Shows / Safe As Podcast
Safe As Podcast
A podcast dedicated to the thrifty analysis of safety science, risk, systems, and performance research. Jump onto SafetyInsights.Org for more research. Intro/Output "Dark Synth Wave" by ElephantGreen (PixaBay.com)
Episodes
- Safe As Podcast
E112: Stop Counting Injuries and Measure Control Quality Instead: SIF Prevention (QUICKISODE)
Is your injury rate telling you next to nothing about fatality risk?For years, 'safety' has been measured by counting what went wrong - e.g. recordables…
- Safe As Podcast
E111: Dr Steven Shorrock Part 1: Is HOP actually 'new' or built on Human Factors?
“There’s nothing new since the 1980s there”In part 1 of my interview with Dr Steven Shorrock. He's worked for about 30 years as a psychologist and human…
- Safe As Podcast
E110: Why Low Injury Rates Hide Catastrophic Risk (The Longford Disaster)
This ep unpacks the 1998 Esso Longford gas plant explosion in Victoria, drawing on the safety science and sociological research from Emeritus Professor Andrew…
- Safe As Podcast
109: High-Energy Hazards & SIF Risk: What the Research Shows (Quickisode)
Are higher-energy hazard interactions more likely to seriously injure or kill people?In this ep, we unpack the empirical link between energy exposure and SIFs…
- Safe As Podcast
108: Professor Robin Dillon-Merrill Part 2: Resilient Vs Vulnerable Near misses
Can AI help us identify critical safety blind-spots before disaster?Part 2 interview with Professor Robin Dillon-Merrill (Georgetown University, McDonough…
- Safe As Podcast
E107: Skip-Order-Action Framework: Measuring Work-As-Done in the Field (HOP / Safety-II)
Today we unpack a study tracking 1,422 procedural steps across 40 petrochemical operations. Using their Skip-Order-Action (SOA) Framework, they explored how…
- Safe As Podcast
E106: Boeing 737 MAX Disaster: When High-Authority Systems Go "Strong, Silent, and Wrong"
What happens when a high-authority automated system operate with an incorrect model of reality?This question is explored via Dekker & Woods’ (2024) article on…
- Safe As Podcast
E105: Does Fatigue Cause Attentional Blindness? (Quickisode)
Can fatigue cause visual blindness in plant operators and drivers?In this video, I review a 2019 study from Li et al. (Automation in Construction) who used…
- Safe As Podcast
E104: Professor Robin Dillon-Merrill Part 1: Near Misses & Confusing Luck with Resilience
Do we routinely mistake good luck with systemic resilience – until something blows up? Today I speak with Professor Robin Dillon-Merrill (Georgetown…
- Safe As Podcast
E103: Does HOP Actually Work? Real Data From a 5-Year Study (Quickisode)
Does a Human & Organizational Performance (HOP) initiative improve learning and the quality of actions? And what happens when the initiative stops?This…
- Safe As Podcast
E102: Writing Better Safety Procedures Part 2: Rules vs Reality, WAI/WAD, Safety-II & Workarounds
In a 5-year petrochemical study examining over 1,400 work steps, 1/3 were performed differently from what was written in the procedure, but every task was…
- Safe As Podcast
E101: From Blame to Restorative Justice: A Just Culture Tool (HOP / Safety-II / New View)
Do traditional approaches unintentionally blame front-line workers instead of fixing broken organisational systems?This Quickisode unpacks how an international…
- Safe As Podcast
E100: Dr Linda Bellamy Part 2: Fatal vs Minor hazards, SIFs & Barrier Failures
Part 2 discussion with Dr Linda Bellamy on SIFs, fatal accidents, and barrier failures. Resources & Links:Website & Articles: https://safetyinsights.orgSupport…
- Safe As Podcast
E99: 25 Questions for Better Incident Investigations | Safety-II / HOP
Do your investigations often conclude when you've identified 'human error', or a pesky person not following rules?Do you want to improve the quality and depth…
- Safe As Podcast
E98: Writing better procedures part 1: Action verbs, human factors & more
Why are so many procedures technically accurate, but barely workable in practice?In Part 1 of this two part series on procedural systems, we unpack the…
- Safe As Podcast
E97: Investigating when 'Nothing' Failed: a Safety-II/HOP debrief tool (Quickisode)
This quickisode races through a Safety-II / HOP inspired debrief tool which can help unearth 'hidden' insights about work that doesn't rely on incidents for…
- Safe As Podcast
E96: Dr Linda Bellamy Part 1: Fatal vs Minor hazards, SIFs & Barrier Failures
Is there a relationship between fatal and minor hazard exposures? Recent SIF research & movements suggest 'NO' - what kills people aren't the same as what…
- Safe As Podcast
E95: Critical Controls & Barriers - Part 4: What do barrier models leave out? A Safety-II critique
A bowtie or critical control register may be useful tools, but they aren't the work.In Part 4 of this series, I unpack what control / barrier models can leave…
