Safety Labs by Slice – Details, episodes & analysis

In this episode, we’re conducting a thorough investigation of the different theories and frameworks Safety professionals can adopt to keep their co-workers safe.

There’s been a palpable shift in attitudes towards workplace safety over recent years, with multiple more-human-centred approaches emerging. But their key differences and relative effectiveness often polarize the safety profession.

We’ve compiled a collection of clips from 16 of our previous guests to help define the the different approaches, including:

• Safety Differently
• New View Safety
• Human and Organizational Performance (HOP)
• Critical Risk Management
• High-Reliability Organization (HRO) framework
• Behavior-Based Safety

And also bring some clarity to the ongoing debate about which philosophy is best.

Featured guests (in order of appearance):

Pam Walaski (Episode 66): Changing attitudes to Safety

Josh Bryant (Episode 26): The 3 key principles of Safety Differently

Moni Hogg (Episode 39): Defining New View Safety?

Andrea Baker (Episode 13): An understanding of what Human and Organizational Performance (HOP) means

Bob Edwards (Episode 53): Does HOP lack accountability?

Stephen Scott (Episode 28): Adopting Critical Risk Management

Jodi Goodall (Episode 67): The High-Reliability Organization (HRO) framework

Clive Lloyd (Episode 44): The problem with Behavior-Based Safety

Murray Ritchie (Episode 72): In defense of Behavior-Based Safety

Tim D’Ath (Episode 61): An alternative to Behavior-Based Safety

Andrea Baker (Episode 13): Comparing Safety Theories

Elisa Lynch (Episode 14): New View versus traditional Safety

James MacPherson (Episode 64): Bickering over Safety labels

Carsten Busch (Episode 76): Is there an ideal blend of Safety approaches?

Dr Linda Martin (Episode 22): The problem with Safety theory

Elisa Lynch (Episode 14): Are Safety approaches debates helpful?

Murray Ritchie (Episode 72): Get rid of the Safety labels

Dr Todd Loushine (Episode 74): Welcoming Safety ideas

Sam Goodman (Episode 27): Respecting our Safety predecessors

Pam Walaski (Episode 66): Safety evolution

Safety Labs is created by Slice, the only safety knife on the market with a finger-friendly® blade. Find out more: www.sliceproducts.com

If you have any questions, please email us at safetylabs@sliceproducts.com

In this episode, Mary Conquest speaks with Greg Smith, an international award-winning author and qualified lawyer who has spent more than two decades specializing in Safety and Health management. Greg is also regarded as a leading provider of Safety training, particularly in the areas of management responsibilities and contractor safety management.

Describing himself as ‘Safety agnostic’, Greg doesn’t care how HSE professionals approach Workplace Safety - he just wants to help you be effective. However, he knows how challenging this can be and explains why Safety is a ‘wicked problem’ that is essentially unsolvable.

Gregs discusses the impact of legal frameworks on Safety Management and shares real-life examples of the unintended consequences of the criminalization of Safety.

Safety processes and measurement are the key themes of this fascinating conversation, as Greg highlights where the profession has become disconnected from its purpose and how this can be addressed.

Greg’s highly acclaimed book:  Paper Safe

Greg recommends the following podcasts:

• Safety Labs by Slice
• The Safety of Work
• Speak
• Rebranding Safety

Also this subscription service: OHS Alert | Premium Workplace health and safety news

And Ben Hutchinson’s research: Ben Hutchinson | LinkedIn

Greg Smith on LinkedIn: Greg Smith | LinkedIn

Safety Labs is created by Slice, the only safety knife on the market with a finger-friendly® blade. Find out more: www.sliceproducts.com

If you have any questions, please email us at safetylabs@sliceproducts.com

In this episode, we’re conducting a thorough investigation of ‘safety culture’ to help HSE practitioners bring some clarity to this controversial term.

We've compiled a collection of thoughts, opinions and ideas about safety culture from 15 of our previous guests discussing various aspects of this nebulous subject.

The main dispute is whether safety culture actually exists, but even when we get past this, people rarely agree on its definition, measurement and implementation.

This safety culture special presents multiple perspectives on these crucial questions from experienced HSE professionals, consultants, authors and academics. We can’t promise definitive answers, but it will help you come to your own conclusions about safety culture - and what it means for your practice.

