We have seen recently the absurdity of hyper-safety, suggesting all outdoor activities be banned and that Santa wear a seatbelt (https://safetyrisk.net/the-horrors-of-hyper-safety/ ). All suggested by so-called ‘safety professionals’. Of course, this kind of preoccupation with petty low-risk … [Read more...] about Petty Safety is Not Professional
Zero Harm
How the Ideology of Zero Destroys Learning in Risk
I read recently about what Zero is doing to recreational enjoyment in New Zealand. This is the lunacy of the absolute of Zero. This is the nonsense you get from the delusion of absolute-safety (Amalberti) and the quest for zero (Taleb). The quest for absolute safety simply makes the populace more … [Read more...] about How the Ideology of Zero Destroys Learning in Risk
My Target Goal is Zero Death
My Target Goal is Zero Death Currently luvin’ the work of Dr Robert Long and have read his book “Risk Makes Sense” over and over. Just came across a recent post on his blog which puts the absurdity of ZERO HARM goals in perspective we can all understand. While ever we are breathing we can than … [Read more...] about My Target Goal is Zero Death
Unconscious Messaging and Zero Trust
It is strange how people think messaging works. Imagine trying to tell people to trust in your strategy that is about ‘zero trust’. I saw this advertised yesterday and wondered who thought this up? The logic of this marketing is to trust in zero trust. Such marketing makes language … [Read more...] about Unconscious Messaging and Zero Trust
The Folly of Zero
There’s nothing like contradiction and hypocrisy to demolish credibility. Talk is cheap and spin is easy. This is the way of zero ideology (https://www.humandymensions.com/product/zero-the-great-safety-delusion/). Folly is the foolishness of a façade compared to the substance of reality. Any … [Read more...] about The Folly of Zero
Zero is NOT Noble, Moral or Sense-able
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
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