One of the toughest tasks in leadership and management is managing the narrative. Nothing does greater damage to brand, reputation and credibility than hypocrisy and incongruence between espoused ethic and moral action (yes AIHS BoK, there is a difference). In Australia this week we saw a huge … [Read more...] about Method and Message Congruence in Risk
AIHS BoK
Speak Up, but Don’t Tackle the Cause
Safety loves telling people to ‘speak up’ but has no interest in tackling the cause. Indeed, Safety is the industry of silences about what ought to matter (https://safetyrisk.net/category/safety-culture-silences/), and noisy about what doesn’t matter. But if you can’t speak up, you can always … [Read more...] about Speak Up, but Don’t Tackle the Cause
If You’re Happy in Safety, Clap Your Hands
When we were kids we used to sing this song in Primary school and it is still sung by kids today (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwTwt4oIW3U). It is a cute little song and easy to sing when one is innocent about the world and comes from a comfortable middle-class home. In some ways the singing of … [Read more...] about If You’re Happy in Safety, Clap Your Hands
Poisoning the Professional Waterhole
Poisoning the Professional Waterhole In the latest IOSH magazine you can find a host of safety gobbledygook , enough to turn you off an industry consumed with itself. We know about zero vision but did you know that a career in safety makes you an education expert? Apparently so. Wonderful how … [Read more...] about Poisoning the Professional Waterhole
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
Catching the NEBOSH Bus to Nowhere
Isn’t it strange this industry that sets up people to enter the workplace with none of the skills or curricula needed to do the job or even better, fully equipped to do the wrong job. In the standard NEBOSH curriculum there is nothing on: people, motivation, perception, judgment and decision … [Read more...] about Catching the NEBOSH Bus to Nowhere
Paperwork and Usability in Tackling Risk
Most workers don’t ‘use’ paperwork, they just sign it just as many workers don’t read paperwork they just give it the ‘tick and flick’. The idea of excessive paperwork in safety is much more a middle management problem than a worker problem. The real decisions on the job where the greatest risk is … [Read more...] about Paperwork and Usability in Tackling Risk
Hazard as a Concept
When thinking about hazards one needs a transdisciplinary view. Unfortunately you won’t get such a view from the AIHS BoK on Hazards. It is of course no surprise that the AIHS BoK claims to have explored such a view eg. ‘The multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary nature of OHS created inherent … [Read more...] about Hazard as a Concept
Don’t Think Twice It’s Alright in Safety
Don’t Think Twice It’s Alright in Safety One of Dylan’s greatest songs is about the power of indifference (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-Y3KfJs6T0 ), not just to love but to people in general. There’s nothing quite like the masquerade of care when in reality you don’t give a s&*t. The clip … [Read more...] about Don’t Think Twice It’s Alright in Safety
Giving and Receiving Advice in Safety
Giving and Receiving Advice in Safety It is no accident that the identity of the safety person is most often described as an ‘advisor’ If you are looking for work in safety (https://www.seek.com.au/safety-advisor-jobs) you will quickly see that this is the language used to describe the work of … [Read more...] about Giving and Receiving Advice in Safety
