Mastering Safety Leadership: How Front-Line Leadership Decision-Making Prevents Serious and Fatal Injuries

ByTom Krause

In 1979, my first safety improvement client told me, “We understand the engineering side, but we don’t understand the behavioral side.” Having studied behavioral analysis in graduate school, I welcomed the opportunity to address this problem. At that time, I didn’t know that Procter & Gamble was working on a similar initiative, or that Dr. Judy Komaki had just published an article on the application of behavioral science principles to safety. This work marked the beginning of what came to be known as behavior-based safety

Augmenting HOP to Elevate Safety Excellence

ByAlan Grant

Introduction: The Evolution of HOP in Safety Excellence Human and Organizational Performance (HOP) emerged in the 1990s as a welcome new way of thinking about injury prevention. Initially outlined by Dr. Sidney Dekker and Dr. James Reason, HOP has, for many organizations, become a cornerstone of safety strategies globally. HOP’s core principles grew from Dr….

The Critical Role of Safety Leadership: A Perspective Grounded in Experience

ByJosé Albano Carvalho

Read in Portuguese / Leia em português Through our combined experience of over six decades in the safety field, we have noticed many organizations believe that safety departments and the safety professionals who work in them are solely responsible for the safety of workers. While safety professionals certainly bring valuable technical knowledge and skills to…

Why Don’t Safety Initiatives Generate Results?

ByThomas Meier

The role of Change Management in HSE Many companies complain about the bureaucracy created by governments as this results in huge financial and workload issues for them. Many hours are spent on mandatory reporting which is not used for improvement. Even worse, it’s often not being looked at by authorities. Central safety functions within large…

The Key to High-Performing and Safe Teams: Knowing People as Individuals

ByKristen Bell

Read in Portuguese / Leia em português Great leaders understand that their team members are not just employees but individuals with unique experiences, motivations, and needs. This personalized approach, known by the psychological community as “Individual Consideration,” is essential for leaders who aim to build high-performing teams and improve workplace safety. When leaders take the…

The Leader’s Values and Emotional Commitment to Safety

ByTom Krause

Introduction by Rebecca Timmins Read in Portuguese / Leia em português There is an adage in coaching called the Law of Double Effect — while we judge ourselves by our efforts and intentions, others judge us by what we say and do. This makes it critical for leaders to ensure their behaviors align with their…

How Leaders Can Prevent Disasters:  Learnings from NASA’s Space Shuttle Columbia Failure

ByTom Krause

CNN’s four-part series, “Space Shuttle Columbia: The Final Flight,” tells the story of how a series of decisions made by competent, dedicated, and well-intentioned leaders set the stage for a safety exposure that brought down the Space Shuttle Columbia — an exposure that was not understood at the time. As an organizational psychologist, I’ve studied decision-making…