Continuing our series on Safety Myths – see them all here Dylan Thomas captures the criticality of facing death, in the throes of life, in his classic poem: ‘Do not go gentle in to that good night’. Sometimes when things cannot be stated by propositional definition they can only be spoken in … [Read more...] about Do Not Go Gently, SPoR and the Civility Myth
fallibility
Sense-Making and Decision-Making in Risk
Sense-Making and Decision-Making in Risk How we understand decision making and sense-making in time constructs how we explain risk and human enactment. Decision-making is about an enactment in the present looking forward (in faith). Sense-making is about how we understand that enactment looking … [Read more...] about Sense-Making and Decision-Making in Risk
Understanding Humans and How They Tackle Risk
Understanding Humans and How They Tackle Risk Without a proper understanding of humans, fallibility and an holistic understanding culture, Safety will never develop a humanising approach to risk. These can never be developed from an engineering-behaviourist worldview. One of the major errors of a … [Read more...] about Understanding Humans and How They Tackle Risk
Programming for Safety, the Performance Myth
Programming for Safety, the Performance Myth The language of ‘performance’ in safety has over time, been decoupled from its real meaning. How humans ‘perform’ has been commandeered by behaviourism and scientism in safety by the meaningless pursuit of measurement. We see this typically in the … [Read more...] about Programming for Safety, the Performance Myth
Loathing Fallibility and Rituals of Safety
Loathing Fallibility and Rituals of Safety I was in the Post Office yesterday and despite the markings on the floor, some people didn’t maintain the appropriate social distance. There were 3 people at the counter and one person was asked to wait while the attendant searched out back for an order. … [Read more...] about Loathing Fallibility and Rituals of Safety
Please Don’t Use the ‘F’ Word in Safety
Please Don’t Use the ‘F’ Word in Safety It seems the moment one falls for the zero cult a whole range of ‘f’ words become anathema. Safety is so good at being noisy about words of perfection and judgement but also good at being selectively silent about a range of ‘f’ words. This is how all taboo … [Read more...] about Please Don’t Use the ‘F’ Word in Safety
The Quantitative and Qualitative Divide in Safety
The Quantitative and Qualitative Divide in Safety Risk and safety by their evolution through Engineering and Science have now become disciplines of quantity. Unfortunately, critical human skills like: communications, listening, dialogue, understanding persons, social psychology, community, ethics, … [Read more...] about The Quantitative and Qualitative Divide in Safety
Freedom in Necessity
Freedom in Necessity The characteristics of fallibility are the benefits of fallibility. Unless humans are fallible we can never know the delights of love, forgiveness, relationship, passion, care, helping or learning. The quest for immutability, to be robotic and without error is delusional … [Read more...] about Freedom in Necessity
Fallibility is not Failure
Fallibility is not Failure One of the fascinating results of the Zero Survey (https://spor.com.au/zero-vision-survey/) is responses to the first statement: ‘Humans are fallible, mortal and the world is random’. With over 350 respondents 4% deny this statement. My expectation was that this opening … [Read more...] about Fallibility is not Failure
Safety Racism
It seems that the moment one invokes the word ‘safety’ all ethical considerations become unimportant. We see evidence of this with comments that Islanders are less safe, and less intelligent for safety! . How do people get away with this??? Of course safety is the industry of eugenics! … [Read more...] about Safety Racism