Featured guests (in order of appearance):

• Dr Tristan Casey (Episode 40): Confusion and Clarity About Safety Culture
• James Junkin (Episode 37): There’s No Safety Culture
• Dr Tristan Casey (Episode 40): Defining Safety Culture
• Dr Linda Martin (Episode 22): There’s No Such Thing as Safety Culture
• Clive Lloyd (Episode 44): 5 Levels of Safety Culture
• Dr Tristan Casey (Episode 40): 3 Different Perspectives of Safety Culture
• Dr Drew Rae (Episode 55): Culture has been corrupted in Safety
• Tim Marsh (Episode 1): Elements of Safety Culture
• Chris Smith (Episode 2): Importance of Culture
• Dr Tristan Casey (Episode 40): Avoid Catch-All Definitions of Safety Culture
• Mary Ann Baynton (Episode 45): How EHS Professionals Can Extend Safety Culture
• Rey Gonzalez (Episode 23): Fostering Safety Cultures
• David Heap (Episode 36): Safety Culture and Positive Psychology
• Stephen Harvey (Episode 38): Impact of Language on Safety Culture
• Amy Roosa (Episode 48): Creating Inclusive Safety Cultures for Women
• Dr I. David Daniels (Episode 30): Open and Inclusive Safety Cultures
• Gareth Lock (Episode 43): Safety Culture’s Role in Accident Investigations
• Chris Moulden (Episode 31): Authentic Leadership’s Impact on Safety Cultures
• Tim Marsh (Episode 1): Culture is King
• Dr Tristan Casey (Episode 40): Safety Culture Versus Safety Climate

Safety Labs is created by Slice, the only safety knife on the market with a finger-friendly® blade. Find out more: www.sliceproducts.com

If you have any questions, please email us at safetylabs@sliceproducts.com

In this episode, Mary Conquest speaks with Tony Muschara, a Human and Organizational Performance (HOP) specialist and owner of Mushara Error Management Consulting.

He’s also the author of several Safety books, including ‘Risk-based Thinking’, and its follow-up ‘Critical Steps’ -  which is the main focus of this fascinating interview.

Tony begins by exploring the role of an EHS professional and reveals his strongly-held views on where responsibility for workplace Safety lies within an organization.

He then describes the 4 elements of risk-based thinking (anticipate, monitor, respond and learn), before sharing his recent research into the importance of critical steps in Safety management. 

Safety professionals will learn what they are, how they can be identified and what can be done to ensure they are completed successfully - first time and every time - to avoid significant harm.

This discussion is packed with wisdom from Tony’s distinguished career in Safety, including why aiming for excellence isn’t always good enough, when to think slow, how to fail safely, and his mantra: “If you don’t have doubts, you haven’t been paying attention”.

Your approach to Safety will definitely be enhanced by paying attention to this interview!

Find out more about Tony’s work: Muschara

Books recommended by Tony:

Managing the Risk of Organizational Accidents and Organizational Accidents Revisited by James Reason

Operational Risk Control by Derek Viner

Managing the Unexpected: Assuring High Performance in an Age of Complexity

By Karl E. Weick and Kathleen M. Sutcliffe

Organizing for Safety by Andrew Hopkins

Engineering a Safer World by Nancy Leveson

Tony Muschara on LinkedIn:

Tony Muschara | LinkedIn

Safety Labs is created by Slice, the only safety knife on the market with a finger-friendly® blade. Find out more: www.sliceproducts.com

If you have any questions, please email us at safetylabs@sliceproducts.com

In this episode, Mary Conquest speaks with Stephan Wiedner, an entrepreneur on a mission to abolish apathy in the workplace. He’s the cofounder of Noomii.com, the web’s largest network of independent life coaches and Skillsetter.com, a platform similar to a flight simulator for practicing interpersonal skills.

Safety management relies on trust, persuasion, and approachability, yet EHS professionals may not have been taught these skills during their training. In fact, there’s a common conception these qualities are inherent and can’t be taught.

Stephan presents an upbeat and convincing case for why Safety professionals can - and should - develop their interpersonal skills.

He explains that the key to improving nebulous concepts, such as empathy, is to break them down into specific learnable practical skills. 

Stephan teaches HSE professionals how this is done - with a strong emphasis on the importance of psychological safety -  while dispelling ongoing misconceptions about interpersonal skills.

