The Search for Meaning in Safety Models There is a huge chasm between three things: the intent and design (assumed philosophy) of a model, the semiotic diffusion of the model and what humans make of the model. Models and symbols are not neutral nor objective. All models are semiotics and as such seek to explain […]
Heinrich’s pyramid
The Great Heinrich Hoax
The Great Heinrich Hoax Perhaps the greatest evidence that Safety is not a profession is the acceptance by the industry of hoaxes and myths. There is no greater hoax in the safety industry than the myth that injury data or injury rates have any connection at all to causality or the management of risk. Yet […]
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Shopping for Safety
Shopping for Safety The bell on the door buzzed as I entered the shop, a large emporium with worn cedar shelves signifying construction in the last century. I loved the smell of these old shops with dusty stock on the shelves that hadn’t moved for years, some with old price tags in pounds, shillings and […]
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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 performance in relationship to safety. […]
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Safety Leadership Essentials
Safety Leadership Essentials A friend showed me a four day course they had to attend for their company titled ‘Safety Leadership’. As I looked through the materials I couldn’t see anything I thought resembled ‘leadership’ in safety. The course was cover to cover with the fundamentals of hazard identification, risk basics, communication basics, hierarchy […]
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Safety Awareness Game – A bitter pill to swallow
A bitter pill to swallow – A little game you can play to demonstrate safety awareness Although this little game (great ice-breaker for a training session) references the theory behind Heinrich’s Pyramid (not something which is really valid in reality – do a search on this site for “Heinrich” and you will find numerous articles […]
