‘The primary task for any organism—the task that must be accomplished before all others—is the preservation of life and the furtherance of conditions for the organism’s growth’ Damasio (2003) Looking for Spinoza, Joy, Sorrow and the Feeling Brain. Damasio begins by observing, in Looking for … [Read more...] about The Purpose of Safety
neuroscience
Cultural Silences in Safety – Aesthetics
Whenever we do our culture program we work through the many beliefs, rituals and practices in societies that foster harm. So much for the nonsense of zero harm. Just watch the latest episode of 4 Corners to get an insight into just how much harm people want in order to fulfil a cultural myth. Why do … [Read more...] about Cultural Silences in Safety – Aesthetics
The ASSP Getting Complacency Completely Wrong
Editors Note: They’ve also gotten it very wrong before, see: The Complacency DelusionThere’s no doubt about it. When Safety doesn’t know something it just makes stuff up (https://safetyrisk.net/when-safety-doesnt-know-just-make-st-up/ ). And Safety is so good at it. Experts in spruiking complete … [Read more...] about The ASSP Getting Complacency Completely Wrong
Culture Silences in Safety – Stress, Personality and Behaviours
In all the mythology projected by BBS (the darling of safety) you never read about the subjectivities of perception, aberrations of behaviour or how personality/temperament determination enactment. The crazy assertion of BBS is that behaviours in themselves are somehow objective, when they are not. … [Read more...] about Culture Silences in Safety – Stress, Personality and Behaviours
Ritual Performance and Risk
Ritual Performance and Risk One of the by-products and effects of safety bureaucracy is the reduction of personal agency. That is, people are controlled by process, systems and rituals rather than by relationship, interactive engagement and human mediation. The process of displacement then makes … [Read more...] about Ritual Performance and Risk
When Safety Doesn’t Know, Just Make S*#t Up
When Safety Doesn’t Know, Just Make S*#t Up I get crazy safety stuff posted to me daily and none of it is a surprise. When this mono-disciplinary industry gets to making sausages, it’s all fat and no meat. For example: you will see in this blog, some slides from a presentation from a crane company … [Read more...] about When Safety Doesn’t Know, Just Make S*#t Up
Culture Silences in Safety – Holism
Culture Silences in Safety - Holism There are so many critical parts of culture that Safety is silent about and yet it is so noisy about things in culture that are relatively unimportant. Just have a look at the common garden variety safety culture surveys on the market and look at their agenda. … [Read more...] about Culture Silences in Safety – Holism
Sleep Dysfunction, Dreaming and Safety
Sleep Dysfunction, Dreaming and Safety There are many common themes we find in music and song, many about love and the soul, and many about dreaming. The Beatles sang about sleep and dreaming on one of their best albums (Revolver) in the song ‘I’m Only Sleeping’. Dreaming is often used as a … [Read more...] about Sleep Dysfunction, Dreaming and Safety
What is the Human Body for in Safety?
What is the Human Body for in Safety? The body-mind problem (https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/mind-body-problem ) ought to be a concern for anyone interested in how organisations tackle risk. The first thing to note is that whilst Safety is concerned about the body and how it gets … [Read more...] about What is the Human Body for in Safety?
Holistic Responses to Mental Health
Holistic Responses to Mental Health One of the most important factors in mental health is social being. In SPoR we call this Socialitie. The idea that mental health is about brain programming or brain health, simple serves to distract organisations from tackling mental health properly. In risk and … [Read more...] about Holistic Responses to Mental Health