EP 695 - Mini - Honoring James Reason: A Legacy of Safety and Systemic Change

Show Transcript

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You're listening to Safety FM Min.

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This episode of the broadcast and the podcast is brought to you by Safety Focus Moment.

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They're consultants that want to help you get the safety culture you've been looking for.

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For more information, go to safetyfocusmoment.com.

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Hello and welcome to another episode of Safety FM Min.

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This is Jay Allen.

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I hope everything is good and grand inside of your neck of the woods as we are hanging out on this Friday, February the 7th of 2025.

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So today we're going to take a little different approach as we are going to take a moment to honor the legacy of a true pioneer in the world of safety,

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the late James Reason, who recently passed away.

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His work revolutionized the way that we approach safety, human error, and accident prevention.

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James Reason's contributions have shaped the safety industry and continue to influence his practices in fields like aviation, healthcare, and manufacturing.

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One of his most iconic contributions is the Swiss cheese model of accident causation,

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a framework that forever changed the way that we think about the system failures.

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The Swiss cheese model shows us that accidents don't typically happen because of a single mistake or failure,

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rather that they are a result of multiple layers of defense, each which has potential holes in it.

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When these holes line up, the failure can occur.

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It's a model that urges us to look beyond the individuals and address the systemic issues that allow errors to slip through the cracks.

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I mean, think about that for a moment.

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Think about how far ahead he was when he brought this up.

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It's this very insight that has reshaped how we approach safety in the workplace.

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Reason's focus wasn't just on human error at this point of failure, but of the latent conditions, those hidden, often systemic problems that pre-exist and contribute to accidents.

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Instead of just pointing out or pointing fingers at people who make mistakes, say it was that person's fault,

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James Reason challenged us to look at organizations, the process, and the systems that enabled those mistakes to happen in the first place.

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Some other stuff, James Reason was also strong advocate for changing the way that we view human error.

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In his seminal book, Human Error, he explored the cognitive psychology behind mistakes,

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showing that errors are often predictable and preventable if we understand the conditions that lead to them.

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He made the case that safety isn't about eliminating human error completely.

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It's about designing systems and cultures that mitigate in response to those errors as they happen.

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His work led to the development of safety management systems,

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which encourages organizations to be proactive in identifying and addressing safety risk before they turn into incidents.

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And more recently, his influence can be seen in Safety 2,

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a movement that shifts the focus from preventing failure to understanding how and why safety works well,

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so we can learn from those successes and build even better systems.

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James Reason's legacy isn't just the models and theories that he developed.

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It's in the culture of safety that we strive for today.

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Ones that are holistic, system-wide, and focus on learning and contribute to the improvement of the actual organization.

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His work has given us tools in understanding safety at a much deeper level

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and addresses problems before they even become disasters.

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As we reflect on his passing, we celebrate his life and the profound impact that he had on safety professionals,

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organizations, and individuals across the globe.

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His dedication to improve safety has more than just a career.

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It's a mission to save lives and protect people in ways that we may never fully appreciate.

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So today, let's remember James Reason's not just as the models he created,

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but the way that he made us rethink safety in ways that made the world better and a safer place for all of us.

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Thank you for joining us on this episode of Safety FM Mini.

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Remember the legacy of safety continues with each and every one of us.

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Let's honor James Reason's by keeping his teachings alive

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and contributing to improve the systems that help us go home safe every day.

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I have been your safety manager and host, Jay Allen, and until next time, be safe.

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This is a production of the U.S. Department of Health.

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No part of this podcast may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,

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or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical, electronic, recording, or otherwise,

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without prior written permission of the creator of the podcast, Jay Allen.