Contextualising new safety paradigms: A study in a large Australian construction company

This study explored the presence, implementation, appetite and feasibility of 12 principles representing “new safety paradigms”. It involved focus groups with 53 participants and a cross-sectional survey of 514 employees. I’ve skipped HEAPS (actually, the entire results section – so check out the full paper). Background: ·         “The review by Karanikas et al. (2022) revealed… Continue reading Contextualising new safety paradigms: A study in a large Australian construction company

Time pressure in surgical teams, a help or a hindrance to patient safety?

I found this an interesting and brief read about the mindful routines of operating room staff, using a naturalistic decision making approach. Extracts: Ref: van Harten, A., Niessen, T. J., Koksma, J. J., Gooszen, H. G., & Abma, T. A. (2025). Heliyon. Shout me a coffee Study link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2025.e41967 Shout me a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/benhutchinson LinkedIn post:… Continue reading Time pressure in surgical teams, a help or a hindrance to patient safety?

Leveraging Ergonomics and Human Factors (E/ HF) for community impact: what have we learned about how to make a difference

This was a banger – exploring the application of community ergonomics with a strong systems lens. If you’re interested in HF/E, systems thinking, social dynamics, power gradients and more then this will interest you. Can’t do it justice, so a few random extracts. Extracts: Finally they talk about ways to improve this practice – via… Continue reading Leveraging Ergonomics and Human Factors (E/ HF) for community impact: what have we learned about how to make a difference

Production Pressure, Cognitive Failures, and Injuries Under an Insecure Job Climate

This study explored the links between production pressure, cognitive failures and injuries within an insecure job climate (JIC) environment. Data came from 1-month lagged survey data from 176 US workers. Extracts: ·      “Production pressure refers to an organizational emphasis on production to increase corporate profits and efficiency” ·      While intending to “eliminate wasteful contingencies of material, people,… Continue reading Production Pressure, Cognitive Failures, and Injuries Under an Insecure Job Climate

The limits and of lost time injury and other injury measures: ‘risk blindness’

This Safe Work Australia report mentioned yesterday, authored by O’Neill & Wolfe, discussed measuring & reporting on WHS. One section dived into the limits of injury measures. Some highlights: ·        “a single injury number or frequency rate is too aggregated to provide meaningful information to guide business decisions” ·        “the majority of LTIs have relatively short-term consequences… Continue reading The limits and of lost time injury and other injury measures: ‘risk blindness’

The Illusive Pipedream of Zero Harm: A South African Mining Industry Perspective

Not much to say here – nor anything particularly new to practitioners – just thought this was an interesting extract from a study that unpacked South African mining company OHS annual reports. They highlight: ·        “where the injury rates and OD rates show a decreasing trend over time, this should not be construed to mean that health… Continue reading The Illusive Pipedream of Zero Harm: A South African Mining Industry Perspective

Warnings and Hazard Communications

This book chapter explored research on the design and efficacy of written warnings and hazard communications, like you’d find in product information booklets, labels etc. It’s a whole chapter, so I can only touch on some points. First they say that, overall, safety warnings are a “third line of defense behind design and guarding”, they… Continue reading Warnings and Hazard Communications

Safety climate and fatigue have differential impacts on safety issues: Safety climate, fatigue, and safety issues

This study explored the role of safety climate and fatigue on safety issues and outcomes, based on survey of >11k US naval personnel. Note: Self-reported data. They found: ·        “Results indicated a differential effect on the relationship between safety climate and safety outcomes; that is, safety climate affected underreporting the most, followed by likelihood of experiencing… Continue reading Safety climate and fatigue have differential impacts on safety issues: Safety climate, fatigue, and safety issues

Impact of work hours on sleep quality: a non-linear and gendered disparity

This study explored the tipping point at which weekly workhours harm sleep in Australian adults – 25 to 64. Data was drawn from >9k people. Providing background they say: Results Key findings: Ref: Doan, T., Leach, L., & Strazdins, L. (2024). Impact of work hours on sleep quality: a non-linear and gendered disparity. Archives of Women’s… Continue reading Impact of work hours on sleep quality: a non-linear and gendered disparity

Work hours, weekend working, nonstandard work schedules and sleep quantity and quality: findings from the UK household longitudinal study

This explored the links between work hours, weekend working and atypical work schedules on sleep quantity and quality in a UK longitudinal sample. Data came from 25,000 employed men and women – but noting a limitation of self-reported data. For background: ·        Atypical work patterns, like working >35-40h weeks, weekend working and nonstandard schedules (outside of… Continue reading Work hours, weekend working, nonstandard work schedules and sleep quantity and quality: findings from the UK household longitudinal study