In the tradition of nonsense language in HOP, where ‘blame fixes nothing’ (https://safetyrisk.net/the-blame-game-of-hop/) and slogans are declared ‘truths’. There seems little consciousness of ensuring that Safety doesn’t speak nonsense to people (https://safetyrisk.net/safety-experts-in-speaking-nonsense-to-people/).

A classic I heard recently from HOP was the question: ‘what’s happening when nothing is happening?’ Really? Are people that uncritical of nonsense speak? What was intended was: ‘what’s happening when nothing goes wrong?’. Why not actually speak sense to people? We know why, because it is important to give the impression that we are not focusing on the negative. Afterall, positive psychology is one of the undeclared ideologies of HOP.

This is the kind of language HOP throws together with little accountability and critical thinking in Linguistics. This is what Safety does best, declares what it is by what it isn’t (https://safetyrisk.net/declaring-what-is-by-what-isnt-hop-as-traditional-safety/). No wonder HOP is so appealing to Safety, because its Traditional Safety wrapped in spin.

The presentation was called ‘Do Safety Differently’ and there was nothing in the presentation about doing safety differently. Unless you actually have a methodology and method then what is presented is a series of slogans and aspirations, but there is no method.

If you really want to DO something, you need to know HOW it can be done. The HOW always implies: ‘By What Method?’. If you’re studying at Uni or College and you hear the question ‘how?’ then that question is seeking a method. The question ‘how?’ is not looking for a bunch of slogans called ‘principles’ or ‘truths’. How seeks a method.

If you are going to tell people to ‘do safety differently’ and people ask ‘how?’ then they expect a method. Aspirations, slogans and intentions are not method. So, when it’s all cut and dried and you’ve heard endless stories about failure and a collection of slogans, what do you do? That’s right, return to traditional safety – systems, performance, factors, performance, hazards, performance, measures, performance, organising, performance, objects and performance. It’s in the name Human Organisational Performance (HOP). Safety was focused on performance 50 years ago, it’s just more traditional safety.

If you are interested in doing safety differently and are seeking a positive, practical methodology and method of what to DO, you can look here: https://www.humandymensions.com/shop/ and here https://www.humandymensions.com/product/spor-and-semiotics/. And guess what, the resources are free.