Source: OHS Alert subscription Service (10.06.2025)
Clearing safety clutter that is "choking" workers without reducing injury rates requires striking at the underlying "cultural mythology", a risk expert says.
According to Human Dymensions director Dr Robert Long, excessive safety systems are a symptom of deeper issues with the way organisations and "people in safety think about the way they tackle risk and manage systems".
These issues stem from the beliefs that paperwork will constitute a sound defence in court, and that large safety management systems create safety at sites, neither of which is true, he told OHS Alert.
"There's an underlying culture of fear, anxiety and addiction in both the risk and safety industry and in large organisations that simply don't know how to get rid of stuff even though it doesn't work."
Long said the solution lies not in tackling the clutter itself but addressing peoples' underlying beliefs and "faith" that safety documents like a safe work method statement will protect them if something goes wrong.
This "cultural mythology" is "deeply rooted", generated by, among others, the risk and safety industry, regulators and bodies overseeing Standards, because it is "in their best interest" to multiply their outputs, he said.
"When you actually get to the people who do the work and consult them, they feel choked," Long said.
Significantly, the clutter amplifies their dismissiveness of safety activities, he warned.
Workers on the ground perform "tick and flick" exercises when what they really want to do is to get on with the job "without the excessive burden of nonsense", he said.
The "contradiction" between these workers and company executives who "maintain the mythology" is part of the reason why safety activities often don't reduce harm or injury rates.
Long said that while organisations are "psychologically anchored" to safety activities, the "largest safety management system in the world" will not always be a defence in court if an incident occurs.
"I've been involved in coronial inquiries and I've watched all this systemic stuff just crumble on the first or second testimony," he said.
Long advised organisations and their leaders to "have some courage" and seek advice "outside the box" if they want to overcome these safety issues, away from the "old reliables" who "have invested their identity in the things that cause clutter".
These parties facilitate conservatism within organisations by generating the fear that "if something goes wrong, the company will fall apart", he said.
"They're not going to tell [organisations] that there's something radical they could do [because] it would mean moving the very paradigm of the way they treat safety to a different approach."