• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

SafetyRisk.net

Humanising Safety and Embracing Real Risk

  • Home
    • About
      • Privacy Policy
      • Contact
  • FREE
    • Slogans
      • Researchers Reveal the Top 10 Most Effective Safety Slogans Of All Time
      • When Slogans Don’t Work
      • CLASSIC, FAMOUS and INFAMOUS SAFETY QUOTES
      • 500 OF THE BEST AND WORST WORKPLACE HEALTH and SAFETY SLOGANS 2023
      • CATCHY and FUNNY SAFETY SLOGANS FOR THE WORKPLACE
      • COVID-19 (Coronavirus, Omicron) Health and Safety Slogans and Quotes for the Workplace
      • Safety Acronyms
      • You know Where You Can Stick Your Safety Slogans
      • Sayings, Slogans, Aphorisms and the Discourse of Simple
      • Spanish Safety Slogans – Consignas de seguridad
      • Safety Slogans List
      • Road Safety Slogans 2023
      • How to write your own safety slogans
      • Why Are Safety Slogans Important
      • Safety Slogans Don’t Save Lives
      • 40 Free Safety Slogans For the Workplace
      • Safety Slogans for Work
    • FREE SAFETY eBOOKS
    • Free Hotel and Resort Risk Management Checklist
    • FREE DOWNLOADS
    • TOP 50
    • FREE RISK ASSESSMENT FORMS
    • Find a Safety Consultant
    • Free Safety Program Documents
    • Psychology Of Safety
    • Safety Ideas That Work
    • HEALTH and SAFETY MANUALS
    • FREE SAFE WORK METHOD STATEMENT RESOURCES
    • Whats New In Safety
    • FUN SAFETY STUFF
    • Health and Safety Training
    • SAFETY COURSES
    • Safety Training Needs Analysis and Matrix
    • Top 20 Safety Books
    • This Toaster Is Hot
    • Free Covid-19 Toolbox Talks
    • Download Page – Please Be Patient With Larger Files…….
    • SAFETY IMAGES, Photos, Unsafe Pictures and Funny Fails
    • How to Calculate TRIFR, LTIFR and Other Health and Safety Indicators
    • Download Safety Moments from Human Resources Secretariat
  • Social Psychology Of Risk
    • What is Psychological Health and Safety at Work?
    • Safety Psychology Terminology
    • Some Basics on Social Psychology & Risk
    • Understanding The Social Psychology of Risk – Prof Karl E. Weick
    • The Psychology of Leadership in Risk
    • Conducting a Psychology and Culture Safety Walk
    • The Psychology of Conversion – 20 Tips to get Started
    • Understanding The Social Psychology of Risk And Safety
    • Psychology and safety
    • The Psychology of Safety
    • Hot Toaster
    • TALKING RISK VIDEOS
    • WHAT IS SAFETY
    • THE HOT TOASTER
    • THE ZERO HARM DEBATE
    • SEMIOTICS
    • LEADERSHIP
  • Dr Long Posts
    • ALL POSTS
    • Learning Styles Matter
    • There is no Hierarchy of Controls
    • Scaffolding, Readiness and ZPD in Learning
    • What Can Safety Learn From Playschool?
    • Presentation Tips for Safety People
    • Dialogue Do’s and Don’ts
    • It’s Only a Symbol
    • Ten Cautions About Safety Checklists
    • Zero is Unethical
    • First Report on Zero Survey
    • There is No Objectivity, Deal With it!
  • THEMES
    • Psychosocial Safety
    • Resiliencing
    • Risk Myths
    • Safety Myths
    • Safety Culture Silences
    • Safety Culture
    • Psychological Health and Safety
    • Zero Harm
    • Due Diligence
  • Free Learning
    • Introduction to SPoR – Free
    • FREE RISK and SAFETY EBOOKS
    • FREE ebook – Guidance for the beginning OHS professional
    • Free EBook – Effective Safety Management Systems
    • Free EBook – Lessons I Have Learnt
  • Psychosocial Safety
    • What is Psychosocial Safety
    • Psychological Safety
      • What is Psychological Health and Safety at Work?
      • Managing psychosocial hazards at work
      • Psychological Safety – has it become the next Maslow’s hammer?
      • What is Psychosocial Safety
      • Psychological Safety Slogans and Quotes
      • What is Psychological Safety?
      • Understanding Psychological Terminology
      • Psycho-Social and Socio-Psychological, What’s the Difference?
      • Build a Psychologically Safe Workplace by Taking Risks and Analysing Failures
      • It’s not weird – it’s a psychological safety initiative!
You are here: Home / Accidents and Incidents / Safety Investigation – Whodunit?

