Global Concept: Safety

Abstract

This chapter discusses workplace safety by considering four questions: Is human error a cause of workplace accidents or a consequence of trouble deep within an organisation?; Is ensuring compliance with rules and procedures a sufficient or limited approach to safety?; Is safety more appropriately conceptualised as an absence of negatives or the presence of certain capabilities?; and Is workplace safety best addressed at the level of components or systems? Reference is made to relevant literature underpinning the polar positions inherent in these questions. What qualifies as 'best practice' in safety may depend on where people or organisations position themselves (implicitly or explicitly) between these opposing viewpoints. OHS needs to be based on an understanding that not all workplace safety is created similarly. Being open to fresh perspectives is critical to fostering diversity of viewpoints and methods.