Are we doing enough? Is the fundamental question of H&S governance. And the answer, it seems at least in New Zealand, is largely not one given with confidence. And beyond NZ, the answer sometimes seems vague, unclear, or uncertain. Governance arguably is the lynchpin around which all health and safety performance relies - so there is something in this conversation for everyone.

Hey, it’s Andrew, and this is Safety on Tap. 

Since you're listening in, you must be a leader wanting to grow yourself and drastically improve health and safety along the way.  Welcome to you, you're in the right place.  If this is your first time listening in, thanks for joining us and well done for trying something different to improve! And of course welcome back to all of you wonderful regular listeners.

New Zealand has had its fair share of problems with health and safety. Catalysed by the Pike River disaster, new legislation introduced in 2015 styled off the Australian harmonised model promised to strengthen many aspects of health and safety including better control of risk, clearer duties for officers of the organisation, and greater clarity to support regulatory activities. The sad news is not much is changing, with health and safety performance lagging well behind similar regimes in countries like Australia and the UK.

Existing guidance was created around 2015 for the new duties imposed upon senior managers and directors of organisations, called 'The Blue Book'. It's clear that whilst well. Intended, this simply has not been enough, with the backdrop of tumultuous government policy for health an safety, constrained  funding, and claims of bare incompetence at Worksafe NZ.

The new Good Practice Guide for Health and Safety Governance was led by the NZ Institute of Directors, in close collaboration with Worksafe NZ, the Business Leaders Health and Safety Forum, and the General Manager Safety Forum. The Steering Group was led by Chris Jones on behalf of the GM Safety Forum, and the Lead Author and Expert Advisor is Craig Marriott, both of whom join me in today's conversation.

Chris Jones is an experienced strategic health and safety leader, having had Head of Safety roles in both the UK and NZ, in rail, poisons and corrections, and now at global dairy giant Fonterra. He has also worked in health and safety lead roles within the NZ government, and a swathe of industry, regulatory, and expert advisory groups and government consultative committees. Chris is fast becoming one of the most popular health and speakers in this part of the world.

Craig Marriott is currently consulting under his own brand, having most recently been the General Manager HSEQ at FirstGas, as well as the Chairperson of the Safety Innovation Community in NZ. With a background in high hazard industries, things that really go boom, and the regulation and creation of safety cases in both the UK and NZ, Craig's experience spans both senior health and safety positions, and a diversity of consulting leadership roles. Craig is both a keynote speaker and author of Challenging the Safety Quo.

Chris and Craig are arguably two of the most well known and well respected senior health and safety professionals in New Zealand today, and both have spent time working in senior roles at Worksafe NZ. It's no wonder they've been able to bring their knowledge and leadership to this impressive piece of work on health and safety governance along with a committee of clever and hard working colleagues.

Let's talk health and safety governance, with Chris Jones and Craig Marriott:

Full show notes: www.safetyontap.com/ep221

This is a conversation about a really important mission to improve health and safety. It's also about extreme difficulty, persistence, and how being professional might actually mean straying far outside your one specific professional domain.

Hey, it’s Andrew, and this is Safety on Tap. 

Since you're listening in, you must be a leader wanting to grow yourself and drastically improve health and safety along the way.  Welcome to you, you're in the right place.  If this is your first time listening in, thanks for joining us and well done for trying something different to improve! And of course welcome back to all of you wonderful regular listeners.

Today my guest is Gareth Lock. Gareth doesn't easily fit in a box or under a single label, as you'll hear in a moment. Military, flying, human factors, HOP, and diving.

I've wanted bring a conversation with Gareth to you for a while, for three reasons. First, the people I know and trust have said wonderful things about him. Second, he is generous - his writing, travel, courses, and social media contributions are a cut above the rest. Just following him on Linkedin for three months and that is like a mini-course on its own. And third, Gareth is tackling some wicked problems in the health and safety space, and I had to see what lessons he is learning from what is very tough work.

Here's Gareth:

Full show notes: www.safetyontap.com/ep212

Hey, it’s Andrew, and this is Safety on Tap. 

