Safety often makes absurd claims about what ‘works’ (https://visionzero.global/why-vision-zero) even though it never declares an ontology, methodology or method about what it does. Safety certainly never speaks about an ‘ethic of risk’ (https://safetyrisk.net/ethics-morality-and-an-ethic-of-risk/) … [Read more...] about If it Dehumanises Persons, It Doesn’t ‘Work’!
When You Don’t Know, Ask Safety. Safety Knows Best.
I have been blogging now for many years and always use the word ‘Safety’ capitalised to represent the culture and type of safety anthropomorphically. The use of such a grammar is neither personal or inclusive. We do this all the time in our language often without knowing it. We personify cities … [Read more...] about When You Don’t Know, Ask Safety. Safety Knows Best.
Why is Safety and Risk a ‘Wicked Problem’?
In our studies in SPoR with Dr Craig Ashhurst on Wicked problems he uses a number of semiotics to help people understand what a wicked problem is, compared to other problems. His PhD One Team Where Worlds Collide: The Development of Transcoherence for Tackling Wicked Problems. comprehensively … [Read more...] about Why is Safety and Risk a ‘Wicked Problem’?
Proving Safety, A Book Review
Greg Smith’s new book can be purchased HERE The language of ‘proof’ is interesting when applied to risk and safety. Similarly, the language of what ‘works’. The black and yellow semiotic of the cover is suitable semiotic for what this book is about and, it’s not black and white! Risk and … [Read more...] about Proving Safety, A Book Review
Critical Issues in Investigations not Addressed in Latest AIHS BoK Chapter
In all of my time undertaking investigations I have found there is no more important skill than pastoral care. Knowing how to recognise persons who are traumatised and how to respond is critical for any first responders or investigators. Unfortunately, people in safety are not educated in the … [Read more...] about Critical Issues in Investigations not Addressed in Latest AIHS BoK Chapter
Resilience, Another Safety Silence
One of the mind-blowing silences in safety (https://safetyrisk.net/safety-culture-silences/ ) is on resilience. Just like Safety ethics ignores power, helping and care (https://safetyrisk.net/culture-silences-in-safety-care-ethics/) so to, Safety ignores resilience in all its spin about … [Read more...] about Resilience, Another Safety Silence
Ancillary Skills for the Risk and Safety Profession
When you look at what preoccupies conferences and training in safety, you couldn’t help but think that to be a safety person you just need to be a lawyer, a bureaucrat or a police officer. In some organisations the idea of a ‘safety’ position doesn’t even exist rather, they have adopted the language … [Read more...] about Ancillary Skills for the Risk and Safety Profession
The Power and Powerlessness of Safety
When it comes to a discussion of ethics, how curious that Safety never talks about power. In the AIHS BoK Chapter on Ethics it gets no mention. How strange, when the foundation of any ethic is an understanding of power. This is the level of intelligence one gets from a mono-disciplinary association … [Read more...] about The Power and Powerlessness of Safety
The Rage for Safety Utopia
This is the title of the stirring book by Ronal Conway published in 1992 but I have added the word safety to the title. Conway argues that obsession and compulsion for Utopia is a problem. The idea of Utopia was proposed by the Plato and the word means “no place”. The idea of utopia was later … [Read more...] about The Rage for Safety Utopia
When Myths Collide in Risk
It is strange how the word ‘myth’ is used negatively in the risk and safety world as if to declare something as a myth, is an in-truth. How we determine what is true, real and effective is not that easy. All myth is anchored to faith, not evidence. Most often we develop myths according to our … [Read more...] about When Myths Collide in Risk