Articles by Dr Rob Long https://safetyrisk.net/author/rob-long/ Humanising Health, Safety and Risk Tue, 16 Apr 2024 06:47:13 +0000 en-AU hourly 1 https://safetyrisk.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cropped-Depositphotos_23049644_xs-32x32.jpg Articles by Dr Rob Long https://safetyrisk.net/author/rob-long/ 32 32 18074397 Safety, The Expert in Everything and the Art of Learning Nothing https://safetyrisk.net/safety-the-expert-in-everything-and-the-art-of-learning-nothing/ https://safetyrisk.net/safety-the-expert-in-everything-and-the-art-of-learning-nothing/#comments Tue, 16 Apr 2024 06:47:13 +0000 https://safetyrisk.net/?p=116855 There’s a huge difference between Safety trying to do Ethics and an Ethicist doing safety! Isn’t it bizarre that when Safety wants to learn about Ethics it asks an engineer, this is a classic example: Or when it wants to know about culture it asks an engineer whose tag identity is ‘the Indiana Jones of […]

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]]> https://safetyrisk.net/safety-the-expert-in-everything-and-the-art-of-learning-nothing/feed/ 4 116855 More of the Same Expecting a Different Outcome in Safety https://safetyrisk.net/more-of-the-same-expecting-a-different-outcome-in-safety/ https://safetyrisk.net/more-of-the-same-expecting-a-different-outcome-in-safety/#respond Thu, 11 Apr 2024 10:17:21 +0000 https://safetyrisk.net/?p=116631 When we look at so much of what circulates in safety about ‘safety as a priority’ and togetherness in safety, it’s always just the same old stuff – golden rules, behaviourism and zero. The following is a typical example: https://togetherinsafety.info/ Having just completed the MiProfile Survey with one of the largest maritime organisations in the […]

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]]> https://safetyrisk.net/more-of-the-same-expecting-a-different-outcome-in-safety/feed/ 0 116631 ‘False Consciousness’ and Perception in Risk and Safety https://safetyrisk.net/false-consciousness-and-perception-in-risk-and-safety/ https://safetyrisk.net/false-consciousness-and-perception-in-risk-and-safety/#comments Wed, 10 Apr 2024 08:56:38 +0000 http://www.safetyrisk.net/?p=17455---a806b7c6-d886-4e71-b084-cb71009313f4 Originally posted on April 5, 2014 @ 1:44 PMVery 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 […]

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]]> https://safetyrisk.net/false-consciousness-and-perception-in-risk-and-safety/feed/ 7 17455 Dumb Safety Slogans and Myths https://safetyrisk.net/dumb-safety-slogans-and-myths/ https://safetyrisk.net/dumb-safety-slogans-and-myths/#comments Wed, 10 Apr 2024 08:41:38 +0000 https://safetyrisk.net/?p=116615 Amongst the many myths of Safety one is that ‘safety starts with me’. This is individualist language that doesn’t help people manage risk. This myth combines with other myths such as ‘safety is a choice you make’ and ‘all accidents are preventable’. None of this language helps anyone and should be eradicated from any culture […]

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]]> https://safetyrisk.net/dumb-safety-slogans-and-myths/feed/ 4 116615 A Tale of Two Worlds in Safety https://safetyrisk.net/a-tale-of-two-worlds-in-safety/ https://safetyrisk.net/a-tale-of-two-worlds-in-safety/#respond Tue, 09 Apr 2024 09:31:46 +0000 https://safetyrisk.net/?p=116598 Whenever we conduct the MiProfile survey (https://www.humandymensions.com/services-and-programs/miprofile/), one of many critical criteria in analysis is the presence of ‘double speak’. I designed the survey 20 years ago and it has a comparative database of over 40,000. The survey is designed with the Social Psychology of Risk Methodology in Mind compared to most survey designs in […]

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]]> https://safetyrisk.net/a-tale-of-two-worlds-in-safety/feed/ 0 116598 No End of Heaven nor Scientific Age for Safety https://safetyrisk.net/no-end-of-heaven-nor-scientific-age-for-safety/ https://safetyrisk.net/no-end-of-heaven-nor-scientific-age-for-safety/#respond Sun, 07 Apr 2024 01:47:54 +0000 https://safetyrisk.net/?p=116585 I read Dekker’s theology on End of Heaven some years ago with its loaded biblical references and theological exegesis and wondered what is this fixation with science in safety? What is this attraction to the discourse and myth of the scientific method? (https://safetyrisk.net/safety-and-the-myth-of-scientific-method/). Why is it that this industry, infused with so much religious discourse […]