If we want to improve our performance in ANY area of our life, work or otherwise, there are ONLY three ways to do it, three kinds of how before we decide what to do.  For most of us, the decisions we make every day, many times a day, about which of the three ways to take, is invisible.  Until now.

Since you're listening in, you must be a leader wanting to grow yourself and drastically improve health and safety along the way.  Welcome to you, you're in the right place.  If this is your first time listening in, thanks for joining us and well done for trying something different to improve! And of course welcome back to all of you wonderful regular listeners.

Most people who go to the gym exercise more than people who exercise on their own because of the very fact that they are at a gym, and there are people around them are working out. And research suggests that you tend to exercise at the level of those people around you, whether they are high fitness or low fitness, you’ll tend to match them. 

Exercising at home is entirely possible for almost every person on the planet, and free.  

But when we invest in doing it with help and with the right kind of others, it almost always accelerates our results. 

Take that up a notch with a personal trainer, where you get more tailored help for your situation, you have built-in accountability and boosted motivation because of the design of the help/support you invest in (the PT). 

I mentioned there are three ways to improve performance, and only three. Everything you do in your life fits into one of these three categories. 

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents traces it's history back to a meeting in London, in 1916, the attendees of which resolved to create a Councilto tackle " the alarming increase in traffic accidents, and the direct connection therewith of the restricted street lighting which had been necessitated by the War conditions".

My guest today is Dr. Karen McDonnell, the Head of RoSPA Scotland and the organisations Occupational Health and Safety Policy Advisor. 

Today I welcome back friend of the show and previous guest Michelle Oberg, to fill us in on some new ideas, her new but not so new role, and what new things we might consider if we want to innovate in safety. Michelle is the Safety Innovation Lead in the transport and infrastructure division of Downer, which employs over 50,000 people across Australia and New Zealand designing, building and sustaining a bunch of different infrastructure and facilities assets.

Close your eyes for a minute, assuming you are not jogging or walking down a busy street. If you are, maybe stop, because this is the #1 question you need to answer to drastically improve your performance.

I'm going to ask this question, and you need to immediately grab the answer which comes to your mind - don’t think about this, this is not a thinking question.

For show notes please visit: www.safetyontap.com/119

Learning focused dialogue on social media, especially when people disagree, too easily disintegrates into defensiveness, confusion, and negativity.

So let’s take online dialogue offline

Full show notes: www.safetyontap.com/ep211

I don't agree.  And here's why.  We should hear this a lot more in health and safety practice.  The need to say these words, and the way it sounds when we say it, is more important to our effectiveness than you can imagine. 

Hey, it’s Andrew, and this is Safety on Tap. 

Since you're listening in, you must be a leader wanting to grow yourself and drastically improve health and safety along the way.  Welcome to you, you're in the right place.  If this is your first time listening in, thanks for joining us and well done for trying something different to improve! And of course welcome back to all of you wonderful regular listeners.

In year one, my school report said that I participated with vigour in everything, creative and imaginative, but easily distracted.  In year two I was described as enthusiastic, with much to contribute, but restless and tended to distract other students.  In year three, Mrs Noonan lauded my vivid imagination, pleasing progress, but said straight out I was inconsiderate of others.  In year four I managed to earn the teachers label as polite, interested, capable, but lacking concentration and very easily distracted.  For the first time it seems, Miss Newcombe made the connection between my apparent weaknesses and my strengths, recognising my participation in group work and class discussions as extremely good.  And by year 6, poor Miss Rodgers who was one year out of teachers college didn't know what hit her.  Hard working, creative, and capable she said I was, and then came the shit sandwich of feedback - great participation in discussions, but the enthusiasm leads to rather thoughtless actions, which can be disruptive, and this does hinder Andrew producing work I was capable of. 

The biggest problem with communication is the assumption that it has happened.  And the #1 cause of conflict is when people fail to understand each other.  If I said to you that we don't have enough disagreement in health and safety, what would you say to me? Does that conjure up all the times that you've had to go up against a worker, supervisor, or manager on a hazard or inadequate risk control? Or when you've gone head to head with an auditor, client, or inspector? How many times have you had to defend a safety requirement, 'because, it's a requirement'? Or the system says? Or infamously, it's a legal requirement (said with such conviction that it's become automatic, even though deep down we know that most things labelled as legal requirements are not)?

