The KISS principle is alive and well in the safety industry under the belief that if you keep repeating slogans, myths and mantras, they must be true. Let’s look at how dangerous and harmful just one of these slogans is: Culture is ‘what we do around here’ The danger of this naïve and simplistic … [Read more...] about Culture is NOT ‘What We Do Around Here!’
Safety Culture
Risk Culture and Cultural Risk
Risk Culture and Cultural Risk When the risk and safety industry defines culture it doesn’t consider critical aspects of culture. The most common definition is that culture is ‘what we do around here’ which fits in nicely with the behaviourist-cognitivist worldview that dominates the sector. So … [Read more...] about Risk Culture and Cultural Risk
Culture Silences in Safety The Collective Unconscious
Culture Silences in Safety The Collective Unconscious An essential in understanding culture is understanding shared consciousness and shared unconsciousness. The work of Jung charted the frontier in understanding the Collective Unconscious (https://www.are.na/block/1493356 ). What Jung discovered … [Read more...] about Culture Silences in Safety The Collective Unconscious
Culture and Risk Workshop – Feedback
We recently completed a 5-session workshop on Culture and Risk with 50 highly experienced risk and safety people from across the globe. The program served as a taster for how SPoR understands culture. Normally the program delivery for the program is 3-5 days. The program commenced by each … [Read more...] about Culture and Risk Workshop – Feedback
Culture is NOT a Product nor a Construct
When culture is viewed through the lens of behaviourism and safety, it is asserted that culture is a ‘construct’ and ‘product’ (p.50). This is the assertion of Cooper in his chapter in Safety Cultures, Safety Models. When the lens is behaviourist safety, one can assert that risk is best tackled … [Read more...] about Culture is NOT a Product nor a Construct
Making a Difference in Safety
Making a Difference in Safety By Shayne Connolly – one of our new Awesome Authors If you are like me you started in safety because you liked talking to people, you felt like you could help people understand but most of all you thought you could make a difference. Seven years now in a variety of … [Read more...] about Making a Difference in Safety
Safety Culture Surveys
Safety Culture Surveys If you do a search for ‘safety culture survey’ on Google it gets 2,720,000,000 results, a sure sign of an industry that thinks it knows what culture is and how to change it. Of course, the institutionalisation of the charisma … [Read more...] about Safety Culture Surveys
Think Outside The Safety Suggestion Box
Think Outside The Safety Suggestion Box Overnight I had someone email me asking for a suitable sign to put on their safety suggestion box to encourage employees to contribute to their new initiative. My immediate response, sent without much thought and whilst still half asleep was “with respect, … [Read more...] about Think Outside The Safety Suggestion Box
How to improve Safety culture
How to Improve Safety culture Article by the late George Robotham A good safety culture is an elusive thing those responsible for safety management systems struggle to achieve. Culture is often defined as “The way we do things around here”. Schein (1990) defines organisational culture as the … [Read more...] about How to improve Safety culture
The Banned Objects Index – A New Development in Safety Culture
The Banned Objects Index – A New Development in Safety Culture See also: Measuring Does Things To People Have you heard of the ‘Banned Objects Index’ (BOI)? It is the latest ‘measure’ that you can use to compare your organisations safety culture against another. The ‘BOI’ is easy to calculate, … [Read more...] about The Banned Objects Index – A New Development in Safety Culture