- Safe As Podcast
E94: Dr Marcin Nazaruk Part 2: HOP, New View, Learning from Daily Work
Today I interview Dr Marcin Nazaruk, who shares his practical experience and research on learning from normal work / daily work, HOP / New View / Safety-II, to…
- Safe As Podcast
E93: Critical Controls & Barriers & Safeguard | Part 3: Human Factors & Human Performance
How do we set realistic and effective human performance expectations in our barrier approaches?In part 1 we looked at definitions of controls and barriers…
- Safe As Podcast
E92: Dr Marcin Nazaruk Part 1: HOP, New View, Learning from Daily Work
Today I interview Dr Marcin Nazaruk, who shares his practical experience and research on learning from normal work / daily work, HOP / New View / Safety-II, to…
- Safe As Podcast
E91: Critical Controls & Barriers & Safeguards | Part 2: From paper to practice (e.g. bow-ties & more)
How do we translate a paper barrier system into one that's functional and verified as effective?Whereas part 1 looked at key definitions of control, barrier…
- Safe As Podcast
E90: Dr Guido Carim Jr Part 2
Part 2 of our interview with Dr. Guido Carim Junior, Associate Professor of Aviation, pilot, researcher, and safety scientist. We pick up the conversation with…
- Safe As Podcast
E89: Critical Controls, Barriers & Safeguards | Part 1: Definitions & Inconsistencies
Is that a control, barrier, safeguard, support, or verification activity? Is it an object, a human act, a system or just a procedure? Does it actually address…
- Safe As Podcast
E87: Risk Management vs. Rule Compliance: The False Choice
When you're standing on the front line making an operational call, risk doesn't come with a green or red light. You have to make a binary decision: stop or…
- Safe As Podcast
E86: CEO speeches: Talking Our Way to Disaster #DeepWaterHorizon #BP
On April 15, 2010, BP CEO Tony Hayward reassured shareholders that the company was safer and more efficient than ever. Five days later, the Deepwater Horizon…
- Safe As Podcast
E85:When Success Leads to Disaster: Practical Drift & the 1994 Black Hawk Friendly Fire Shootdown
In 1994, two US Air force F15 fighters shot down two friendly US Army Black Hawk helicopters.This event shouldn't have been possible: there were experts, radio…
- Safe As Podcast
E84: The pitfalls of safety reporting metrics and 'safewashing' our way to disaster
Can our safety reporting and indicators mask signals that organizations are drifting to major accident?This episode unpacks two reports from O'Neill and…
- Safe As Podcast
E83: Why Smart Managers Ignore Deadly Warning Signs: Gretley & Moura Mine Disasters
This ep unpacks two articles from Andrew Hopkins, exploring the similarities between the Gretley and Moura mine disasters.Namely, Hopkins argues that a…
- Safe As Podcast
E82: Why Good Leaders Make Terrible Decisions (The Science of Bias)
Our mental shortcuts (heuristics) serve us well. They help us navigate a complex, ambiguous world normally safely and efficiently. But in modern organisations…
- Safe As Podcast
E81: Is Safety Culture a Failed or Useful Concept for Organizations? A review of the Scientific Research
Is 'Safety Culture' a nebulous construct, or even a myth, that obscures more than it reveals? Or is its persistence because it provides a useful vehicle for…
- Safe As Podcast
E80: Is Your Boss Just "Peacocking"? The Science of Leader Walkarounds
Leadership walkarounds seem simple on paper: get a leader to walk around, talk with some people, and then bounce out with a gleeful smile, and warm hearts.But…
- Safe As Podcast
E79: AI Makes you Smarter but not Wiser: How AI affects your Cognition
Does using AI make us smarter, or just more confident?This ep covers a recent study on how generative AI affects our "metacognition" - our ability to judge our…
- Safe As Podcast
E78: The most effective safety tactics according to science
There are a lot of safety practices in industry. How do we know which are the most effective interventions to use?This systematic review of the evidence…
- Safe As Podcast
E77: Behavior-based safety (BBS) - a balanced review of the science
When I say BBS - what is your initial impression? A big smile and thumbs up, or visible disgust?It certainly divides people. But is that division deserved?…
- Safe As Podcast
E76: Dreamworld disaster and the pathways to failure
This episode unpacks the Dreamworld Thunder Rapid ride disaster, using the Ten Pathways to Failure model. Ref: Gregson, S., & Quinlan, M. G. (2024). Death at…
- Safe As Podcast
E75: Better indicators for your risk control system
How can you develop better indicators targeting the effectiveness of your risk control system?This episode draws on a few sources, including the HSE UK's…
- Safe As Podcast
E74: Zombie leadership - old ideas that refuse to die
Re-recording of an older episode for YouTube
- Safe As Podcast
