I read with amusement the other day, a comment on LinkedIn about the ‘elimination’ of human error. How can you respond to such ignorance? Human error is the foundation of the human condition. The nature of fallibility/mortality makes human persons who they are. And, this delicate balance in … [Read more...] about The Beauty of Human Error
Human Error
What If We Stopped Using “Human Error”? Shifting Our Language To Shift Our Culture
TL;DR This is not about "no blame" or "blame fixes nothing". Language influences the way we and others think. When we use communicate there is what we say (the words), and there is what that means (the discourse). I believe the discourse of "human error" in safety actually ends up … [Read more...] about What If We Stopped Using “Human Error”? Shifting Our Language To Shift Our Culture
Risk, Safety and Fundamental Attribution Error
Risk, Safety and Fundamental Attribution Error What do they say about damn lies and statistics? Well, maybe safety hasn’t heard about that one, nor it seems has the CFMEU or ACT Regulator. Recently the Secretary of the CFMEU trotted out yet again the statistic that the ACT Building and Construction … [Read more...] about Risk, Safety and Fundamental Attribution Error
Absolute Error Prevention
Absolute Error Prevention Safety is so easy, it’s all about error prevention. Safety is so simple, it’s all about risk aversion. Whilst both of these statements appear to be true, both are wrong. Safety is not simple and is not just about error prevention or risk aversion. Indeed, binary thinking … [Read more...] about Absolute Error Prevention
Perfectionism in Safety and the Denial of Humanity
Perfectionism in Safety and the Denial of Humanity Article by Dr Rob Long in response to Safety Under Construction What a bizarre claim that someone can guarantee no accidents, no mistakes, no harm and that ‘100% zero harm is the irrefutable future coming towards the construction industry like a … [Read more...] about Perfectionism in Safety and the Denial of Humanity
Error Trajectories and Risk
In 1650 heathen cultures were regarded at best as examples of human error, whilst at worst they were devices of Satan, devised to keep damned souls securely in his net. In either case it was thought that the duty of Christians was to either save them or destroy them. (Thomas Brooks Precious Remedies … [Read more...] about Error Trajectories and Risk
Tolerance
Matt and I recently had a chat about the relationship of learning to zero (https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/890883153) and why zero ideology is anti-learning and anti-resilience. This was followed by another video where we discuss the nature of belief (https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/890886064) which … [Read more...] about Tolerance
Understanding Human ‘Being’ The Foundation for Understanding Human Error
There is nothing unique about human error but there is with the preoccupation of behaviourists about it. The latest dose by Cooper (https://safetyrisk.net/the-behaviourist-human-and-human-being/) that ignores all of the available Transdisciplinary research is typical. What the behaviourist … [Read more...] about Understanding Human ‘Being’ The Foundation for Understanding Human Error
The Behaviourist Human and Human Being
The Behaviourist view of what it is to be human is A view, not THE view of human ‘being’. Indeed, if you want to understand human judgment and decision making or ‘human error’ the last place to consult is a safety behaviourist. We see the problem in a recent article by Cooper. The kind of human … [Read more...] about The Behaviourist Human and Human Being
There is Another Ethic than Zero Accidents
Editors note: In a comment in the article “The Worm at The Core” a reader directed me to an article by the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health in which they decree that “Accidents are not approved or permitted” - That statement really did something to me so this article by Dr Rob Long was very … [Read more...] about There is Another Ethic than Zero Accidents