One of the great things about the Regulation and the Act is the subjectivity of ALARP and Due Diligence. Both account for the beauty of human fallibility and the adaptability needed in tackling risk. Of course, there is no policy, law, regulation or standard that is absent of a moral philosophy. … [Read more...] about The Ethic of ALARP and the Dilemma of Safety
AIHS BoK Chapter on Ethics
Safe Work Australia a Vision for No Vision
When an industry is bogged down in engineering, behaviourism and zero, it is unlikely there will be any vision. Nothing is more crippling to vision that the toxicity of zero vision, the global safety mantra. We see this lack of vision in the recent release of the so-called ‘Australian Work Health … [Read more...] about Safe Work Australia a Vision for No Vision
What Does Safety Know About Ethics?
The brief answer to this question is, not much. A mature study of Ethics is found nowhere in the safety curriculum across the globe. The idea of ethics comes from the root meaning (ethike): character, moral nature, guiding beliefs of a person, group or institution. It was originally used by … [Read more...] about What Does Safety Know About Ethics?
SPoR, Ideology and Safety Myth
Continuing our series on Safety Myths – see them all here Ideology is one of those tricky words that can be defined 100 ways. So, it’s always good to define meaning before assuming others know the application of language. In language context, philosophy and culture are critical determinant of … [Read more...] about SPoR, Ideology and Safety Myth
Myths, Ethics and Enactment in Risk
Baudrillard (1929-2007) articulates well the myths of our consumer society in The Consumer Society, Myths and Structures (1998, Sage, London). In this deconstruction Baudrillard builds on the work The System of Objects and demonstrates how humans make objects ‘sacred’ through symbolism, consumption, … [Read more...] about Myths, Ethics and Enactment in Risk
Identity and Safety
The term identity politics has its source in the 1970s and defines the political identity of groups under various forms of oppression. Often this expression ‘identity politics’ is used pejoratively (https://www.vox.com/identities/2016/12/2/13718770/identity-politics ) and coupled with other silly … [Read more...] about Identity and Safety
Psychosocial Controls and Measures for Who?
The fixation and psychosis of the safety industry with ‘controls’ and ‘measures’ creates the delusion that psychosocial issues can be controlled and measured. When it comes to psychosocial issues, the last thing that helps is quantitative language and simplistic mythology. And the latest Worksafe … [Read more...] about Psychosocial Controls and Measures for Who?
Cultural Silences in Safety – Empathy
There are so many silences in safety I’m sure we could keep this series going for months (https://safetyrisk.net/category/safety-culture-silences/ ) but perhaps just a few more and we might call it ‘quits’. But you have to ask yourself, why is Safety so noisy on so many petty things and so silent … [Read more...] about Cultural Silences in Safety – Empathy
Culture Silences in Safety – Trajectories
Who would have thought that 50 years ago that the quest to keep people safe could become a monster? Who would have thought that the idea of documenting decisions in risk could become a useless end in itself, that doesn’t ‘work’ (https://safetyrisk.net/proof-of-safety-is-not-through-paperwork/ )? Who … [Read more...] about Culture Silences in Safety – Trajectories
Safety Silences in Culture – Personhood
Safety Silences in Culture – Personhood As we continue the theme of critical factors in culture that Safety is silent about (https://safetyrisk.net/category/safety-culture-silences/ ), we need to explore the silence by Safety on personhood. A discussion of personhood and the notion of a conscious … [Read more...] about Safety Silences in Culture – Personhood