Ok so we probably have enough disagreements. 

What if I tweaked my statement, and said to you that we don't have enough good quality disagreements in health and safety? What comes to mind? What does that mean?

Today's guest Sarah Cuscadden will be sharing her journey of understanding and shaping the health and safety experience in her company, in a half-day masterclass at the 2019 Safetyscape convention, part of the new events offering from the Safety Institute of Australia on from the 21st to 23rd of May in Sydney.  The #SAFETYSCAPE Convention brings together a range of industry partners committed to health and safety to assemble as the largest gathering of Health & Safety professionals across a program of events, workshops, forums. 

This episode was really far more left field as an idea which when I suggested it to my guest today, he jumped at my guest is Ron Gantt, who some of you will know as the editor of the safetydifferently.com blog. This all started with a post, which Ron put on LinkedIn.

This is what the Post said.

He said, what makes having a meaningful constructive conversation between people who disagree with one another hard on this website.

2018 was a tough year for me as I faced a lot of challenges ahead but I approached the challenged differently and I want to share it to you today, a quote from Theodore Roosevelt popped up in my social feeds which is been timing on the day when I needed it and I've adapted it, it's called "The Man in the Arena"

Today, for the first time, I have two guests on! Double the value. We discuss the limitation of retributive approaches, the popular but unachievable ideas behind restorative approaches, and the benefits of underpinning our work with transformative thinking and approaches.

What's it all about, and what are the alternatives? Check them out, here's Campbell and John:

Full show notes: www.safetyontap.com/ep209

I have some questions for you.  As you hear these, just nod your head or shake it if you agree or disagree.  Does it ever feel like you can't give a good clear definition of what health and safety is? That the work is never ending? That it's tricky to definitively describe what we are trying to do? That it's difficult to predict what will happen? That we can't make firm promises about our systems or controls or interventions? That what works in one context doesn't seem to in others so we are always creating things anew? That interpretation and multiple perspectives in health and safety are both frustrating but seemingly inevitable?

Hey, it’s Andrew, and this is Safety on Tap. 

Since you're listening in, you must be a leader wanting to grow yourself and drastically improve health and safety along the way.  Welcome to you, you're in the right place.  If this is your first time listening in, thanks for joining us and well done for trying something different to improve! And of course welcome back to all of you wonderful regular listeners.

I wouldn't be bringing you this conversation today unless I was confident you'd be nodding to most of those questions I just asked.  The logical rational way to solve those problems might be to get a clearer definition of health and safety, to do more research on what works, to standardise, to invest better metrics to measure….the list of things people are putting huge time and resources into are significant. 

Well what if I suggested to you that a lot of it could be wasted effort? That maybe health and safety can't be adequately defined? That it is necessarily reinvented in each context? That we cannot ever know the answer or even the problem until we throw something against the wall?

The questions I asked you come from the definition of wicked problems, which means that if you were nodding along, it's more likely that you will come to see and understand health and safety as a wicked problem.

And if health and safety is a wicked problem, then trying to improve it using methods and mindsets, tools and techniques from other kinds of problems might be as useful as trying to mow your lawn with scissors, or to educate your kids using social media as the teacher. 

My guest today is Craig Ashurst.  Craig's a real T shaped person, with breadth of experience including risk and health and safety, and now significant depth in the area of wicked problems. 

If health and safety might be a wicked problem, then it might pay for us to understand wicked problems if we want to be more effective in our work. 

Here's Craig:

Listen in to this episode for my very brief year in review, my word of the year for 2019, and why any of that is actually relevant for you.

Sometimes it's good to just not think.  And then sometimes its good to think, but about nothing in particular.  And sometimes, that thinking leads you to places from which some insight emerges, like about balance, averages, mediocrity and what we don't know.

