We have seen recently the absurdity of hyper-safety, suggesting all outdoor activities be banned and that Santa wear a seatbelt (https://safetyrisk.net/the-horrors-of-hyper-safety/ ). All suggested by so-called ‘safety professionals’.

Of course, this kind of preoccupation with petty low-risk stuff is evidence of an un-professional approach.

One of the things unprofessional safety loves to do, is repeat the word ‘professional’ as much as possible, as if this makes it so.

The foundation for claiming the word ‘professional’ is a solid foundation in ethics.

There is no curriculum on ethics in the safety curriculum globally.

Even in the AIHS BoK Chapter on Ethics, there is no mention of the word ‘power’.

The misuse of power is the foundation of moral responsibility and ethical practice.

When we see hyper-safety such as is expressed in these two examples is, the adoration of power. This is what attracts some people to safety, the delight of exercising power over others. In the end, they are not actually interested in safety, they are excited by power. Such is the infection of safety crusaders on the credibility of safety (https://safetyrisk.net/wowzers-and-crusaders-in-risk/).

I was on a building project once where a safety crusader was ‘throwing his weight around’ and every worker called him ‘the wanker’. This is what safety crusaders achieve, the complete destruction of safety credibility.

No-one respects a safety crusader, no-one listens to a safety crusader and the outcome is always that safety becomes a joke.

One safety un-professional recently responded to this Santa seat belt event by stating: ‘safety has a responsibility to identify and report risks, no matter what size’. NO, THEY DON’T!

This is the outcome of the ideology of zero (https://www.humandymensions.com/product/zero-the-great-safety-delusion/).

The responsibility of Safety is to focus on ALARP, NOT absolute hyper-safety. This is all the regulation requires. ALARP is a balancing act for the mature in risk, NOT an opportunity for crusaders to be ridiculous.

If you think that petty, pissy risk (https://safetyrisk.net/petty-pissy-zero-harm/) is your responsibility, then you have no idea what safety is about. Similarly, this is an indication of a lack of professionalism.

When you hear hyper-safety or any nonsense such as  I am safety’ or ‘safety is your life’ (https://safetyrisk.net/safety-is-not-your-life/), you are listening to the language of the safety crusader.

The by-product of any focus on petty-pissy risk is a recipe to discredit the safety industry.

Any focus on hyper-safety is an act of irrelevance and a complete loss of credibility and this damages safety.

Real professionals don’t wield power over others (https://safetyrisk.net/safety-cops-and-safetys-adoration-of-power/ ). Real professionals don’t use their power to control situations where there is low-level risk. This idea that Safety has a duty to interfere in situations of low-level risk is simply safety crusading. Any such behaviour is anti-safety, anti-professional and unethical.

At the foundation of claiming the word ‘professional’ is the need for a thorough knowledge of ethical responsibility. How you wield power over others matters.

Professionals are known for their wisdom, maturity sensitivity to others and an understanding of context. This is why safety=zero is NOT professional.

As long as Safety continues to equate itself to zero, it will always focus on petty pissy power, and will never be professional.

 If you actually want to understand Ethics, moral responsibility and professionalism in a mature and positive approach, then you can start by studying here: https://cllr.com.au/product/an-ethic-of-risk-workshop-unit-17-elearning/