Find out more about the foundational academic research undertaken by Tim Anderson investigating the impact of interpersonal skills:

A prospective study of therapist facilitative interpersonal skills as a predictor of treatment outcome

The books recommended by Stephan:

Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise: Amazon.com: Ericsson, Anders, Pool, Robert

Stephan Wiedner on LinkedIn:

Stephan Wiedner | LinkedIn

Safety Labs is created by Slice, the only safety knife on the market with a finger-friendly® blade. Find us at www.sliceproducts.com

If you have any questions, please email us at safetylabs@sliceproducts.com

In this episode, Mary Conquest speaks with Christian Hunt, author of 'Humanizing Rules' and founder of Human Risk, a consultancy and training firm that brings behavioral science to ethics & compliance.

Christian helps Safety practitioners understand and minimize their exposure to human risk, and he begins by explaining why he wrote his latest book.

Packed with entertaining anecdotes, this lively conversation explores the 3 key drivers of human behavior and introduces a simple framework (‘HUMANS’) that will help EHS professionals evaluate and design behavioral interventions (e.g. a new rule or communication program).

Throughout the interview, Christian emphasizes the importance of looking at things from the workers’ perspective - who are humans, not robots:

“Think not about what we would like people to do, but what they're likely to do.”

In this action-packed episode, we also learn 6 golden rules of compliance, including ‘Compliance is an outcome, not a process’, and ‘Just because you can doesn’t mean you should’.

This was Christinian’s second appearance on our podcast (his first was episode 4), and we hope he returns for a third time!

Find out more about Christian’s work:

Human Risk | Make your compliance programme more effective

Christian’s new book: ‘Humanizing Rules’:
Humanizing Rules: Bringing Behavioural Science to Ethics & Compliance

Christian’s Podcast:

The Human Risk Podcast

Books recommended by Christian:

“Thinking Fast and Slow” by Daniel Kahneman – 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0374533555

“Influence is Your Superpower: The Science of Winning Hearts, Sparking Change, and Making Good Things Happen” by Zoe Chance – https://www.amazon.com/dp/198485433X

Christian Hunt on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/humanrisk/

Safety Labs is created by Slice, the only safety knife on the market with a finger-friendly® blade. Find us at www.sliceproducts.com

If you have any questions, please email us at safetylabs@sliceproducts.com

In this episode, Mary Conquest speaks with Jodi Goodall, a High-Reliability Organization (HRO) expert who’s been in the safety profession for 20 years. Her operational experience spans mining, defense, explosives, heavy maintenance and logistics, and she’s currently head of organizational reliability at Brady Haywood, a consultancy in Brisbane.

Jody’s approach to Safety is based on systems thinking and the practices of HROs - and she begins this enlightening interview by explaining what strategies and organizations this acronym covers.

She walks EHS practitioners through the 5 characteristics of HROs, using practical examples of how they can enhance workplace safety:

1. Preoccupation with failure
2. Reluctance to simplify
3. Sensitivity to the operations
4. Commitment to resilience
5. Deference to expertise

Jodi explains that HRO is dotted throughout all the current safety theories and calls for HSE professionals to focus on practices, not academia and recognize that we’re all heading in the same direction.

She believes there’s too much investment in traditional Safety approaches and encourages the profession to welcome failure, trust the workforce, and be less judgemental and more helpful.

Find out more about Jodi’s work:

Brady Heywood | Complex Systems Thinking

Jodi recommends the work of Andrew Hopkins:

Amazon.com: Andrew Hopkins: Books, Biography, Blogs, Audiobooks, Kindle

And this book about the US Nay culture:

Extreme Operational Excellence: Applying the US Nuclear Submarine Culture to Your Organization eBook : DiGeronimo, Matt, Koonce, Bob: Amazon.com: Books

Jodi Goodall on LinkedIn:

Jodi Goodall | LinkedIn

Safety Labs is created by Slice, the only safety knife on the market with a finger-friendly® blade. Find us at www.sliceproducts.com

If you have any questions, please email us at safetylabs@sliceproducts.com

In this episode, Mary Conquest speaks with Pam Walaski, Senior Vice President of the American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP), who uses her considerable experience to teach the next generation of HSE practitioners.