I am really excited to be back with you for 2019, if you are listening soon after this comes out.  In this episode I share with you a few reflections from the break which I thought would be helpful to get your cogs turning, and I have some gifts for you towards the end of this episode. 

Let's get to it.  The year is coming to a close, so much to do and so little time! Today I'm chatting with Eric Knight.  Eric is the Global Head of Safety, Health and Environment at AstraZeneca, who isn't content with implementing good safety health and environment in the company, he thinks there is a bigger mission than that.  And it all ties in with the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, or SDG's. 

Clive Lloyd joins me today.  Clive grabbed my attention for a few reasons.  First, he came highly recommended by people I trust.  Beautifully ironic give the focus of our conversation.  Second, he is generous in helping people like you and I learn and grow and succeed.  And thirdly, the focus of his work is on a topic close to my heart, which I didn’t realise wasn't just important in my own experience, but what the academic literature says is vital to effective change.  

Dr Jason Fox joins us for a chat today.  Jason's name has come up numerous times in previous podcasts, from me and some of my guests.  Jason's been on the list to talk to as there are so many points of reference or connectedness, or as Jason says today 'poly-angulating'.  Jason's writing and thinking has influenced the way I think and work, and the recent launch of his own podcast The Cleverness [https://www.drjasonfox.com/podcast/] seemed like a great occasion to link up.  It was a real pleasure to go meandering with him, and for you to join us. 

Previous guest and friend of the show Dr Drew Rae joins us in this episode as we poke at the idea of evidence based practice.  Or more appropriately, the lack of it in health and safety.  Drew is a world-renowned academic, research leader and in-demand speaker from the Safety Science Innovation Lab at Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia.  And he doesn't just mind pointing at elephants in the room, he helps us make sense of our safety practice in the process.

Full show notes: www.safetyontap.com/ep209

We are in the business of change.  But we aren't always great at it.  This is a podcast about babies and blindness, carrots and elephants, and the necessary tension between where we want to go, and where we are right now. 

I don't think we will ever be able to rest on our laurels, even if we become the most influential and effective safety professionals in history.  Even if all the hazards are identified, all the controls are known and in place, I think two things will always be true.  The first truth is that the only thing that stays the same is change - change in operations, change in people, change in resourcing, change in the work environment or industry context.  The second truth, or maybe I should say what I believe to be true, comes from the High Reliability Organising research.  Even when everything seems great, our ongoing job is to create and maintain a sense of unease about things, which keeps us tuned into and anticipating change and what needs to change. 

I gave up the clever but trite phrase 'my job is to make myself redundant' many years ago for this reason. I will make the argument that not only is the job never finished, that we need to earn our place in our organisation using this very logic. 

And until that time, it can feel really, really frustrating. 

One of the things I explore in my chat with John Lee today is the concept of bureaucracy.  As you'll hear, John has been a senior public servant, a bureaucrat, and I was curious to explore the linkage between being a bureaucrat, working in the bureaucracy, and the bureaucracy that is so often associated with health and safety. I talk a bit in the interview about him and his history, so I won't repeat that here, suffice it to say when I met John, I was leaning in and wanted to get to know him more, so you get to listen in too! Here's John:

Asking questions is a great way to learn, to grow and improve.  Today, my question for you, is what's it for?

Sometimes we find ourselves victims of our circumstance. Other times, we have the ability and the potential to totally change the way we operate. It take courage, clarity and persistence, but it is possible. Learn from how Kobi Simmat is going about changing himself, his business, and his entire industry for the better. Downloads & transcripts at safetyontap.com/ep091

This is the topic of a recent coaching call I had with a client.

Check this out if you want to learn how to prepare to deliver an amazing conference presentation, or any presentation to a large group.

Sara Pazell is my guest today, and she isn't a, well she's more of a….aw I'll let you hear her explain it.  Rather than eloquently describe what she is, in this episode I was far more interested in HOW she goes about her work, with the human at the centre.  What I love about Sara's work, her obvious passion and some of the perspectives she brings to this conversation, is that she helps us with some practical tools, concepts and language to help us move beyond 'we're the health and safety people here to help health and safety' to something else,

Sometimes you can’t plan things, or you can but the plan doesn’t work out.  On the other hand, I've learned to observe and listen for signals, which let me know what to do next.  Here’s one that crept up and jumped in front of me this past week, and it’s about permission.

