When you are surrounded by Safety methodology it’s sometimes hard to believe that 2020 is almost upon us.
A well intentioned “safety professional”, from a multinational building materials company, just proudly posted this image on Linkedin. Despite what the sign says, only lost time injuries make it to the board. There is nowhere to record health or psychological related lost time but imagine how anybody would feel if they became the “1” (as hard as they tried to avoid reporting it) and had to walk past this sign every day for the next 12 months?
They were surprised, along with some other likeminded safety people, at the volume of critical comments and questions in the responses. According to all those who think this is awesome and unquestionable stuff: “haters gonna hate”
This reminded me of the blog that Gab Carlton wrote back in 2015: We are in Control and Other Such Delusions!
Gab wrote:
Weick is one of many who discuss the illusion of control. If we believe we are in control we believe there will be no errors. Yet how can we be a resilient organisation if we cannot manage the unexpected. Because as the saying goes, ‘shit happens’! And it does. However, how well do organisations adapt and move on? An organisation distracted into believing they have control and perfectionism will not be resilient. Resilience is not just about bouncing back it’s about engaging in an adaptive mindset.
Resilience is about learning, adapting, knowing, relating, conversing, engaging, being mindful and more importantly understanding people matter.
Resilience is understanding that no system is perfect, that learning from errors is important, that understanding errors will occur. It’s not the focus of ‘no error’ or ‘error free’ it’s a focus of understanding there will be error. It’s how you are able to move forward and learn despite the error(s), allowing the system to keep functioning. That is because the system is not the focus it’s the people that are the focus. If we focus on people we understand that people will manage the unexpected far better than a system will. A system is rigid and static and cannot adapt and if we solely rely on that system we will fall apart. If we understand that people are the key to adapting the system to move on then the organisation has the capacity to be more resilient.
bernardcorden says
It gets even murkier. Following the ALP’s disastrous performance at the last election the former national secretary Noah Carroll recently secured a sinecure with KPMG along side senior executive Paul Howes, the former AWU national secretary, who recently married Olivia Wirth from Qantas.
KPMG were one of the principal auditors of Carillion and were also extensively involved in the disastrous home insulation program. The revolving doors certainly haven’t stopped spinning.
One MP in UK parliament during the parliamentary inquiry into the collapse of Carillion remarked that he would not let KPMG conduct an audit on the contents of his fridge.
The fees these organisations charge are astronomical and then they are further rewarded for unravelling the entrails from the dung heap they generated……For the benefit of Mr Kite there will be a show tonight on trampoline.
Rob long says
The stench of Capital feeds snouts in the trough whilst always maintaining the propaganda of care, safety and zero. But make sure you lock in a code of ethics and lollies to the true believers.
bernardcorden says
FDR Safety in Tennessee is somewhat innovative and obviously embraces zero harm ideology:
https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/11/05/sick-and-shrouded-in-secrecy-alabamas-contract-to-gas-humans-to-death/
Admin says
Hah! I wonder if they have thought that through
Rob long says
Safety cultivates compliance so strongly that when superficial stuff like this is criticised, it becomes all about being in or outside the compliance or zero club. Debate is not recognised as helpful and so dumb down safety is normalised, ably assisted by zero organisations and zero associations. Close your eyes, no learning needed here.
bernardcorden says
It gets even murkier. Following the ALP’s disastrous performance at the last election the former national secretary Noah Carroll recently secured a sinecure with KPMG along side senior executive Paul Howes, the former AWU national secretary, who recently married Olivia Wirth from Qantas.
KPMG were one of the principal auditors of Carillion and were also extensively involved in the disastrous home insulation program. The revolving doors certainly haven’t stopped spinning.
One MP in UK parliament during the parliamentary inquiry into the collapse of Carillion remarked that he would not let KPMG conduct an audit on the contents of his fridge.
The fees these organisations charge are astronomical and then they are further rewarded for unravelling the entrails from the dung heap they generated……For the benefit of Mr Kite there will be a show tonight on trampoline.
Rob long says
The stench of Capital feeds snouts in the trough whilst always maintaining the propaganda of care, safety and zero. But make sure you lock in a code of ethics and lollies to the true believers.
Rob long says
Safety cultivates compliance so strongly that when superficial stuff like this is criticised, it becomes all about being in or outside the compliance or zero club. Debate is not recognised as helpful and so dumb down safety is normalised, ably assisted by zero organisations and zero associations. Close your eyes, no learning needed here.
bernardcorden says
FDR Safety in Tennessee is somewhat innovative and obviously embraces zero harm ideology:
https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/11/05/sick-and-shrouded-in-secrecy-alabamas-contract-to-gas-humans-to-death/
Admin says
Hah! I wonder if they have thought that through