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]]> https://safetyrisk.net/no-end-of-heaven-nor-scientific-age-for-safety/feed/ 0 116585 The Seduction of Measurement in Risk and Safety https://safetyrisk.net/the-seduction-of-measurement-in-risk-and-safety/ https://safetyrisk.net/the-seduction-of-measurement-in-risk-and-safety/#comments Fri, 05 Apr 2024 00:40:27 +0000 http://www.safetyrisk.net/?p=17049---58c34360-3120-4519-985f-25a8b87570e6 Originally posted on March 25, 2014 @ 8:31 PMThe 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’. […]

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]]> https://safetyrisk.net/the-seduction-of-measurement-in-risk-and-safety/feed/ 2 17049 What’s Faith Got To Do With Safety https://safetyrisk.net/whats-faith-got-to-do-with-safety/ https://safetyrisk.net/whats-faith-got-to-do-with-safety/#comments Fri, 05 Apr 2024 00:32:27 +0000 http://www.safetyrisk.net/?p=16029---1b7dc634-7fc3-4e4c-b224-b9d5e17f5aad Originally posted on March 13, 2014 @ 10:24 AMWhat’s Faith Got To Do With Safety Guest Post by Dr Rob Long from www.humandymensions.com Risk is all about uncertainty, and uncertainty is one of the things that characterises what it is to be human. There is little in human living that is certainly predictable, there is […]

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]]> https://safetyrisk.net/whats-faith-got-to-do-with-safety/feed/ 4 16029 Punking Safety, When It’s Not. https://safetyrisk.net/punking-safety-when-its-not/ https://safetyrisk.net/punking-safety-when-its-not/#respond Fri, 05 Apr 2024 00:17:27 +0000 https://safetyrisk.net/?p=116580 In the long history of Safety desperation struggling to be relevant, we have this: ‘Punk Rock Safety’ In the long tradition of Safety with a slogan looking for a methodology and method, we observe the continued search by the S2 myth, for metaphors to attack Safety with no alternative. There is no Safety Differently ((https://safetyrisk.net/the-safety-and-new-view-debate/). […]

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]]> https://safetyrisk.net/punking-safety-when-its-not/feed/ 0 116580 SPoR International Convention 13-17 May 2024 – Canberra https://safetyrisk.net/spor-international-convention-13-17-may-2024-canberra/ https://safetyrisk.net/spor-international-convention-13-17-may-2024-canberra/#respond Thu, 04 Apr 2024 20:53:42 +0000 https://safetyrisk.net/?p=116577 It’s still not too late to register for this engaging, educative and innovative event. If you want to learn about SPoR and what people from across the globe and Australia are doing in SPoR then, this event is for you. The event will be particularly helpful for people looking for innovative methods (https://www.humandymensions.com/product/spor-and-semiotics/)  in tackling […]

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]]> https://safetyrisk.net/spor-international-convention-13-17-may-2024-canberra/feed/ 0 116577 Three Cheers for the Safety Saviours  https://safetyrisk.net/three-cheers-for-the-safety-saviours/ https://safetyrisk.net/three-cheers-for-the-safety-saviours/#comments Wed, 03 Apr 2024 08:00:13 +0000 https://safetyrisk.net/?p=116559 It doesn’t seem to matter, if it’s a mine collapse Safety is all of a sudden, a mining expert. If it’s a firestorm Safety is suddenly a fire expert. And, when a ship hits a bridge, Safety is a seafarer, first engineer, Captain and messiah of all. No wonder Safety believes it ‘saves lives’. I […]

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]]> https://safetyrisk.net/three-cheers-for-the-safety-saviours/feed/ 5 116559 Shame and Blame as Social Semiosis https://safetyrisk.net/shame-and-blame-as-social-semiosis/ https://safetyrisk.net/shame-and-blame-as-social-semiosis/#respond Wed, 27 Mar 2024 05:55:28 +0000 https://safetyrisk.net/?p=116533 Popular discourse on shame and blame tend to place emphasis on the individual. Shame often emerges out of blame but this most often occurs in a social context. If someone does know about an action or event anchored to you, then I guess any sense of shame is only private or historical. Blame and shame […]

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]]> https://safetyrisk.net/shame-and-blame-as-social-semiosis/feed/ 0 116533 The Metaphysics of Safety https://safetyrisk.net/the-metaphysics-of-safety/ https://safetyrisk.net/the-metaphysics-of-safety/#respond Sat, 23 Mar 2024 05:00:01 +0000 https://safetyrisk.net/?p=116516 The language of salvation (soteriology) is metaphysical language. Any talk about ‘saving lives’ is metaphysical language. The question has to be asked: saved from what? And, saved to what? The language of salvation already deems that it knows best about your future. ‘Believe in X and thou shalt be saved’. However, the reality of fallibility […]

