It is simply laughable to observe the gobbledygook written about zero by Safety. The latest I read was from here: New SA mine health and safety targets can be reached, but zero harm will remain elusive When will Safety get it into their silly thinking that zero is impossible? When will Safety … [Read more...] about Zero is NOT Noble, Moral or Sense-able
Zero Harm
Injury Response
Injury Response I’ve had several conversations with safety people about response to events and incidents on site. One mate on a tier 1 site explains the Safety Advisor role as simply ‘demoralising’. So I thought I would try to mimic the typical safety spud head response to an … [Read more...] about Injury Response
Semiotics and Safety
Semiotics and Safety I read with interest a conference proposed for November 2014 entitled ‘Beyond Zero Harm, Human Factors Safety’. The subtitle of the conference is ‘Humanising impacts in safety operations to reengineer safety approach for enhanced productivity and business profitability’. Oh … [Read more...] about Semiotics and Safety
Forecasting Safety
Here’s the challenge for anyone who holds to the mantra ‘all accidents are preventable’. Ask them to predict how long it will be in their organisation or any organisation for that matter, that they will be harm free. Hopefully they will go to their injury data and based on the history of injury at … [Read more...] about Forecasting Safety
Cultivating Resilience
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
Absolute Error Prevention
Absolute Error Prevention Safety is so easy, it’s all about error prevention. Safety is so simple, it’s all about risk aversion. Whilst both of these statements appear to be true, both are wrong. Safety is not simple and is not just about error prevention or risk aversion. Indeed, binary thinking … [Read more...] about Absolute Error Prevention
Causal Patterning and Affirming False Belief in Safety
There are many mysterious forces and energies that drive human decision making. One of these energies is called ‘Allostasis’, the power, energy, motivation and drive for self-preservation. This is the energy and drive of sustaining life and the self. This stands in stark contrast to the nonsense … [Read more...] about Causal Patterning and Affirming False Belief in Safety
Safety=Zero Culture
Zero has been the open religious mantra for safety for 7 years. The evidence for this cult is beyond debate (https://safetyrisk.net/if-you-want-to-know-about-culture-dont-start-with-safety/). The evidence for its support is overwhelming (https://safetyrisk.net/the-sponsors-of-zero-are/) especially … [Read more...] about Safety=Zero Culture
Embracing Imperfection
The opposite of zero culture is Kintsugi. Kintsugi is the Japanese art of embracing imperfection (https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20210107-kintsugi-japans-ancient-art-of-embracing-imperfection). Fear of imperfection and fallibility is fostered by the ideology of zero=safety. … [Read more...] about Embracing Imperfection
Gold Medal Safety and The Nonsense of Perfectionism
Using perfectionist language and setting perfectionist goals is a recipe for anxiety, depression, fear and misery. There is no quicker way to create psychosocial dis-stress and mental ill-health than to expect perfection of fallible people with fallible Minds and bodies. In order to understand … [Read more...] about Gold Medal Safety and The Nonsense of Perfectionism