What is Evidence?

It is always easy to claim something a ‘self-evident truth’ (Heinrich p. 12) in safety, when this is just nonsense speak. This is the stuff of myth (https://safetyrisk.net/deconstructing-the-myth-of-heinrich/). Safety makes many claims like Heinrich does and they are simply not true and are not supported by evidence. Indeed, the opposite is the case. For example, Heinrich claims his work is ‘science’ when it was not, furthermore Heinrich had no expertise in science (https://safetyrisk.net/the-non-science-of-heinrich/). Yet, this doesn’t stop Safety, that loves to fill its text books with mythical dominoes and concocted pyramids that are not true.

Always be careful when Safety makes claims to truth such as we see in the HOP 5 principles (https://safetyrisk.net/declaring-what-is-by-what-isnt-hop-as-traditional-safety/). Of course, these 5 principles are not ‘truths’ and can easily be proven false with evidence. For example, the statement ‘blame fixes nothing’ is not true because the court system demonstrates the opposite. The evidence? When a court finds blame/fault it invokes actions based upon its findings. Then those at fault/blame are ordered to fix what they have been blamed for. This is the foundation of how the legal systems works. Blame fixes things. The statement is false.

So we see in these two examples (evidence), in the culture of safety evidence doesn’t seem to matter, let’s just believe Heinrich anyway because his arguments suit the assumption of the industry. There is simply no evidence that anything Heinrich claimed was true. Indeed, his book is mostly psychological babble from an insurance salesman with no expertise in psychology. But we already know about the culture of safety, where engineers can present lectures in ethics and learning (https://safetyrisk.net/safety-the-expert-in-everything-and-the-art-of-learning-nothing/).

So, let’s have a look at more evidence. The claim that ‘zero works’ is a projection. There is no evidence that zero works! Neither is there a philosophy to explain what ‘works’ means. What we see in the language of zero vision is projections, assertions and propaganda (https://youtu.be/BwG9MjPA_fA?si=j7jIw44QJ4DuhhTa) Zero is not a method and so it cannot ‘work’! One can only assess if a method works by its outcomes and nowhere does the ideology of zero demonstrate a method. Indeed, zero is an ideology and it doesn’t work! (https://www.humandymensions.com/product/zero-the-great-safety-delusion/). The three  books published by SPoR against the ideology of zero are loaded with evidence why zero doesn’t ‘work’.

If something claims to ‘work’ but treats humans unethically, immorally and de-humanises persons, then it doesn’t ‘work’. If you remove ethical responsibility from any method then it cannot be claimed to ‘work’.

We also see in zero propaganda claims to being ‘transformational’ but there is no evidence of any transformation (https://www.issa.int/sites/default/files/documents/prevention/18_042_VZ_Brochure_en_web-252850.pdf ). What you read in documents like this are claims without evidence, projections to affirm an ideology. Then a checklist is put forward and all these ‘7 Golden Rules’ are just traditional safety. Any basic work in Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) or Linguistics will demonstrate that this stuff is just propaganda. The trouble is, in safety there is no study of either Linguistics or CDA. If there is, please give me evidence where these are part of a safety curriculum.

Any research in propaganda will demonstrate risk and safety operates:

• https://www.voltairenet.org/IMG/pdf/Bernays_Propaganda_in_english_.pdf
• https://monoskop.org/images/4/44/Ellul_Jacques_Propaganda_The_Formation_of_Mens_Attitudes.pdf
• https://silverbronzo.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/how-propaganda-works.pdf

Indoctrination is NOT education, just as training is NOT learning. One can assert all one wants but any claim to truth requires evidence set against the philosophy of the claim. Pretty challenging when the safety industry either doesn’t know its philosophy or never articulates it.

However, in SPoR we always provide evidence for claims. Often most blogs include links to research or data supporting argument. Unfortunately, we also find that many don’t really read the blog but read into the blog what they want to argue. And, we never receive questions of clarification, it’s always telling about how SPoR is wrong, usually from sources who don’t know what SPoR is.

For example, in the blog Safety=Zero (https://safetyrisk.net/safetyzero-culture/) there were 14 pieces of very clear and distinct evidence to support the argument and the proposition of the blog. But apparently, there was no evidence???

Unfortunately, in safety there is no study of Historiography, the nature of evidence or what propaganda/indoctrination are. But somehow this doesn’t seem to matter to Safety where engineers claim to be historians and mythologists.

One thing we do know, if there is a fatality at work, we don’t call Safety for help, we call an expert in the law. And this professional is someone who knows what evidence is.

Those who study Historiography know what evidence is and the Hierarchy of Evidence. They know that primary evidence is more reliable that opinion. They know that secondary evidence is not as reliable as eye-witness testimony. And in the coronial and judiciary enquiries I have been in, it is testimony not paperwork that wins the day.

Most of the time, the paper systems organisations think is effective, are used against you in court. Your paper systems are often used as evidence of non-compliance with your own systems (https://vimeo.com/showcase/3938199/video/162034157).

This is why our video series Risk Conversations is so powerful (https://vimeo.com/showcase/3938199). In this series of videos we roll out countless case studies and evidence to show that many fundamental beliefs in safety are myth!

If you want to know about evidence and Jurisprudence perhaps you could start here: https://www.hcourt.gov.au/assets/publications/speeches/current-justices/gagelerj/GagelerJ_Evidence_and_Truth.pdf

In SPoR, most blogs include extensive evidence and research in support of argument. SPoR philosophy is articulated in many places. Similarly, all the books (for free download) are also jam packed with evidence in support of claims. Indeed, the book It Works, A New Approach to Risk and Safety   (https://www.humandymensions.com/product/it-works-a-new-approach-to-risk-and-safety-book-for-free-download/) is a complete book of evidence of how SPoR works in a global organisation. The only evidence better than this would be to write to Brian Darlington for his personal testimony of how SPoR works. The evidence is overwhelming.

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Dr Rob Long

Expert in Social Psychology, Principal & Trainer at Human Dymensions

Latest posts by Dr Rob Long (see all)

• Theology and Risk Workshop - September 19, 2024
• Using EAP for Psychosocial Risk - September 16, 2024
• Safety is Not All in the Brain - September 15, 2024
• The Seduction to Simplify Safety - September 15, 2024
• Tackling Risk and Learning in Practice - September 15, 2024

PhD., MEd., MOH., BEd., BTh., Dip T., Dip Min., Cert IV TAA, MRMIA Rob is the founder of Human Dymensions and has extensive experience, qualifications and expertise across a range of sectors including government, education, corporate, industry and community sectors over 30 years. Rob has worked at all levels of the education and training sector including serving on various post graduate executive, post graduate supervision, post graduate course design and implementation programs.