The weird thing about zero=safety (https://safetyrisk.net/safetyzero-culture/ ) is the denial of mortality and fallibility in all of its discourse and language. Even when you go to the Global Safety Congress, they call it a ‘zero event’ (https://safetyrisk.net/the-global-zero-event-this-is-safety/). Such is the stupidity of an industry that thinks that safety is demonstrated by injury rates.
Yet, in the real world we see that this summer there have been some drownings, bringing the National average up to 323 (https://www.injurymatters.org.au/know-injury/national-drowning-report-2024-released/), twice the number of people who die at work in Australia.
The rate of suicide in Australia in 2023 was 3214, the 16th leading cause of death. 1667 people died by alcohol and 4105 by accidental falls ranked at 11th highest cause of death. Car accident statistics don’t rank in the top 20. Can you just imagine trying to tackle the epidemic of alcohol in Australia as a safety issue? Good luck.
If you want to read about the realities of mortality, you can read here: https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/health/causes-death/causes-death-australia/latest-release. If you want to read about the denial of mortality and fallibility, read here: https://visionzero.global/
Mortality and fallibility are the foundation of real human living and are essential for human personhood. Mortality and fallibility are essential for being human.
Only Safety maintains the nonsense ideology of zero (https://www.humandymensions.com/product/zero-the-great-safety-delusion/). Only safety declares zero a moral goal (https://safetyrisk.net/zero-is-an-immoral-goal/). Only Safety lives in the denial of death (https://safetyrisk.net/zero-and-a-culture-of-denial/) and the denial of reality (https://safetyrisk.net/beware-the-cult-of-denial/). Only Safety lives in the zero delusion.
The key to understanding the characteristics of safety culture commences in zero. The key characteristic of safety is delusion. The ethic of safety is anchored in denial, delusion and the myth of certainty. This is where any study of safety culture must start.
In SPoR, we have published three books for free download on the zero delusion (https://www.humandymensions.com/shop/) but you can guarantee, they will never be cited in any safety text.
When you live in the zero bubble you make sure you get Safety to talk to Safety about safety.
In the USA, the top 10 leading causes of death are all health related (https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db492.htm). Except in the USA, the leading cause of death in children and young people is guns (https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2024/guns-remain-leading-cause-of-death-for-children-and-teens). In Australia, death by guns is not in the top 1000th causes of death for children.
Ah, safety is a choice you make, except when you don’t like that choice and you chose death by guns.
We die according to the way we live. But, one thing we know for certain, no human lives forever. There is no target goal for zero death! (https://safetyrisk.net/my-target-goal-is-zero-death/).
Unfortunately, the safety industry doesn’t know what to do with mortality and fallibility. It never speaks of it. And, what this means is when injury and harm visit a workplace no-one in safety is educated in what to do about it. There is no counselling or empathy skills in any safety qualification. There is no skill development of safety people in how to tackle death, injury and harm. With all this nonsense talk about ‘human-centric safety’ (https://safetyrisk.net/and-the-innovation-is-humans/) there is no discussion about dumping zero. Empathy has no part in any safety curriculum, and so any talk of human-centredness is just spin.
This is because safety people are indoctrinated in the zero=safety myth and so have no skills for reality when reality arrives. Instead, when harm and injury visit a workplace; care, listening and empathy are outsourced to others, educated in the reality of fallibility, who understand mortality. This is the legacy of an industry of denial and a culture of delusion. This is what keeps safety un-professional. When help and care are needed, safety calls on a real professionals to help.
Don’t worry, all the sponsors of zero were on full show in Sydney 2024 (https://safetyrisk.net/the-sponsors-of-zero-are/). The Safety Science Innovation Lab happily pushes zero as a moral goal. What a strange idea of innovation where the accumulation of expletives (punk rock safety) defines how regressive and ignorant safety is. When you don’t know what to do in safety, just say fu#k more often than others.
If however, you would like an alternative where mortality and fallibility are central to life, being and tackling risk, you can write here: admin@spor.com.au for more information on practical, positive and meaningful methods to tackle risk.
Dr Rob Long
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