Today I’m joined by John Green, who I call the zero harm killer in this chat. If that doesn’t make sense, google him and you’ll see what I’m talking about, or just settle into this interview and you’ll find out more. I’ve got my take-aways at the end and a special bonus to better help you.
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Good stuff, Andrew. I have listen to, and met, John several times and his perspective is important for the future of safety. But I also get depressed because the effort required to change can be daunting. I think small businesses have the capacity to apply John’s safety perspective more effectively than large companies.
What must occur is for the OHS regulators to support this OHS approach so that this increased left of safety equates to compliance.
Then when small businesses ask us OHS consultants “do I comply with the safety law?” we can “Yes AND your workplace is actually safer. How good is that?” But the OHS regulators are ruled by having to administer OHS laws which are developed in a tripartite system that needs to be convinced of an idea’s worth prior to implementing it. The legislative consultation will not take a risk on redesigning legislation so that the OHS regulators can bloom and support John’s safety approach.
This is not to say businesses should wait to change. We need examples of small- to medium-sized businesses applying this new approach to safety so that we can begin to refocus on improving safety instead of achieving compliance. If you hear of any, interview them because that is who I need to hear from.
Hi Kevin, fantastic comments – very well said. I hope we had a little glimpse at the first steps to make change, and crated some motivation at the same time (that was the aim, anyway!). I concur with your comments about small business – the need for them to be better served & the failing construct behind the law. The other side of Safety on Tap (Fidesa) is experimenting in exactly that space – how ‘differently’ can we do health and safety and still get great outcomes for SME’s? That’s our question, and we’re testing the hypothesis. I hope to share more of that experiment over the coming months. There is plenty of stories to be shared, not just a podcast interview, on that front. Cheers
Hi Kevin
I’m the HSE manager for a Civil’s company in Northern NSW (approx 200 employees and 200 subbies on site at any given time). Our association with LOR started about 12 months ago and we have started to implement John’s “Safety Differently” initiative with excellent results. You are correct, we do benefit from being agile and able to make changes quickly because of our size. Regarding Regulators (we have a foot in both NSW and QLD), Workplace H&S Qld sponsor Griffith University’s Safety Science Lab (who assisted LOR with “Safety Differently”) to conduct Safety Leadership training for all industry sectors; and hence they very much get the benefit of this new way of thinking.
In summary, we get it and I think our Regulator gets it. It may not be enshrined in law but it is one of the tools in their tool box; caveat – in my humble opinion.
Finally catching up on missed podcasts. Just kept nodding so furiously. All your takeaways were spot on and John is such an inspiration to me, giving hope that there is light at the end of the tunnel through his courageous leadership (and it’s not a train) One of my takeaways was the need for trust from all involved to have any hope of positive change. Especially in the work planned versus work performed. Sounds like LOR are all over this. For the front line to be honest about how the work is actually being done…High trust low fear is the only way for them to open up. Your questions and hypothetical were outstanding. Thanks so much Andrew, keep fighting the good fight mate:)
Hi Dionne and Andrew, my neck hurts now too after all the nodding. What a great podcast. (Sorry I’m late to the show but I followed the link from the recent Jop Podcast.)