One of the aphorisms associated with despair and hopelessness is said to ‘be on a hiding to nothing’. To be on a hiding to nothing describes the pointless pursuit of something that cannot be attained. The saying comes out of the gambling industry first mentioned in the novel Mop Fair. The saying … [Read more...] about On a Hiding to Nothing
duPont
Dark Waters, The True Story of DuPont and Zero
If you want to learn about the meaninglessness of zero harm and the Bradley Curve watch Dark Waters (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-06/dark-waters-review-mark-ruffalo-todd-haynes-dupont/12028034). The movie gives a dramatic account of how DuPont knowingly over 50 years intentionally harmed … [Read more...] about Dark Waters, The True Story of DuPont and Zero
Safety Curves and Pyramids
For many years DuPont have perpetuated the myth that they are the “Worlds Safest Company” and a “world-class safety leader”. In the 1940s the company developed the safety philosophy that “all accidents are preventable”. Encouraged by their perception of success, DuPont eventually turned safety … [Read more...] about Safety Curves and Pyramids
Safety as Avoidance
Safety as Avoidance The language of ‘error’ is unhelpful when it comes to understanding human judgment and decision making. One can assemble pyramids of ‘unsafe acts’ and ‘unsafe conditions’, fault trees of ‘active and latent failures’, maps of ‘violations’, ‘slips’ and ‘missed barriers’, sets of … [Read more...] about Safety as Avoidance
Subjecting and Objecting About Risk
Subjecting and Objecting About Risk Rob’s new Book: “Following-Leading in Risk” is a MUST READ if you think you already know about Leadership. CHECK IT OUT I read with amusement the constant projection of safety activities as objective. This is one of the great myths of behaviourism (and … [Read more...] about Subjecting and Objecting About Risk
Nonsense Curves and Pyramids
Nonsense Curves and Pyramids Safety likes nothing more than curves and pyramids, nothing so exciting as parading out the Bradley Curve or Heinrich’s Pyramid to get the troops excited about failure and loss. The Bradley Curve was created by DuPont in 1995 to try and benchmark notions of culture and … [Read more...] about Nonsense Curves and Pyramids
