Zero, A Framework for Psychological Bullying There can never be an Ethic of Risk as long as the safety industry is wedded to the ideology and discourse of zero. How can one be moral to another person when one denies fallibility in goal setting? Of course zero is not a SMART goal anyway! (See Understanding […]
ethics
A Question of Ethics
A Question of Ethics An ethic is a moral system. When one declares an ethical position, one is making a statement about how a moral position is systematized. The fact that Safety pays little attention to ethics, doesn’t study ethics in its curriculum and confuses moral and ethical definition is an indictment of the industry […]
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No Ethic of Hope in Zero
No Ethic of Hope in Zero The denial of fallibility in the language of zero offers no hope for fallible human beings. Hope is much more than a concept of wishing, naïve optimism nor some unrealistic sense of desire. Hope is always about the unknown future and therefore should be understood as messianically, prophetically, transcendently […]
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Right and Wrong in Safety
Right and Wrong in Safety Safety is fundamentally a moral and ethical activity. Any desire for a ‘good’ or a virtue, necessitates an ethic. Unfortunately, even in how Safety shapes its own identity it doesn’t know nor consciously articulate an ethic. Even the brand of ‘professional’ demands an ethic. (It ought be remembered too that […]
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No Moral Compass in Zero
No Moral Compass in Zero ‘Humans by nature are social animals that are intended to co-inhabit in a polis’ William Bennett (1996) The Moral Compass, Stories of a Life’s Journey. Ethics is the study of moral philosophy and moral systems. Without an ethic one cannot have an understanding of the core principles that guide behavior. […]
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Wisdom, Discernment and an Ethic of Safety
Wisdom, Discernment and an Ethic of Safety I receive emails every week from safety people who thank me for being ‘provocative’ and helping them learn. However, being provocative is not something I set out to do. I don’t sit down and think, ‘now how can I present some contrary view’. Indeed, when one stands in […]
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Don’t mention the ‘V’ Word
Don’t mention the ‘V’ Word Any review of the discourse in orthodox safety reveals the omission of many words, language and discourse that are critical for an holistic understanding of safety. Just trawl through conference proceedings for the SIA or blogs or podcasts or books on safety and try and find discussion on fallibility, wisdom, […]
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There is Another Ethic than Zero Accidents
Editors note: In a comment in the article “The Worm at The Core” a reader directed me to an article by the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health in which they decree that “Accidents are not approved or permitted” – That statement really did something to me so this article by Dr Rob Long was very […]
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Safety Golden Rules, Leadership and Ethics
Safety Golden Rules, Leadership and Ethics We all know how massively complicated, confusing and unwieldy Safety Management Systems have become (see Measuring Safety, You’ve Got It All Wrong). Many companies (co-incidentally those who have created these convoluted behemoths of safety systems) have tried reduce the confusion and the new risk this has created by introducing […]
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Porn Safety (Safe For Work)
Latest article by Phil LaDuke, first published here: https://philladuke.wordpress.com/2015/07/18/porn-safety/ Phil says: Many in the safety profession believe that they have a higher and more noble calling. If this is the case, don’t safety professionals have a responsibility to put their personal feelings aside in favor of the needs of the workers (who in many of […]
