One of the fascinating delusions of the safety industry is the myth of objectivity. There is none so, get used to it and work with it. This is why it’s important to educate people in critical thinking. Sorry to tell you, but every risk assessment design, form and checklist carries the bias of the … [Read more...] about There is No Objectivity, Deal With it!
Safety Differently
A Much Better Way To Think About Incident Investigations
I’ve recently seen and done a few incident investigations which really fell short of any mark except for ticking the box on the form that says ‘investigation completed’. There are ongoing debates about whether ICAM is better than TapRoot or if that is better than Root Cause Analysis or BowTie or … [Read more...] about A Much Better Way To Think About Incident Investigations
The Dynamics of Dehumanisation
The Dynamics of Dehumanisation It is a very sobering experience to stand in a gas chamber and reflect on what happened there. I recently stood in the facility of Mathausen-Gusen (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mauthausen-Gusen_concentration_camp), one of the largest concentration camps in the Third … [Read more...] about The Dynamics of Dehumanisation
Safety Silences – Video Series
Safety Silences - Video Series We get asked so often about various topics and ideas that are never discussed in traditional safety (including ‘safety differently’) so, we decided to start a video series called ‘Safety Silences’. The purpose of this video series is to discuss topics that seem to be … [Read more...] about Safety Silences – Video Series
Organisations are Social Institutions
Organisations are Social Institutions I saw a meme the other day from the safety sphere that stated: ‘We, all of us, are just one new executive away from having to start again at the very beginning’. Of course, this is utter nonsense. The idea that ‘we’ (the organized) are shaped by the shifting of … [Read more...] about Organisations are Social Institutions
Safety Holistically a Case for Change
Where you start in safety drives trajectories. Foundational beliefs and assumptions create directionality and a worldview that interprets reality. These foundations are a philosophy, ideology and methodology for what one normalizes as ‘safety work’. The foundational assumptions of ‘safety work’ are … [Read more...] about Safety Holistically a Case for Change
Safety How?
Latest from Greg Smith, author of Paper Safe: Hi everyone. Apologies that I have been so inactive on LinkedIn lately, but I have been busy trying to finalise my next book - Reasonably Practicable: cases and commentary, which is designed to help safety managers understand all the elements which go … [Read more...] about Safety How?
Letting Go of Safety, Differently
Letting Go of Safety, Differently Criticisms of the work of Robert Long and the Social Psychology of Risk (and “Safety Differently”), by people obviously frustrated with orthodox safety (Safety 1), include that it is: too “fluffy”; too academic; doesn't come with a step by step instruction … [Read more...] about Letting Go of Safety, Differently
Do we Need a Different Way of Being in Safety?
Do we Need a Different Way of Being in Safety? There are many people working in Safety who seek a ‘different’ way of engaging with others, and rightly so. The current policing and patrolling approaches adopted by many, seem to be doing little to support people in how they tackle the challenges of … [Read more...] about Do we Need a Different Way of Being in Safety?
Safety Differently–The Movie
Safety Differently–The Movie My perception of 'Safety Differently' is that it involves a systematic approach to humanising overly bureaucratic systems – I just cant see how it can be radically different whilst it’s still called 'safety' and all that that word conjures up in our minds? Calling in … [Read more...] about Safety Differently–The Movie