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]]> https://safetyrisk.net/the-metaphysics-of-safety/feed/ 0 116516 Human Dymensions Newsletter–Feb 14 https://safetyrisk.net/human-dymensions-newsletterfeb-14/ https://safetyrisk.net/human-dymensions-newsletterfeb-14/#comments Tue, 19 Mar 2024 08:49:13 +0000 http://www.safetyrisk.net/?p=15340---e327006f-5819-4da2-b3f7-df709bca5c5e Originally posted on February 17, 2014 @ 5:46 PMBook Launch – Real Risk, Human Discerning and Risk The launch of Dr Long’s third book Real Risk, Human Discerning and Risk on 12 February 2014 was a great success. A gathering of 70 people at the Australian Catholic University North Sydney heard a number of speakers […]

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]]> https://safetyrisk.net/human-dymensions-newsletterfeb-14/feed/ 4 15340 The Problem of Blame for Fallible People https://safetyrisk.net/the-problem-of-blame-for-fallible-people/ https://safetyrisk.net/the-problem-of-blame-for-fallible-people/#respond Tue, 19 Mar 2024 08:44:13 +0000 https://safetyrisk.net/?p=116500 The foundation for understanding the psychology of blame is not with the action of blaming but rather the nature of fallibility (https://www.humandymensions.com/product/fallibility-risk-living-uncertainty/). The real challenge is not to focus on the action of blame but rather Everyday Social Resilience (https://www.humandymensions.com/product/everyday-social-resilience-being-in-risk/) in the journey in fallibility. In human being and living, there is no ‘drift into […]

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]]> https://safetyrisk.net/the-problem-of-blame-for-fallible-people/feed/ 0 116500 The Theology of Blame from Safety Science https://safetyrisk.net/the-theology-of-blame-from-safety-science/ https://safetyrisk.net/the-theology-of-blame-from-safety-science/#respond Mon, 18 Mar 2024 10:50:42 +0000 https://safetyrisk.net/?p=116496 Listening to two theological amateurs and ‘safety science’ people talk about: atonement (I’m not a Jew), ritual, repentance, ‘spiritual need’, ‘spiritual resilience’, confession (I’m not a Catholic), learning and forgiveness is not something I would recommend to anyone. This was recommended to me, so I listened to this podcast by Dekker and Conklin, and I […]

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]]> https://safetyrisk.net/the-theology-of-blame-from-safety-science/feed/ 0 116496 Everyday Social Resilience, The Semiotic Wave https://safetyrisk.net/everyday-social-resilience-the-semiotic-wave/ https://safetyrisk.net/everyday-social-resilience-the-semiotic-wave/#respond Mon, 18 Mar 2024 08:39:24 +0000 https://safetyrisk.net/?p=116486 Download your free copy of Everyday Social Resilience Being In Risk Download the whole article here: Everyday Social Resilience Wave Introduction If we remember that Everyday Social Resilience is a process, disposition and orientation then, this chapter will provide skills, models and methods to enable its practice. For a start, it is critical to move away […]

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]]> https://safetyrisk.net/everyday-social-resilience-the-semiotic-wave/feed/ 0 116486 Zero, The Recipe for Anxiety, Fear, Shame and Blame https://safetyrisk.net/zero-the-recipe-for-anxiety-fear-shame-and-blame/ https://safetyrisk.net/zero-the-recipe-for-anxiety-fear-shame-and-blame/#respond Sun, 17 Mar 2024 09:01:15 +0000 https://safetyrisk.net/?p=116478 When one’s language and ideology is zero, no one can ever be good enough. When anything is anchored to perfection (https://www.nicabm.com/program/fb-perfectionism-15/) the by-products are: shame, blame, anxiety, fear and harm. Perfectionism is a mental health disorder and one that Safety encourages. Similarly, Safety encourages other mental health disorders such as obsession (https://safetyrisk.net/safety-as-a-mental-health-disorder-obsession/). What a strange […]

