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
Safety Culture
Culture as a Wicked Problem, for Safety
The issue of culture is a ‘wicked problem’ for Safety (https://safetyrisk.net/risk-and-safety-as-a-wicked-problem/ ), that makes it a wicked wicked problem. Understanding both safety and culture as wicked problems is critical for ‘tackling’ risk. I use the word tackling because there is no sense in … [Read more...] about Culture as a Wicked Problem, for Safety
Cultural Orientation in Risk
One of the challenges for the safety industry is the myth of objectivity and the seduction of order and control. When one holds a thirst for power (through engineering and behaviourism) the last thing one wants to be told is that some things are ‘wicked’ … [Read more...] about Cultural Orientation in Risk
What Can Indiana Jones Tell Us About Culture
The Indiana Jones media franchise and movie series is one of the highest grossing of all time. The foundation for the success of Indiana Jones is the fascination with: mystery, Religion, cults, ritual, myth, rites, Archaeology, Anthropology, liturgy, trance, artefacts, initiation, aesthetics, … [Read more...] about What Can Indiana Jones Tell Us About Culture
Culture Cannot be Framed Through Safety
If you want to understand culture then any foundational study of it cannot be undertaken through safety. Safety should not be the conduit for any study in culture. Framing a worldview of anything through a preoccupation with safety toxifies that worldview. The meaning and purpose in life and … [Read more...] about Culture Cannot be Framed Through Safety
Safety Culture–Hudson’s Model
Safety Culture–Hudson’s Model This week’s conversation is about Safety Culture, Dave Whitefield from Semiosphere and Andrew Thornhill from Clarity Enabled and myself discuss Hudson's model as a way of explaining Culture Hudson from Matthew Thorne on Vimeo. … [Read more...] about Safety Culture–Hudson’s Model
Advancing Backwards in Safety
I had a call from a mate this week, the board of his company have been mesmerised by a presentation of the latest advances in safety. So I asked to see a copy of this presentation expecting some astounding research and scintillating stuff taking safety into the future. So what did I see? Bradley … [Read more...] about Advancing Backwards in Safety
I’m just not that into safety anymore
Read the sequel to this article: I’m Still Not That Into Safety Our most popular article out of 3007! Why do you think that is? Rob's courage and honesty has certainly touched some nerves! I’m just not that into safety anymore I have spoken with a number of Managers over the past few months who have … [Read more...] about I’m just not that into safety anymore
No Good Reason to Follow Reason
Whenever Safety puts conditionality on culture is no longer talks about Culture but rather the adjective that qualifies thinking about culture. We see this with the work of Reason who applied 5 adjectives to define a culture of safety. These are: ‘reporting’, ‘informed’, ‘learning’, ‘just’ and … [Read more...] about No Good Reason to Follow Reason
Just as Well Culture Doesn’t Listen to Safety
In Hopkin’s chapter (4) The Use and Abuse of “Culture” in Safety Culture, Culture Models the assumption is made that misunderstanding and misuse of an idea is ‘abusive’. (The use of such an emotive term is never explained by Hopkins, nor is any connection made between supposed ‘confusion’ and … [Read more...] about Just as Well Culture Doesn’t Listen to Safety
