Safety Starts With Me

Safety failures are rarely caused by ignorance. In almost every serious incident, someone knew. Someone sensed risk corralling quietly near the edge of normal work. Someone had enough information to pause, question, or intervene. And yet the work proceeded. The task continued. The outcome arrived as if uninvited, though it had been scheduled all along. The enduring question is not why people break...

Organizations love firefighters. They celebrate the individual who storms into chaos, takes decisive action under pressure, and rescues the operation from imminent failure. These figures are praised in town halls, rewarded in bonuses, and elevated into informal legends. Their stories are retold as proof of grit, leadership, and resolve. Meanwhile, the quiet professional—who spent years designing s...

There is a seductive appeal in the modern fashion of creative sentencing. It arrives clothed in empathy, wrapped in good intentions, and marketed as enlightened justice. Community service instead of incarceration. Training programs instead of fines. Public apologies instead of prison time. In cases involving safety-related failures—where negligence, recklessness, or willful disregard leads to seri...

As organizations enter 2026, the landscape of safety leadership is evolving faster than ever. The old paradigm—where safety was primarily about compliance, rules, and reactive programs—is giving way to a more integrated, strategic, and human-centered approach. Leaders are no longer judged solely on the absence of incidents; they are evaluated on how they build trust, foster accountability, and emb...

There is a phrase that has crept quietly into incident investigations, executive briefings, and regulatory testimony:  the safety system failed . It is spoken with the neutrality of a coroner’s report and the comfort of distance. When this phrase is used, no one raises their voice. No one’s reputation is threatened. No one’s moral agency is challenged. “The system failed” does not accuse—it absolv...

There is a profound difference between a slogan that decorates a wall and a principle that governs behavior. “Safety Starts with Me” is routinely treated as the former—printed on posters, embedded in slide decks, and recited in meetings with the ceremonial tone reserved for things that no longer demand thought. But properly understood, Safety Starts with Me is not a motto at all. It is a line in t...

A deep dive into the findings from the BP Macondo Explosion and Fire from April 20, 2010.

Welcome to SSWM podcast and where we dive into the most crucial aspects of safety, leadership, and operational preparedness. I’m your host, Brent Janke and today, we’re discussing  some of the differences amongst BBS, HOP and HRO, but also how they can complement each other . Are these systems, tools, and approached mutually exclusive or can they be combined into a powerful system that works toget...

In this episode we explore Situational Awareness. We look at what it is and how it helps to prevent injuries, accidents, and ones involvement in incidents both on the job and off.

On the 20th Anniversary of the BP Texas City explosion that claimed 15 lives and refocused the oil and gas industry on the importance of Process Safety, we take a deep dive into the Final Investigation Report on the incident by the CSB. Critical sections of the final investigation report are reviewed and includes both the technical findings from the investigation and the cultural and leadership fa...

In this episode we dive into the three "P's" of safety: Personal safety, Process Safety, and Psychological Safety and discuss how a focus on all three "P's" are needed to ensure that a safety culture is created within your organization.

It was a cold morning on March 12, 2009. The sun had just begun to rise over the North Atlantic, casting a dull glow over the icy waters east of Newfoundland. The offshore oil fields of Hibernia and White Rose, bustling hubs of energy production, awaited their daily crew change. Eighteen men and women climbed aboard Cougar Flight 491, unaware that in less than an hour, their flight would become on...

It was the evening of February 14, 1982, a night that began like many others on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland—cold, dark, and unforgiving. The Ocean Ranger, the world's largest semi-submersible drilling rig, stood sentinel over the icy waters of the North Atlantic, towering above the endless, restless sea. Its mission: to probe the depths of the Hibernia oil field, a promising frontier in of...

Today, we’re discussing The Boeing 737 Max 8 lessons learned — a sobering tale with powerful lessons for safety, leadership, regulatory oversight, and corporate integrity. We'll dive into what happened, the root causes, and how this crisis reshaped the aviation industry and beyond. We'll also highlight similarities between this incident and other, well-researched incidents, where we'll see similar...

In this episode, we’ll define what emergency preparedness and response entail, cover the fundamentals of implementing a successful plan, explore best practices, and examine real-world cases where the lack of preparedness led to tragic outcomes. So, whether you’re a safety manager, business leader, or just passionate about creating safer workplaces, stick around!"   And remember, a key idea associa...

Psychological safety is the belief that one can speak up, share ideas, and take risks without fear of punishment, ridicule, or reprisal. It’s about feeling safe to bring your whole self to work without the anxiety of making mistakes or being judged. The term was popularized by Harvard Business School professor Dr. Amy Edmondson, who defined it as a “shared belief held by members of a team that the...

During this episode, we’ll explore what Lockout/Tagout is, why it’s important, the fundamentals of how to perform it properly, some best practices, and real-world examples of what can happen when this process is neglected. So, whether you’re a safety professional, manager, or just passionate about workplace safety, stay tuned!

Today we’re going to dive into a topic that is crucial for keeping everyone safe on the road—whether you're commuting to work or transporting goods across long distances—it's called Journey Management.   And this is a perfect time to be thinking about Journey Management as the author of some of my favourite books is noted to say… “Winter is coming!”   Journey management might sound complex, but it...

It is a classic concept that hubris precedes the fall. Operational and technical arrogance—the idea that you and/or your organization is smarter than everyone else—is something that every leader needs to be constantly vigilant about. It is not only a signal of possible complacency, but it also runs counter to the process of learning from others and the self-awareness that every leader must foster...

Shortcuts, often seen as expedient routes to achieving goals with minimal effort, play a significant role in both everyday life and professional environments. While they can increase efficiency and save time, shortcuts can also pose substantial risks, particularly in safety-critical industries. In sectors such as construction, manufacturing, and healthcare, the temptation to bypass standard proced...

The "watermelon effect" is a term used in safety management to describe a situation where the external appearance of an organization's safety performance looks green (or safe) while the internal reality is red (or unsafe). Just like a watermelon appears green on the outside but is red on the inside, some organizations may present a positive safety image externally but have significan...

In today's rapidly evolving industrial landscape, the concept of a learning organization stands as a beacon of adaptability and resilience. Rooted in the pioneering work of scholars like Peter Senge, the notion of a learning organization transcends mere operational efficiency; it embodies a cultural ethos committed to continuous improvement, innovation, and, crucially, safety. At its core, a l...

As we know, how we start a conversation inevitably dictates the quality and meaningfulness of the discussion and often, the outcome.  This is especially true in a safety conversation.  For example, if there is an undercurrent of fear, or blame, when having a post-incident review, the likelihood of getting quality lessons learned from the discussion is substantially decreased; and if the conversati...

Reducing risk tolerance at work is a critical activity. In this episodes we'll explore the ten factors that influence risk tolerance and some strategies to mitigate them.

I know that you all understand the importance of preventing dropped objects and while I believe that the reporting of dropped objects has substantially improved – we are still having way too many dropped objects.  I know everyone is familiar with the drops calculator that allows us to understand the potential impact that objects dropped from height may have on a person.  The math is pretty simple...