Safety Investigation – Whodunit?

September 17, 2015 by Dr Rob Long 11 Comments

Safety Investigations – Whodunit?

Depositphotos_6600092_s-2015Nothing is better for a successful TV series than a whodunit. The popularity of CSI and a host of shows demonstrates how much we like to be clever in hindsight. In safety investigations it’s a whodunit, whatwasdunit, howtheydunit and, whytheydunit. When I look at safety investigation packages I get astounded at what is missing.

One of the foundations of any investigation should be knowledge of self rather than a fixation on technique. Most safety investigation systems on the market are about technique (checklist and method) rather than on the nature of the investigator (bias and methodology). The beginning of intelligence is safety investigations is not the way you use a camera or probe for clues in the past but more importantly questions about self, personality, culture, sub-culture and social psychological determinants of decision making. All these elements are critical to my SEEK (Social Psychology Event Exploration Knowledge) Program.

I was recently called into a situation after the investigators had left and prepared their report and, was astounded at what was missing. The whole focus of the report was on mechanics, physicalities, objects and seeking blame. In the end they had a reason for the event but it was simple and black and white, many of the complexities that had compounded pre-decision making in the event were all missing from the report. Nothing is better for the distortion of social psychological context than the discourse of zero and the language of ‘all accidents are preventable’. If you take such nonsense in your head into an investigation, no wonder you find the attributions you desire.

Don’t get me wrong, the common elements in most investigation programs are helpful, although reductionist. I certainly utilize some of these in the way I investigate events but it doesn’t help hindsight to ignore the elephant in the room. In my training we support all event investigation methods but add value to them by complementary skills and understandings in the social psychology of risk. Those who complete the SEEK program have a much better idea of all the biases that affect the way humans investigate. The Human Dymensions tool that participants receive complements the training and is attached to give an indication of the kinds of things explored in the training. I will discuss just a few elements of the SEEK training to give an idea of what is perceived to be important to a social psychology of risk investigation. The tool (attached) not only works on the principles of shortsightedness and longsightedness but also on the semiotics of the Human Dymensions iCUE (risk intelligence). One’s iCUE is the risk equivalent of one’s IQ (one of Human Dymensions’ bedrock concepts that anchors the Program).

  1. One of the first things an investigator should be able to do is ‘suspend their agenda’. In other words, understanding consciousness of what we bring to an investigation, admission of personal and psychological bias enables a better investigation. The investigator needs to also understand what part unconsciousness plays in decision making.
  2. Another core element of the training is to understand the nature of exformation (Norretranders). In many ways it is easy to detect information and gather data, it is much more skill to discover what one doesn’t know or what has been omitted. Understanding human and cultural defensiveness and such dynamics as reaction formation are critical for a sophisticated sense of investigation.

  3. Understanding visual and special literacy is critical to investigation. Understanding how social arrangements and how space and place affect decision making is critical to understanding risk.

  4. Understanding the ORJI cycle (Schein – Process Consultation Revisited) is also critical to investigation methodology. ORJI is about ‘Reciprocal and Interactive Communication Effects’ (p. 128) and understands how Open Communication, Unwitting Leakage, Confiding and Emotional Contagion and critical to investigation. This is what Schein calls the ‘Intrapsychic Process’.

There is of course much more to the 4 day program than a tool and a few concepts, we also use micro-training (video practice), Hofstede’s Cultural Compass, personality indicator work, Weick’s core principles (Organisational Sensemaking and Collective Mindfulness) and, a host of core social psychological understandings to help develop a more sophisticated approach to investigations.