Pam shares her insightful views on the current state of safety education. She highlights the key gaps, limitations and challenges and explains which elements need to evolve.

Safety professionals will also learn about Pam’s personal journey from “safety cop” mentality to seeing workers as the solution rather than the problem. This mindset shift has significantly influenced her approach to safety education, and rapport, empathy, respect, and dignity are key themes in this compassionate interview.

Pam helps EHS professionals to stop thinking in terms of “right” and “wrong” and instead focus on learning, evolution and being open to change.

Pam recommends these online resources for Safety practitioners:

Safety Differently – Innovative and critical safety thinking

Human and Organizational Performance | HOP Hub

Authors recommended by Pam:

Todd Conklin, Sidney Dekker and Rosa Antonia Carrillo

Pam also suggests listening to these podcasts:

PreAccident Investigation

The Safety of Work

Pam Walaski on LinkedIn:

Pam Walaski, CSP, FASSP | LinkedIn

Safety Labs is created by Slice, the only safety knife on the market with a finger-friendly® blade. Find us at www.sliceproducts.com

If you have any questions, please email us at safetylabs@sliceproducts.com

In this episode, Mary Conquest speaks with Dr L. Casey Chosewood, Director of Total Worker Health (TWH) at the American National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), which is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Dr Chosewood provides a comprehensive overview of the origins and purpose of the TWH initiative - an emerging discipline that he hopes will change the way Safety professionals practice.

In this uplifting interview, he discusses his role in promoting the protection and improvement of workers' health, safety, and wellbeing through research, intervention, development and partnerships.

Casey discusses the key workplace safety initiatives his team is implementing and shares essential tools for EHS practitioners who want to learn more about TWH.

Total Worker Health isn’t just focused on helping organizations keep their workforce safe. Additionally, it aims to improve workers’ health and wellbeing. Dr Chosewood explains how this benefits everyone - including wider society - and shares his inspiring vision for people to go home from work healthier than they arrived.

Learn more about Total Worker Health:

https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/twh/totalhealth.html

To contact Casey and his team:

twh@cdc.gov

The TWH Essential Guide:
Fundamentals of Total Worker Health Approaches | NIOSH | CDC

The NIOSH Worker Well-Being Questionnaire:

Worker Well-Being Questionnaire (WellBQ) | NIOSH | CDC

Dr L. Casey Chosewood on LinkedIn:

L. Casey Chosewood, MD MPH | LinkedIn

Safety Labs is created by Slice, the only safety knife on the market with a finger-friendly® blade. Find us at www.sliceproducts.com

If you have any questions, please email us at safetylabs@sliceproducts.com

In this episode, Mary Conquest speaks with James MacPherson, the straight-talking host of the influential podcast and YouTube channel, ‘Rebranding Safety’, who also recently founded his own consultancy, ‘Risk Fluent’ (with his wife).

In this unrestrained interview (with some colorful language), James leaves Safety professionals with no doubt about how the profession can improve itself.

After describing his journey, he dives straight into his forthright views about Safety’s image problem and the “bickering” about Safety theory.

James is never afraid to challenge traditional approaches to Safety, but he also challenges the ‘labeling’ of alternative views and clearly defines the role he’d like academics to play.

He doesn’t hold back in his damning assessments of Safety Associations and HSE training and shares his concerns about the prevalence and impact of “Trickle-down Safety’.

James completes his passionate appraisal of the Safety world by urging EHS practitioners to embrace AI, focus on critical thinking and calm down!

Find out more about James’ work:

Risk Fluent Ltd - Health, Safety and Culture consultant

His ‘Rebranding Safety’ podcast and Youtube channel:

Rebranding Safety on Apple Podcasts

Rebranding Safety | Podcast on Spotify

Rebranding Safety - YouTube

James highly recommends these other podcasts for Safety practitioners:

The Safety of Work

Podcast - The World of Work Project

Cautionary Tales | Tim Harford

…and the following books:

The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth

By Amy Edmondson

Rebel-Ideas

By Matthew Syed

James MacPherson on LinkedIn:

James MacPherson | LinkedIn

Safety Labs is created by Slice, the only safety knife on the market with a finger-friendly® blade. Find us at www.sliceproducts.com

If you have any questions, please email us at safetylabs@sliceproducts.com