine in the Future of Risk Edition (No. 3 March 2018, p.44) I argued that the future of risk must embrace transdisciplinarity (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transdisciplinarity ). It is interesting that the binary view that currently … [Read more...] about Transdisciplinary Safety
Like a Collective Brain Snap
Like a Collective Brain Snap See the followup: How Groupthink Works This is a blog that will only mean something to those who follow cricket. In Australia Cricket is not just a game, it is a semiotic that has significance well beyond the game. Australians find legends in the game of Cricket that … [Read more...] about Like a Collective Brain Snap
Vision Can’t Come from Safety Compliance
Vision Can’t Come from Safety Compliance One of the spin offs, trade-offs and by-products of Vision Zero is a lack of vision. The idea of vision comes from more than just seeing something but rather seeing beyond something. I will be writing about this in my next book Envisioning Risk, Signs and … [Read more...] about Vision Can’t Come from Safety Compliance