If this Program is of interest to you please contact admin@humandymensions.com

image

image

  • Bio
  • Latest Posts
  • More about Rob
Dr Rob Long

Dr Rob Long

Expert in Social Psychology, Principal & Trainer at Human Dymensions
Dr Rob Long

Latest posts by Dr Rob Long (see all)

  • When Safety Delights in ‘I Told You So’! - May 24, 2023
  • Understanding Safety as a Cultural Reproductive Process - May 23, 2023
  • Thinking Outside the Safety Bubble - May 21, 2023
  • Understanding Language Influencing, A Video - May 21, 2023
  • Safetie - May 21, 2023
Dr Rob Long
PhD., MEd., MOH., BEd., BTh., Dip T., Dip Min., Cert IV TAA, MRMIA Rob is the founder of Human Dymensions and has extensive experience, qualifications and expertise across a range of sectors including government, education, corporate, industry and community sectors over 30 years. Rob has worked at all levels of the education and training sector including serving on various post graduate executive, post graduate supervision, post graduate course design and implementation programs.

Please share our posts

  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: Accidents and Incidents, Investigation, Robert Long, Social Psychology of Risk Tagged With: safety investigation

Reader Interactions

Do you have any thoughts? Please share them below Cancel reply

Primary Sidebar

Search and Discover More on this Site

Never miss a post - Subscribe via Email

Enter your email address and join other discerning risk and safety people who receive notifications of new posts by email

Join 7,521 other subscribers

Recent Comments

  • Rob Long on It is NOT My Responsibility to Keep You Safe
  • Chris. on It is NOT My Responsibility to Keep You Safe
  • Pierre Joubert on Zero Doesn’t Work, Road Fatalities Increase
  • James on We are all equal
  • Rob Long on We are all equal
  • James Parkinson on We are all equal
  • Brent Charlton on What Does Safety Achieve?
  • Admin on We are all equal
  • James Parkinson on We are all equal
  • Rob Long on What Does Safety Achieve?
  • Brent Charlton on We are all equal
  • Brent Charlton on We are all equal
  • Brent Charlton on We are all equal
  • Brent Charlton on What Does Safety Achieve?
  • Simon Cassin on You Can Fool Someone Some of the Time but, You Can Fool Safety All of the Time
  • Simon Cassin on You Can Fool Someone Some of the Time but, You Can Fool Safety All of the Time
  • Rob Long on You Can Fool Someone Some of the Time but, You Can Fool Safety All of the Time
  • Rob Long on You Can Fool Someone Some of the Time but, You Can Fool Safety All of the Time
  • Rob Long on You Can Fool Someone Some of the Time but, You Can Fool Safety All of the Time
  • Rob Long on You Can Fool Someone Some of the Time but, You Can Fool Safety All of the Time

RECOMMENDED READING

viral post – iso 45003 and what it cannot do

Introduction to SPOR – FREE!!

Psychosocial Safety and Mental Health Series

It is NOT My Responsibility to Keep You Safe

The KISS of Death in Safety

Is Your Safety World Too Small?

You Can Fool Someone Some of the Time but, You Can Fool Safety All of the Time

When Safety (Zero) is Abusive

Hands Up the Best Safety Fraud!

Communicating Professionally in Risk

How NOT to be Professional in Safety

How NOT to do Anything About Culture in Building and Construction

Celebrating 60 Years of Lifeline

More Posts from this Category

NEW! Free Download

Please take our 2 minute zero survey

FREE eBOOK DOWNLOADS

Footer

VIRAL POST – The Risk Matrix Myth

Top Posts & Pages. Sad that most are so dumb but this is what safety luves

  • Free Safety Moments and Toolbox Talk Examples, Tips and Resources
  • 500 OF THE BEST AND WORST WORKPLACE HEALTH and SAFETY SLOGANS 2023
  • CATCHY and FUNNY SAFETY SLOGANS FOR THE WORKPLACE
  • When Safety Delights in ‘I Told You So’!
  • Road Safety Slogans 2023
  • 15 Safety Precautions When Working With Electricity
  • Ratio Delusions and Heinrich’s Hoax
  • How to Calculate TRIFR, LTIFR and Other Health and Safety Indicators
  • Safety Acronyms
  • FREE RISK ASSESSMENT FORMS, CHECKISTS, REGISTERS, TEMPLATES and APPS

