Cultivating Resilience When I think of resilience one of the metaphors I would never associate with it would be engineering. Resilience is a human (social psychological), evolutionary and organic ‘way of being’. The idea of imposing a mechanistic mindset on resilience just doesn’t make sense. … [Read more...] about Cultivating Resilience
Zero Harm
Understanding The Social Psychology of Risk – Prof Karl E. Weick
Understanding The Social Psychology of Risk – Prof Karl E. Weick The contribution of Prof. Karl E. Weick to the genre of social psychology is enormous. (His 5 key texts are listed below). I first read Weick in 1985 as part of my Master’s Thesis at Sydney University and would count my contact with … [Read more...] about Understanding The Social Psychology of Risk – Prof Karl E. Weick
Why good leaders make you feel safe
Why good leaders make you feel safe A safe organisation is definitely not one that relies on rules, punishment, reporting, systems, procedures, checklists, injury measurement, hazard control, authority, error elimination and Zero Harm – how dare anybody call that “Culture”. Feeling safe and being … [Read more...] about Why good leaders make you feel safe
Safety Futurism
We would love to hear about recent, classic examples of “futuristic safety discourse” you have come across – please share them in the comments below – latest I saw was: “The brain science of optimal safety using the Zero Incident Process (ZIP)” – thanks, Dave Safety Futurism Article by Dr Rob Long … [Read more...] about Safety Futurism
Making Objects Safe or People Safe
Making Objects Safe or People Safe I often ask people in risk and safety training as my first question, ‘When you walk on site, what are you looking for?’ It was no different this week and I got the usual answer ‘hazards!’ A number of people in the group had many years as inspectors, … [Read more...] about Making Objects Safe or People Safe
Olympic Goals and Zero Harm
It's not long and the Paris Olympics will be upon us. Once again comparisons will be made between countries, performance and recognition all on the basis of a prized gold medal. I wonder if any Olympic athlete or coach sets perfection as their goal? Or, do they set goals of achievement, risk, … [Read more...] about Olympic Goals and Zero Harm
The Gemba Safety Walk
The Gemba Safety Walk – Is it a Silly Walk? Tried and failed or just gotten a tad bored with Zero Harm, BBS and MBWA? It seems the latest silver bullet being peddled by a few Snake Oil Salesmen is the “Safety Gemba Walk”. I’ve only just discovered this trendy new safety concept and still trying to … [Read more...] about The Gemba Safety Walk
The Seduction of Measurement in Risk and Safety
The Seduction of Measurement in Risk and Safety Rather than measure what we value, we tend to value what we can measure Many safety mottos and mantras for organisations are sent to me and I recently saw one for a mantra and motto of ‘safety beyond measure’. The strange thing about the … [Read more...] about The Seduction of Measurement in Risk and Safety
What’s Faith Got To Do With Safety
What’s Faith Got To Do With Safety Guest Post by Dr Rob Long from www.humandymensions.com Risk is all about uncertainty, and uncertainty is one of the things that characterises what it is to be human. There is little in human living that is certainly predictable, there is little that is … [Read more...] about What’s Faith Got To Do With Safety
The Tyranny of Absolutes
Guest Post by Dr Rob Long from www.humandymensions.com – for those of you who still have nothing to love! The text book approach to goal setting recommends that all goals should be SMART - Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Relevant and Time considered. Yet, when it comes to safety and risk many … [Read more...] about The Tyranny of Absolutes