There is a big difference between what we value (outcome and object) and what is a value (principle/ethic) when we consider strategy and thinking in risk and safety. The confusion of the two confuses understanding and blurs boundaries in learning in organisations. We see this when safety is … [Read more...] about We can Value Safety but Safety is not a Value
swms
Stop the Job You Haven’t Done Your ‘Tick & Flick’
Stop the Job You Haven’t Done Your ‘Tick & Flick’ A classic this week from a building site where the union comes blustering on site and stops work because of a safety issue. Sound familiar? And the key issue? Safety? Well maybe not. This is a story of duplicity and fake safety. A new … [Read more...] about Stop the Job You Haven’t Done Your ‘Tick & Flick’
Indicators of Risk
Indicators of Risk I often get sent presentations and training formats from safety people seeking my expertise on improvement, learning design and critique of safety presentations. One thing safety people are not educated in is teaching, curriculum and learning. Amazing how the industry throws … [Read more...] about Indicators of Risk
Why Safety is Inescapably Theological
The moment Safety drifts into questions of life, death, suffering, pain, harm and ‘saving lives’ it has no way to go except a trajectory into theology. We observe this in Dekker’s book ‘The End of Heaven, Disaster and Suffering in a Scientific Age’ with dozens of biblical references and … [Read more...] about Why Safety is Inescapably Theological
The Myth of the SWMS Manifesto
The Myth of the SWMS Manifesto I’d like a dollar for every mail I get telling stories about what is considered necessary in a Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS). It seems that Safety is far more attentive to safety mythology (something that is made symbolically true, that isn’t) than what is … [Read more...] about The Myth of the SWMS Manifesto
Things To Consider When Developing And Designing Your Company SWMS
Things To Consider When Developing And Designing Your Company SWMS Guest Post Download examples: [download id="107223"] [download id="107227"] The Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS) is one important document that is valuable in establishing business safety systems, especially for … [Read more...] about Things To Consider When Developing And Designing Your Company SWMS
It’s Always About Paperwork
It’s Always About Paperwork Oh, I get it. It’s not the problem of excessive paperwork, it’s just that you haven’t been filling it out properly. This is the core message of Useability Mapping (https://www.aihs.org.au/events/usability-mapping-masterclass ). The problem is not about paperwork itself … [Read more...] about It’s Always About Paperwork
Sin-Eaters for Safety
Sin-Eaters for Safety Cemeteries are a treasure trove in semiotics. They not only convey history but also much about what humans think about life and death. In our Introduction to Semiotics (https://cllr.com.au/product/semoiotics-and-the-social-psychology-of-risk-unit-3/) and Advanced Semiotics … [Read more...] about Sin-Eaters for Safety
Censorship and Taboos in Safety
Censorship and Taboos in Safety One of the interesting things we do in SPoR workshops is an audit of language, just a simple psychoanalysis of words associated with a key word. For example, ask any group what they associate with the language of ‘safety’ and the responses are dominated by: controls, … [Read more...] about Censorship and Taboos in Safety
Ten Cautions About Safety Checklists
A checklist for checking your use of checklists :-) Ten Cautions About Safety Checklists See also: Making Objects Safe or People Safe (Dr Rob Long), Risk is About People, not just Objects (Rob Sams) Whilst value of checklists is well documented by Gawande (The Checklist Manifesto) and others, … [Read more...] about Ten Cautions About Safety Checklists