Building Cultural Maturity in Safety and Risk Introduction – The Culture Paradox Culture represents a paradox for many organisations. While most people can readily comment on it (it’s good/bad, supportive/toxic, weak/strong), few can meaningfully define it. Common attempts tend to be vague and focus on culture as behaviour (“Culture is the way we do things […]
safety culture
By What Method?
By What Method? One of the strange beliefs of Safety is that the publication of injury statistics invokes change? Ah, how does it do that? Since when did information become motivation? When one looks at the many promises made in the safety industry and all the propaganda about zero, injury reduction etc. there are three […]
Transdisciplinary Safety
Transdisciplinary Safety In the latest issue of The Risk Magazine in the Future of Risk Edition (No. 3 March 2018, p.44) I argued that the future of risk must embrace transdisciplinarity (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transdisciplinarity ). It is interesting that the binary view that currently dominates safety even interprets this transdisciplinary call as an ‘either-or’ view. A transdisciplinary […]
Safety as Policing
Safety as Policing One of the principle factors recognized by the World Congress on Safety 2017 was the problem of ‘safety as policing’. The Congress recognized that the strategy of ‘policing’ doesn’t work and is ineffective (p.10). It states: ‘The OHS Professional’s role should be reconceptualized as a continuous improvement expert … as opposed to […]
Understanding The Social Psychology of Risk And Safety
Understanding The Social Psychology of Risk And Safety The article is a bit longer than usual and if you would prefer to download a copy for future reference then you can DOWNLOAD HERE: In response to a number of emails I have received and conversations I’ve been having (and sadly some very ignorant comments posted […]
Safety Culture does Exist
Safety Culture does Exist The safety industry was created by Acts of Parliament across Australia in the 1980s. In a very short time a safety industry developed with invested power and a range of characteristics that clearly demonstrate that the safety industry has a culture. Indeed, it would seem strange to describe any activity or […]
You Should Actively Encourage Poor Safety in the Workplace
I was asked recently for something different that could be done for a safety awareness session. I referred the person to this article from about 5 years ago – they tried it and apparently it worked brilliantly! What do you reckon? When it was first published many years ago (I cringe at some of the […]
A Little Challenge For Experienced Safety Professionals Only
A Little Challenge For Experienced Safety Professionals Only Calling on all experienced Safety Professionals with a sharp mind and a discerning eye…..We all know how important it is to wear as much PPE as possible when working on a construction site – it wont really stop many serious injuries but it does allow the maintenance […]
Good Luck to the Luck Deniers
Everyone knows that to be successful at gambling you rely on knowing the odds, taking risk and LOTS of luck! Same with everything we do in life and at work. The ZERO HARM advocates think they can control or supress everything, including risk, luck and human fallibility. But how many LTIFR free periods are the […]
Anthropocentric Safety
“the floggings shall continue until morale improves” It is simply delusional to think or espouse that people can be controlled or enforced into total compliance. A mechanical approach to safety, consumed by zero harm, absolutes and statistics is simply alienating, non-inspiring and de-motivational. If you are either smart enough or experienced enough to agree then […]