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]]> https://safetyrisk.net/zero-the-recipe-for-anxiety-fear-shame-and-blame/feed/ 0 116478 Ditch the Swiss-Cheese if You Want to Understand Causality https://safetyrisk.net/ditch-the-swiss-cheese-if-you-want-to-understand-causality/ https://safetyrisk.net/ditch-the-swiss-cheese-if-you-want-to-understand-causality/#respond Sun, 17 Mar 2024 06:47:29 +0000 https://safetyrisk.net/?p=116475 The swiss-cheese metaphor and semiotic is NOT a scientific or logical model of representative connection to reality. The swiss-cheese is a concoction of James Reason to try and explain his linear worldview of accidents and prevention. We saw this recently with Cooper’s identical model (https://safetyrisk.net/no-taming-or-fixing-wicked-problems/). The swiss-cheese explains nothing about causality indeed, it imposes a […]

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]]> https://safetyrisk.net/ditch-the-swiss-cheese-if-you-want-to-understand-causality/feed/ 0 116475 No ‘Taming’ or ‘Fixing’ Wicked Problems https://safetyrisk.net/no-taming-or-fixing-wicked-problems/ https://safetyrisk.net/no-taming-or-fixing-wicked-problems/#respond Fri, 15 Mar 2024 22:35:55 +0000 https://safetyrisk.net/?p=116468 I see with amusement a recent discussion in safety about complexity complete with the mythical swiss-cheese, that some rule can ‘tame’ complexity. All such discussion ignores research on ‘wicked-problems’ that has been about since the 1960s. The idea of a ‘wicked problem’ first emerged from Churchman (1967) in the context of management theory but was […]

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]]> https://safetyrisk.net/no-taming-or-fixing-wicked-problems/feed/ 0 116468 Change in Safety and Cognitive Dissonance https://safetyrisk.net/change-in-safety-and-cognitive-dissonance/ https://safetyrisk.net/change-in-safety-and-cognitive-dissonance/#respond Thu, 14 Mar 2024 08:18:43 +0000 https://safetyrisk.net/?p=116461 It is rare that any change or shift in worldview comes without discomfort and Cognitive Dissonance. Cognitive Dissonance is more than just discomfort and, invokes a threat to identity, belonging and worldview. Cognitive Dissonance was first explained by Leon Festinger. Festinger (1919-1989) is a pioneer in Social Psychology. You can see a video explaining Cognitive […]

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]]> https://safetyrisk.net/change-in-safety-and-cognitive-dissonance/feed/ 0 116461 Preventing Mistakes, Ooops! DROPS! https://safetyrisk.net/preventing-mistakes-ooops-drops/ https://safetyrisk.net/preventing-mistakes-ooops-drops/#comments Wed, 13 Mar 2024 08:06:10 +0000 https://safetyrisk.net/?p=116454 It’s simply amusing to observe organisations in safety, offering ‘prevention programs’ for the natural status of fallibility. Here is the big promise: ‘we are the only ones that can stop mistakes and error!’ Really? Come in spinner, yet another con in the safety industry. Any language that speaks about stopping error and mistakes is delusional […]

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]]> https://safetyrisk.net/preventing-mistakes-ooops-drops/feed/ 2 116454 Workshops Dr Nippin Anand – Hong Kong, Singapore, Canberra, Melbourne https://safetyrisk.net/workshops-dr-nippin-anand-hong-kong-singapore-canberra-melbourne/ https://safetyrisk.net/workshops-dr-nippin-anand-hong-kong-singapore-canberra-melbourne/#respond Mon, 11 Mar 2024 10:44:21 +0000 https://safetyrisk.net/?p=116431 Dr Nippin Anand (https://novellus.solutions/) will be conducting workshops in Hong Kong, Singapore, Canberra, Melbourne and Perth in May 2024. You can find and register for all these events here: https://novellus.solutions/events/ Nippin will also be one of the key speakers at the annual SPoR Convention to be held in Canberra 13-17 May 2023 (https://spor.com.au/canberra-convention/). His first […]

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]]> https://safetyrisk.net/workshops-dr-nippin-anand-hong-kong-singapore-canberra-melbourne/feed/ 0 116431 Don’t look Now, Your Slogan is Showing https://safetyrisk.net/dont-look-now-your-slogan-is-showing/ https://safetyrisk.net/dont-look-now-your-slogan-is-showing/#respond Mon, 11 Mar 2024 10:39:39 +0000 https://safetyrisk.net/?p=116427 Slogans are very powerful and serve as a semiotic for organisations. Slogans are not just text but are symbolic and give organisations semiotic meaning.  The moment a slogan is contradicted, they will be used against you. When this happens organisations look like clowns and what is remembered is the hypocrisy, incompetence and damage the slogan […]

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]]> https://safetyrisk.net/dont-look-now-your-slogan-is-showing/feed/ 0 116427