SafetyInsights.org

This might interest those who design risk matrices. I’m on a matrix binge at the moment. They explored how the colour design in matrices can influence decision-making. NB. I have a few more coming up in the near future on design suggestions/improvements for those interested. Colours are said to be important for various reasons, one… Continue reading Do colored cells in risk matrices affect decision‐making and risk perception? Insights from randomized controlled studies

This was really cool – they compared Large Language Models (LLMs), like ChatGPT to human experts in product risk assessment. Any paper that found something to be “deceptively eloquent” (great term) is worth reading in my view. They compared the assessments of six consumer products, which included FMEA, risk mitigation identification and more; lots of… Continue reading How good are large language models at product risk assessment? [Spoiler: Not very…yet]

This Master’s thesis from Philip Thomas around Risk Matrices (RMs) had some interesting sections around the flaws of risk matrices and offers some ‘partial fixes’ and alternatives for consideration. I covered his conference paper with similar findings a while back if you’re interested (link in comments). Phil argues that “despite the popularity of RMs, neither… Continue reading The Risk of Using Risk Matrices: Master’s thesis from Philip Thomas

I found this a mildly interesting little paper, focused on the maritime industry, exploring: 1. the relationship between design and accidents 2. how control systems contribute to accidents in critical operations 3. what improvements to rules and regulations can improve sensemaking in safety critical maritime operations. They evaluated accident reports, observed work, literature review and… Continue reading Improvements in rules and regulations to support sensemaking in safety-critical maritime operations

This study explored the differences between SIFs and non-SIF events from utility, oil & gas, commercial, pipeline and specialised construction trades. Providing background: ·       They talk briefly about Heinrich’s work, noting that while Heinrich “did not suggest that the safety pyramid was causal, his work was cited to support the pervasive belief that preventing low-severity… Continue reading Things That Hurt People Are Not the Same as the Things That Kill People: Key Differences in the Proximal Causes of Low-and High-Severity Construction Injuries

This new study may interest people – it explored the role of ‘safety culture’ (SC) on European firm injury and financial performance. They used ESG data from 829 European public firms. Their conceptualisation of SC was via the sum of 6 dichotomous variables – policy employee health and safety, policy supply chain health and safety,… Continue reading Safety culture, safety performance and financial performance. A longitudinal study

How do you navigate psychological safety in the context of debriefs/after-action reviews? These two unrelated open access papers provide an overview. It’s argued that: Refs: 1. Kolbe, M., Eppich, W., Rudolph, J., Meguerdichian, M., Catena, H., Cripps, A., … & Cheng, A. (2020). Managing psychological safety in debriefings: a dynamic balancing act. BMJ simulation & technology… Continue reading Managing psychological safety and its threats during debriefs/after-action reviews

This may interest people – it systematically reviewed the evidence on the effectiveness of behavioural interventions in decreasing fatal and non-fatal injuries within high-risk industries. NB.: 1) This included a pretty broad conceptualisation of behavioural programs, e.g. drug and alcohol testing, training; 2) I’m avoiding philosophical discussions/issues people may have with behavioural interventions; you’re free… Continue reading Effective Components of Behavioural Interventions Aiming to Reduce Injury within the Workplace: A Systematic Review

This study explored how frontline healthcare practitioners resolve issues by either fixing on the spot and forgetting or fixing the problem and reporting it into a reporting system. In-depth interviews with 40 healthcare practitioners in a tertiary care hospital was undertaken. Providing background: ·         A practitioner about to administer medication to a patient realises that… Continue reading Fix and forget or fix and report: a qualitative study of tensions at the front line of incident reporting

Do increasing degrees of operational complexity and supply chain complexity negatively impact occupational injuries? Yes, according to a new study. This study posted soon explored the links using US data, and how absolute level of complexity and changes in the level of complexity exert a negative effect on a company’s safety performance. They differentiated between… Continue reading Operational and supply chain complexity found to negatively affect occupational injuries