I Wasn’t Thinking Mr Spock “We make thousands of decisions everyday in automatic mode without a mistake. Yet we don’t reflect and celebrate this wonderful mode of human decision making at work rather, we put the blow torch on the one moment when it doesn’t work and something goes wrong” So much of … [Read more...] about I Wasn’t Thinking Mr Spock
human factors
The Safety Belief System
Beliefs in Safety are assumed not discussed. Beliefs like zero are projected but not up for question under the assumption that zero is the only acceptable target (https://www.icmm.com/en-gb/stories/2022/zero-harm-only-acceptable-target). No-one questions the assumptions behind such statements or … [Read more...] about The Safety Belief System
Care is NOT a Factor and Yes, Your Model Matters
A model is the outworking of a philosophical disposition and yes, the model matters. Philosophy matters! How one is oriented towards others matters! This is the foundation of ethics. How we use power matters! If a model dehumanises persons then yes, the philosophy and model matter. Trivialising … [Read more...] about Care is NOT a Factor and Yes, Your Model Matters
Human Factors Factors
Human Factors Factors Someone sent me an email today with an opportunity to present on ‘human factors’ and risk. Whilst I understand the ‘human factors’ approach I don’t think it understands the social psychology of risk. The term ‘human factors’ has a focus on humans as factors within a system, … [Read more...] about Human Factors Factors
Human Factors is Never About Humans
Human Factors is Never About Humans The first rule in reading safety is to understand that words essentially don’t have meaning. Zero never means zero, different doesn’t mean different and ‘human factors’ doesn’t have anything to do with humans. Most of the time when Safety uses words you can rely … [Read more...] about Human Factors is Never About Humans
The Fallibility Factor
Isn’t it strange that we read everywhere in safety about ‘Human Factors’ but never about the Fallibility Factors. Fallibility is the character, status, quality, nature and the enduring permanence of being a human person. Fallibility is essential for learning and risk. Fallibility is the … [Read more...] about The Fallibility Factor
And the Enemy of Safety is? … Humans!
One of the sad aspects of zero language and discourse are its by-products. The only trajectory of zero and its tandem fixations, numeric and metrics, is to demonize humans as the enemy of safety. Such is an industry that has no idea what to do about human fallibility except drift into a psychosis … [Read more...] about And the Enemy of Safety is? … Humans!
Meeting is NOT About Technique
Meeting is NOT About Technique I have received an amazing amount of feedback on my piece on Meeting (https://safetyrisk.net/meeting-in-safety-with-no-meeting/ ). So, this blog seeks to extend the discussion a little further. Ellul’s notion of Technique proposes that any quest for efficiency in … [Read more...] about Meeting is NOT About Technique
An Ethic in Error for Safety
An Ethic in Error for Safety The mistakes quadrant below is similar to the Unknown Knows quadrant or any other Johari window semiotic that seeks to understand something. Generally one names the criteria one wants along the x and y axis to explain various differentiations on a topic. The window … [Read more...] about An Ethic in Error for Safety
Safety in Design as if Humans Matter
Safety in Design as if Humans Matter I always find it interesting when the discipline of objects attends to something. It’s how we get ‘human factors’ that is about systems, ‘resilience engineering’ that is not about human resilience and Behavior-Based Safety that is not about behaviours or safety … [Read more...] about Safety in Design as if Humans Matter