Shock and Fear in Safety There is a naïve belief in the safety industry that shocking people and the dynamics of fear are effective. We see this in the many ‘horror’ photos and clips in the sector as well as the countless injured people who are trotted out with the message ‘don’t be like me’. Even … [Read more...] about Shock and Fear in Safety
Zero Harm
Safety Dogma
Dogma is the systematic assertion of a set of principles as incontrovertibly true, especially as given by an authoritative source. The notion of dogma is most associated with religious tenets of faith declared without evidence. The idea of dogma comes from the language of doctrine and is usually … [Read more...] about Safety Dogma
The Yo-Yo Delusion and Conversations About Risk
The Yo-Yo Delusion and Conversations About Risk When we were kids we used to love the yo-yo craze. It was a time when a particular soft drink company got plenty of free promotion and yo-yo champions dazzled everyone. To view a recent yo-yo champion see here … [Read more...] about The Yo-Yo Delusion and Conversations About Risk
And the Enemy of Safety is? … Humans!
One of the sad aspects of zero language and discourse are its by-products. The only trajectory of zero and its tandem fixations, numeric and metrics, is to demonize humans as the enemy of safety. Such is an industry that has no idea what to do about human fallibility except drift into a psychosis … [Read more...] about And the Enemy of Safety is? … Humans!
A Comparison of Safety Paradigms
A paradigm is a distinct set of concept and thinking that result in distinct practices. In recent times it has occurred to coroners at inquests, auditors and government that poor safety culture has a central role in normalising unsafe practice. Inspectors and auditors are now ever mindful that … [Read more...] about A Comparison of Safety Paradigms
Zero is Meaningless
If you’re ready for a laugh look at the latest missive from the zero vision mob – global Safety. As Covid-19 cases climb over 2 million globally and fatalities over 130,000 (https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/ ) out comes Safety with language of harm minimization. Yes, in the latest … [Read more...] about Zero is Meaningless
Sanctimonious Safety
Sanctimonious Safety ‘Sorry I’m late’ was the excuse from John, ‘ I was held up wiping the arses of morons’. Such was the response from a safety manager this week. I had been waiting for over an hour for him to show up. Then when he finally showed up, I was stunned by what I heard. Is this the … [Read more...] about Sanctimonious Safety
Why Safety is Inescapably Theological
The moment Safety drifts into questions of life, death, suffering, pain, harm and ‘saving lives’ it has no way to go except a trajectory into theology. We observe this in Dekker’s book ‘The End of Heaven, Disaster and Suffering in a Scientific Age’ with dozens of biblical references and … [Read more...] about Why Safety is Inescapably Theological
Latest Destination on “The Journey To Zero”
Latest ‘technological advancements’ touted to ‘be able to change the behaviour and culture over the period of time.’ AI-powered workplace safety – brought to you by Intenseye who proudly state: Using existing cameras within facilities, we empower EHS teams to monitor their workplace 24/7, receive … [Read more...] about Latest Destination on “The Journey To Zero”
The Shape of Belief in Safety
There is no such thing as non-belief in safety because even non-belief is a belief. Agnosticism is a belief. What we believe determines our actions, movement and decisions. Belief shapes assumptions and assumptions motivate action. More so, even beliefs not known to us that are unconscious shape … [Read more...] about The Shape of Belief in Safety