 You don’t need permission to begin.  Start small, and see if the world falls apart.  I guarantee you that whatever happens, you'll learn something, and that'll help you take the next step, and the step after that.

Today I've got something a little different for you.  This episode is based on an article [I wrote for the NZ Safeguard Magazine in early 2017, called from Teflon to Coach.As you listen, I want you to focus on what the explicit takeaways are, as well as the implicit lessons in the way I've created this piece.  Make sure you download the article and refer back to in your reflection, or better yet grab it first and have it with you whilst listening.  

This episode is brought to you by Safety on Tap Connected, the worlds only growth accelerator for health and safety professionals.  One of the biggest levers for accelerated growth is through coaching.  High performance in many fields, including sports teams and individuals, executives, performing artists and more all have coaches.  Because a coach propels them forward, a coach holds them accountable, a coach isn't encumbered by all the day to day stuff that clouds our life and time and heads.  A coach helps you accelerate your growth.  I coach members of Safety on Tap Connected because it works.  And that's merely one of the benefits you get when you become a member of Safety on Tap Connected.  Find out more at safetyontap.com/connected

Today I'm joined by Ben Hutchinson, a generous learner and teacher, a Ph.D. candidate and an all around great guy. We talked about fantasy planning which is such a great word to get us squirming uncomfortably about this potential problem we create or at least might contribute to? It's not a new concept but the language is new to me, which is what I love about this learning journey I am on, alongside you. Why not connect with Ben, check out his example, and maybe take his lead in sharing learning, rather than just info?

Safety in unfortunately full of BS. Well-intentioned, but nonetheless BS. Why not take a BS test and see if you can remove some it?

Get my handwritten reflection for this episode, your own reflection template for this very episode, and the full transcript at safetyontap.com/ep084

Ep208: Is your professional practice unethical?

Full show notes: safetyontap.com/ep208

Is your professional practice unethical?

Hey, it’s Andrew, and this is Safety on Tap. 

Since you're listening in, you must be a leader wanting to grow yourself and drastically improve health and safety along the way.  Welcome to you, you're in the right place.  If this is your first time listening in, thanks for joining us and well done for trying something different to improve! And of course welcome back to all of you wonderful regular listeners.

Let's begin with an agreement, I'd like to agree somethings with you before you keep listening. 

The first is that the work of health and safety is a fundamentally ethical thing, we do what we do because we believe it is what is right.  So the first thing I'd like to agree on is that we can't talk about health and safety without talking about ethics. 

The second, is that we either can't, or shouldn't, call ourselves professionals if we don't understand the fundamentals of what we say and do.  Plenty of people might know the words and activities of health and safety at a surface level, but what separates them from professionals like us is our greater grasp of the fundamental aspects of health and safety and all that entails.  That's the second agreement - to be professional means a greater fundamental grasp of the nature of what we do and why. 

If you don't agree with these, stop listening, there isn't any point because this conversation will be nonsensical to you.  If you do agree, then this might make sense, in which case it also might be helpful to you.  You decide.

Ok, you’re still here, let's proceed. 

Today's guest is Simon Cassin.  Simon has real range - from serving his community as a fire fighter, to lived experience of harm at work, through ongoing study and practice in the arenas of philosophy and health and safety, and importantly how the two interact. 

Here's Simon:

Conflict is a common part of health and safety practice - it seems to be either a pain in the butt or a badge of honour. Is all conflict bad? How can conflict help us improve? What myths might we not realise we believe about conflict?
Hear the answers in my discussion with conflict management expert Kate Russell in this episode.

Get my handwritten reflection for this episode, your own reflection template for this very episode, and the full transcript at safetyontap.com/ep083

Want to accelerate your development (and your performance) in 2018? Join  safetyontap.com/connected to get me as a coach, learn with a community of amazing peers and educational content you won’t find anywhere else.