Digital Engineering Library

Inductions – A Missed Leadership Opportunity Guest Post by Paul Nieuwoudt – First published here:  www.leadership-observer.com The first introduction people often have to our companies is when they attend the workplace induction, and for that reason inductions hold great potential in ensuring a lasting impact is made on inductees. That being the case, it is interesting to consider who is normally responsible for providing the typical induction. In most companies it’s usually a safety person, a contract supervisor or some other staff member. The process typically begins with the inductees sitting down at the start of the shift and staying awake during a tedious session containing a myriad of power point slides. At the end of this process, inductees complete a token test to ensure they are “competent”, after which they are granted access to the workplace. As with all first impressions, we should want to use this opportunity to make a significant impact in the hearts and...

The history of evolution and biology tell us that humans are born with countless systems of self-preservation. However, the  Bradley Curve  version of safety tells us we are born with the drive for self annihilation. Apparently our ‘natural instincts’ are to self harm. Strange, this is contradicted by the history of every civilisation since the Sumerians. However, the  Bradley Curve  neatly matches the Archetype of Safety, in the end, the outcome is the overarching drive for perfection and paradise. In real life we know that people want to stay alive but in The Bradley Curve of Safety we are told that people want to self harm (safety is a choice you make). So, if people chose un-safety then all fatalities at work must be suicide. This is the message again of the Bradley Curve. This is what the logic of zero drives. Thank god we have the believers of the Bradley Curve to take us to zero, to rectify this quest for suicide at work. The throngs of followers applaud in...

CORRECTIVE ACTION & PREVENTIVE ACTION What is  C orrective  A ction and  P reventive  A ction? Corrective action  is a action taken to prevent the re-occurrence, Whereas  Preventive action  is a action to prevent the occurrence. FDA investigators focus on CAPA during inspections because it is a road-map to identify potential and existing problems at a company. CAPA documentation provides FDA investigators, auditors, and executive management a means to review problems. Therefore, effective management of the CAPA system is critical to compliance. By following five essential steps, companies can be CAPA compliant and ensure a successful audit or inspection. The failure to either have a CAPA process, or failing to document or establish CAPA procedures, is one of the most common issues noted by the FDA. The lack of a documented CAPA system was the second most common observation by FDA investigators and was noted in more than half of all Warni...

Human Dymensions Newsletter September 2016 Welcome to this packed Newsletter with heaps of news, research and information on the work of Human Dymensions and The Social Psychology of Risk. If you got this second hand and find it helpful then subscribe here:  admin@humandymensions.com Social Sensemaking It is great to announce the publication of Rob Sam’s book  Social Sensemaking, A Reflective Journal; How We Make Sense in Risk.  You can read my review of Rob’s first book here: http://www.safetyrisk.net/the-challenge-of-social-sensemaking-in-risk/ In celebration of this excellent book I am giving away 5 copies to the first 5 people who request a copy at admin@humandymensions.com Please ensure the subject of the email is ‘Social Sensemaking Offer’. (Please note: Generally give aways are snapped up within the first 30 minutes of the issue of the Newsletter.) You can purchase the copy of Rob’s book here:  http://dolphyn.com.au/news/books/   The Di...

When we look at the standard WHS curriculum in investigations or at the popular packages on the market, it remarkable what is missing. Most investigation methods are constructed from a mechanistic bias with little attention to the essentials of subjectivity, personal bias, perception bias, personality and perception, emergence in cause, problems of reductionism and randomness. When one opens the standard text for WHS and does analysis on the investigations curriculum it is still dominated by antiquated theory of Bird’s and Heinrich’s Pyramids, matrices, curves and linear assumptions about cause and effect. There is no discussion of: · The bias of the investigator or the investigator’s personality type. · Engagement skills required if early at the scene. · Pastoral skills of listening, understanding trauma and loss. · Bias and perception of self and witnesses. · The fundamentals of helping or what helping skills are. Instead, objectivity of the investigator is assumed and...

Worker Sacked for Doing Online Safety Inductions Properly Well not really but perhaps they should be – and that is no more riduclous than believing that everybody is doing them properly! If the  new disruptive safety movement  says we should reward renegades, creativity and innovation then it is exactly the kind of compliant, time wasting and pointless behaviour that should be punished! There was shock and horror in the safety world when it was reported in the press that a  Sydney man was charged over alleged sale of 400 fraudulent safety induction white cards to construction workers ……… Um, this has been going on for years!! Each State in Australia has a minimum requirement that a version of the white card be obtained before any person can be employed on a construction site. It has long been considered a bit of a joke in the construction industry since most construction companies will also force people to undertake their own induction before starting work. Some Tr...

“There are no trends in safety at present that give any inkling that disruption is even a possibility. The Regulation, Act, systems and standards are certainly not shrinking nor changing.” Just Because You Speak it, Doesn’t Make It So Safety and the Spin of ‘Disruption’. One of the benefits of living in Canberra is keeping one’s ear to the ‘spin’ and discourse of trends and language in government. The latest spin to do the rounds is that of ‘disruption’. The idea of disruption comes from Clayton M. Christensen introduced in his article  Disruptive Technologies, Catching the Wave , which he co-wrote with Joseph Bower. The idea of disruption initially applied just to technology but has since been adopted by trendsetters to imply any sense of innovation, agility and creativity. The source of this discourse comes from the Prime Minister’s language about agility and innovation ( http://www.businessinsider.com.au/malcolm-turnbull-disruption-is-our-friend-2015-9 ). Pretty soon ever...