In this episode, Mary Conquest speaks with Dave Whitefield, a safety and risk culture specialist and consultant with over 30 years of experience across a wide range of roles and industries.
Is our current framing of safety holding the profession back?
Dave Whitefield invites us to rethink safety - moving beyond the focus on preventing harm and fixing issues. Instead he advocates putting people at the center and helping them make better risk decisions more often.
After exploring the importance of building safety and risk culture maturity, Dave examines the psychological, ethical, cultural and linguistic forces that shape organizations' approaches to safety. He shares some great practical guidance, including how shifting language from safety to risk can transform safety cultures.
This thought-provoking conversation gives EHS professionals an alternative perspective to help them increase effectiveness without doing more safety.
Find out more about Dave’s work: People and Risk- Culture Risk Leadership
Dave recommends Ben Hutchinson’s website and podcast:
SafetyInsights.org – Home of safety & risk research summaries
Safe As: A thrifty analysis of safety, AI and risk - YouTube
Resources from Dr. Robert Long:
Robert Long Archives - SafetyRisk.net
And the following books:
Navigating Safety: Necessary Compromises and Trade-Offs - Theory and Practice: Amalberti, René
Managing the Unexpected: Assuring High Performance in an Age of Complexity: Weick, Karl E., Sutcliffe, Kathleen M
Dave Whitefield on LinkedIn: Dave Whitefield | LinkedIn
Safety Labs is created by Safety Products Global, the world's leading manufacturer of safety knives. Through our trusted brands, Klever, Slice and PHC, we empower companies to prevent injuries by providing safer cutting tools for every material and application. Find us at www.safetyproducts.global
If you have any questions, please email us at safetylabs@safetyproducts.global