Recent Posts

  • When Safety Delights in ‘I Told You So’!
  • My Story is Better than Yours
  • Understanding Safety as a Cultural Reproductive Process
  • The Unconscious and the Soap Dispenser
  • Thinking Outside the Safety Bubble
  • Understanding Language Influencing, A Video
  • Safetie
  • You are NOT the Sum of Safety
  • Update on SPoR in India, Brazil and Europe
  • It is NOT My Responsibility to Keep You Safe
  • Safety at the Margins
  • Research Basics for Safety
  • We Need Communities and They Need Us
  • Researching Within The Safety Echo Chamber
  • Confirmation Bias, Risk and Being Offensive
  • Lemmings for Lemmings in Leadership and Risk
  • Expertise by Regurgitation and Re-Badging
  • Zero Doesn’t Work, Road Fatalities Increase
  • Can There Be Other Valid Worldviews Than Safety?
  • Evaluating Value by the Value of What You Don’t Know
  • Reality vs Theory, The Binary Divide
  • No Paradigm Shift with BBS
  • The KISS of Death in Safety
  • Is Your Safety World Too Small?
  • What Does Safety Achieve?
  • In Praise of Balance in Risk and the Threat of Extremism
  • We are all equal
  • You Can Fool Someone Some of the Time but, You Can Fool Safety All of the Time
  • What in the (Risk & Safety) World is Imagination?
  • iCue Engagement Process
  • SPoR, Metanoia and a Podcast on Change with Nippin Anand
  • For the Monarchists of Safety
  • The Sully Effect
  • All Things Must Pass in Risk
  • Scapegoating and Safety
  • Understanding Habit, Habituation and Change
  • Don’t Mention the War
  • Safety in Design for Who by Who?
  • Beyond ‘What We Do Around Here’
  • Asking the Wrong Questions
  • When Safety (Zero) is Abusive
  • Mandala as a Method for Tackling an Ethic of Risk (a Video)
  • Safety Cosmetics
  • Visualising the EHS Role
  • Towards Dumb
  • Workshops with Dr Long – Vienna, Austria 26-30 June 2023
  • Visual, Verbal and Relational Mapping in Risk Assessment
  • Abduction in Risk and Safety
  • Creating Myths and Rituals in Safety
  • The Safe Christmas Psychosis

VIRAL POST!!! HOW TO QUIT THE SAFETY INDUSTRY

FEATURED POSTS

Building resilience trumps the prevention of harm

The Reason Safety Has Gone So Crazy

What Can Safety Learn from Barbie

Risk and Safety Rituals

Its All In The Sign

Just Hangin’ Out…

Safety and Non-Neuroscience

The Safety Control Delusion

Happy New Year and the ‘Good Life’ Paradox

What are Your Secret Messages in Safety?

The Last Thing is, Don’t Start with Safety

Overcoming Safety Indoctrination

Utopian Language and the Quest for Perfection in Safety

The Sully Effect

The Visionary Imagination and Marion Mahoney Griffin

What’s Your Resilience Profile?

What Can Halloween tell us About Safety?

Ways in Which the Workplace Harms Us

Take Safety Seriously

The New Enemy of Safety – The Unconscious

We can Value Safety but Safety is not a Value

Diagnosing Safety

Data Cannot Drive Vision

The Intelligence of the Emotions

Competing Values Framework and SPoR

Lemmings for Lemmings in Leadership and Risk

Test Your Reaction Times

Sense-Making and Decision-Making in Risk

The Curse of Cognitivism

Post Graduate Safety Potato Heads

Thinking About Harm

A Scaffolder’s Journey in SPoR – A Podcast

Essential Preparation for a Safety Job

Safety Superstitions

The Curse of Dataism

Psycho-Social and Socio-Psychological, What’s the Difference?

Free Online Workshops

Flooding is Dangerous, and I don’t Mean the Water….

Safety as a Knowledge Culture

Y is Being and Doing

More Posts from this Category

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address and join other discerning risk and safety people who receive notifications of new posts by email

Join 7,521 other subscribers

How we pay for the high cost of running of this site – try it for free on your site

WHAT IS PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY?

What is Psychological Safety at Work?


WHAT IS PSYCHOSOCIAL SAFETY

x
x