Well, you have to hand it to the zero industry. Going into the abyss in a tissue box armed with a Cert 4 OHS. And what is this minefield? ISO 45003:2021 OHS Safety Management – Psychosocial Health and Safety at Work – Guidelines for Managing Psychosocial Risks. Only the industry of zero, metrics, … [Read more...] about Welcome to the Nightmare, Safety Creates its Own Minefield (as usual)
Robert Long
Confirmity in Conformity
Confirmity in Conformity Safety is the industry of conformity. This is despite the fact that many of the things people believe they must conform with are mythical. In the very brief history of safety we now have the situation where the dominant Safety worldview is mechanistic, focused on - safety … [Read more...] about Confirmity in Conformity
Numerology and Psychic Numbing
Numerology and Psychic Numbing Numerology is the belief in a mystical relationship between numbers and events. I can remember as a kid being challenged by the coincidence between numbers and events, later learning that the fascination between numbers and proofs dates back to the Early … [Read more...] about Numerology and Psychic Numbing
Thinking of Mortality
We learned today that the Coronavirus has led to a surge in people completing wills (https://abcnews.go.com/Health/coronavirus-leads-surge-wills-thinking-mortality/story?id=69874540 ). We learn from this news that people a seeking to make or update their will has risen by 220%: “Renee Fry, the CEO … [Read more...] about Thinking of Mortality
Safety is the Wrong Anchor
Safety is the Wrong Anchor We are all shaped by starting points, what Jung called Sensitive Dependence on Initial Conditions (SDICs). SDIC is sometimes known as the 'butterfly effect'. This is the idea central to Chaos Theory that a simple starting point can lead to wickedity. Foundational to SDIC … [Read more...] about Safety is the Wrong Anchor
Foresight Blindness, Hindsight Bias and Risk
Foresight Blindness, Hindsight Bias and Risk One of the beauties of fallibility is what Alan Watts called The Wisdom of Insecurity . Watts describes how binary worldviews create fear and dogma, making people frightened and concocting securities that don’t exist. Watts thinking helps one step out of … [Read more...] about Foresight Blindness, Hindsight Bias and Risk
Getting the Balance Right in Tackling Risk
One of the core principles in SPoR is balance. We see this visualised in the SPoR risk maturity model. See Figure 1. Risk Maturity. Figure 1. Risk Maturity. This simple semiotic makes clear all of the ‘steps’ that need to be considered in tackling risk. Whilst we tend to start risk … [Read more...] about Getting the Balance Right in Tackling Risk
What is SPoR?
The Social Psychology of Risk (SPoR) is a Discipline and Worldview that takes its foundation in Socialitie, that all living and being is social. This is what Martin Buber called i-thou (https://www.maximusveritas.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/iandthou.pdf). This includes relationships with persons … [Read more...] about What is SPoR?
How Bias Inhibits Learning in Safety
Tim Minchin is an Australian composer, musician, entertainer and comedian who really knows how to reveal the human condition. In this short video he ‘nails’ the challenges of Confirmation Bias (see below). Confirmation Bias is one of hundreds of unconscious filters we use every moment of every day … [Read more...] about How Bias Inhibits Learning in Safety
Afraid to Let Go of What Doesn’t Work in Safety
One of the common attributes of the safety industry is ‘playing it safe’. Of course, this makes sense to this industry and is consistent with the archetype of compliance and conservativism common to its culture. This attribute also limits creativity, imagination, discovery and learning. It also … [Read more...] about Afraid to Let Go of What Doesn’t Work in Safety