E73: When business indicators become the problem
Does counting change what counts? If we create indicators on actions that we'd like to monitor, like injuries, profits, tendering, productivity, do we…
- Safe As Podcast
E72: Fatal Blind Spot: Why Leader Safety Walkarounds Failed Deepwater Horizon
Seven hours before the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded, four senior executives were on-site congratulating the crew for achieving seven years without a…
- Safe As Podcast
E71: Leaders, schmeaders...the age of FOLLOWERSHIP is here
Leadership captures the headlines and conference topics worldwide, but what is the role of followers in team and organisational performance? How can one lead…
- Safe As Podcast
E70: Learning Teams: Why Blaming Staff Doesn't Make Workplaces Safer
How well do Learning Teams compare to RCAs for the number and quality of findings? This study compares the two. Note: Update and reupload of a previous…
- Safe As Podcast
E69: Precursors of SIFS & ineffective corrective actions
What are the precursor factors that kill people at work? And are our investigations effectively fixing these factors? Ref: Stockel, L. R. (2023). What Causes…
- Safe As Podcast
E68: Do warning signs work? A dive into the science
You saw the sign, and read the words. So, apparently you understand the risk, or do you?Source: Hancock, P. A., Kaplan, A. D., MacArthur, K. R., & Szalma, J…
- Safe As Podcast
E67: Designing safer and healthier shift work systems/rosters
How can we design better - as in safer, healthier, more productive shift work systems and rosters? Let's find out. Sources: QGN 16. Guidance Note for Fatigue…
- Safe As Podcast
E66: Is AI BS'ing you?
Are AI models BS'ing you? Do they have such an indifference--a lack of understanding even--about the truth, that their outputs constitute BS? Note: This is an…
- Safe As Podcast
E65: The use and abuse of safety indicators
Safety indicators, metrics, measures, KPIs...whatever. Are these indicators used primarily for genuine learning and improvement - or more often misinterpreted…
- Safe As Podcast
E64: How can we move forward from notions of 'human error'?
This paper explores how complex systems not only fail, but succeed, and provides 9 ways that we can move beyond simplistic notions of system failure due to…
- Safe As Podcast
E63: Should we, or even can we, analyse 'safety culture' in investigations?
'Safety Culture' is treated by some as the holy grail of organisational safety concepts: valourised and promoted uncritically. But should we, or even can we…
- Safe As Podcast
E62: Types of error - error as cause, event, or harm
What do we mean when we say 'human error'? Do you mean as a cause, event, or harm? And does error language more broadly mask more underpinning human…
- Safe As Podcast
E61: Another deep dive on human performance in barrier systems
How should we plan, design and integrate human performance into our risk control and barrier systems? This episode draws on four sources: Mantom, M., Johnson…
- Safe As Podcast
E60: Psychology of risk and motivating less risky decisions
How can we motivate--or even design for--more desirable, safer decisions on health, safety and life, and disincentivise riskier decisions? This episodes…
- Safe As Podcast
E59: Predictors of the use of higher-order risk controls
What factors predict the use of higher-order risk controls? This study unpacks the predictors via use of HECA (High-Energy Control Assessment). Source: Oguz…
- Safe As Podcast
E58: Diving into a process of Safety Decluttering
Today we're diving into the CSRA's Safety Clutter Classification model and process of decluttering. Source is: Decluttering Safety report, from the…
- Safe As Podcast
E57: Safety clutter - paper tigers and non-value adding work
How does safety clutter--the accumulation of safety artefacts that don't contribute to operational safety--distract attention and resources from more pressing…
- Safe As Podcast
E56: Walk-Through Talk-Through - a technique for learning about daily work and error traps
This quickisode jumps into the Walk-Through Talk-Through technique, used to collaborate with workers and learn about the challenges and error traps with tasks…
- Safe As Podcast
E55: Butt-covering paperwork & false safety
What if the paperwork that management come to rely on, rather than providing assurance of safe work methods, is more a ritual, disconnected from real work, or…
- Safe As Podcast
E54: Work-as-imagined, prescribed, disclosed and done
How do the models of how we think about work reveal and conceal features of the work? Today we explore varieties of human work: work-as-imagined…
- Safe As Podcast
E53: Weak Controls. Repeat Deaths. The Brady review into mining fatalities
Imagine following a workplace fatality, that the weakest types of controls are implemented - administrative. This episode unpacks some findings from the Brady…