Episode 156: Learning for the Future

Leading and Learning Through Safety

In this week’s "Leading and Learning Through Safety" podcast, Dr. Mark French emphasizes the importance of capturing and understanding data to support risk reduction procedures, stating that good safety practices are indicative of good leadership. He highlights the need for organizations to learn from past incidents to prevent future occurrences.

Dr. French references a recent Chemical Safety Board (CSB) report on a 2022 refinery explosion that resulted in fatalities. The report revealed that the organization failed to learn from previous mistakes, did not capture the reasons behind incidents, and lacked systemic changes to prevent recurrence. This failure to learn poses significant risks.

To illustrate the importance of documentation, Dr. French provides a hypothetical example where an organization, after an injury, revises policies and implements protections. However, new management might later remove these measures, reintroducing risk due to a lack of understanding of their importance. Thus, documenting the rationale behind safety procedures is crucial for continuity and safety.

He stresses that the absence of injuries indicates effective safety measures, not redundancy. Organizations must maintain and improve safety standards through continuous proactive risk management.

Dr. French advocates for thorough root cause analysis (RCA) and corrective action processes beyond quick methods like the "Five Whys" for complex, high-risk scenarios. Capturing the "why" behind safety policies involves documenting historical contexts and reasons, ensuring future leaders understand and preserve safety improvements.

He concludes by emphasizing the cultural importance of safety and continuous learning, inviting listeners to the upcoming Kentucky Safety Conference. The episode underscores the need for effective documentation and proactive safety management for strong organizational leadership.