Perfectionism in Safety and the Denial of Humanity Article by Dr Rob Long in response to Safety Under Construction What a bizarre claim that someone can guarantee no accidents, no mistakes, no harm and that ‘100% zero harm is the irrefutable future coming towards the construction industry like a … [Read more...] about Perfectionism in Safety and the Denial of Humanity
Simplistic Safety
‘False Consciousness’ and Perception in Risk and Safety
Very thought provoking article by Dr Rob Long from Human Dymensions. To quote from the article: The idea that setting absolutist and perfectionist goals followed by punitive measures to achieve those goals, is a bankrupt model for motivation of risk and safety ownership. The model ignores hidden … [Read more...] about ‘False Consciousness’ and Perception in Risk and Safety
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
Simple or Simplistic Risk and Safety
‘Argument progresses in three stages: superficial simplicity, confused complexity and profound simplicity. Mindful organisations and leaders are prepared to struggle through confused complexity to find profound simplicity. Mindless organisations tend to settle for the first superficial simplicity … [Read more...] about Simple or Simplistic Risk and Safety
Top 10 Simple Things You Can Do To Dramatically Improve Safety
Top 10 Simple Things You Can Do To Dramatically Improve Safety (you will probably not find many of these in text books or regulations) The most common feedback I get on this blog is something like: “all this theory is great but what can I do to apply it”. I know Safety loves simplicity and plug … [Read more...] about Top 10 Simple Things You Can Do To Dramatically Improve Safety
KISS Safety in a VUCA World
One of the conundrums of the safety industry is its addiction to simple, black and white thinking. We see this evidenced in the delusion of Zero (https://www.humandymensions.com/product/zero-the-great-safety-delusion/). Poor old Safety, noisy about the word ‘professional’ and resistant to any … [Read more...] about KISS Safety in a VUCA World
Dot to Dot Safety for Non-Professionals
One of the most reliable things about Safety is that it doesn’t know what to do about risk. This is most obvious when it adopts campaigns like: meerkats, Hazardman, dumb ways to die, Mums for Safety, brain blobs for mental health (https://safetyrisk.net/how-not-to-view-mental-health-and-safety/), … [Read more...] about Dot to Dot Safety for Non-Professionals
I was just trying to Help
I was just trying to Help A friend called me recently to tell me that they’d lost their job. They couldn’t understand the decision and we spoke for an hour or so working through the roller coaster of emotions they were feeling, from anger, to frustration, to anxiousness and amazement. I just … [Read more...] about I was just trying to Help
Resilience and Safety
Resilience and Safety The ability to adapt, ‘bounce back’, learn, cope and manage adversity is an essential attribute when we consider the nature of work and safety. We live in a world where things sometimes go wrong (for a host of reasons). Life is uncertain (risk) and the world is governed by … [Read more...] about Resilience and Safety
The Silver Bullet
The Safety Silver Bullet I found it! You can buy your official silver bullet HERE >>>> The idea of finding a silver bullet is that there is a perfect solution to a problem. It’s a simple idea that comes from binary absolute thinking. Such thinking is very common in safety and proposes … [Read more...] about The Silver Bullet