The Human Side of Safety - • Rethinking how we work, learn, and lead.

  When you’re learning something new—whether it’s a skill, a habit, or a new way of seeing the world—it pays to get some points on the scoreboard early. That’s as true in sports as it is in safety. When we introduce Human and Organizational Performance (HOP) into our companies, it can feel like a big shift. New terms, new ideas, a new way of thinking about error and accountability. But here’s the good news: you don’t need to throw everything out and start over. In fact, some of the most effective early wins come from applying HOP principles to tools you already use every day. In this post, we’re going to take a fresh look at two familiar safety tools found on nearly every construction site: The Job Safety Analysis (JSA) The Safety Observation System We’ll show how you can improve both—immediately—just by changing the conversation , not the forms. These aren't just “check-the-box” activities. When infused with HOP principles, your JSA and observation process can beco...

  ✍️ Post #2 – “Blame Doesn’t Fix Anything: How HOP Changes the Conversation” In the high-risk world of construction, mistakes happen. But when they do, does pointing fingers help—or hurt? 🧠 From Blame to Understanding For decades, our industry has operated under a “find and fix the worker” model. An incident occurs, and the instinctive response is to identify who messed up and hold them accountable. The logic? If we punish the mistake, we’ll prevent the next one. But here’s the truth: blame doesn’t fix anything. It might satisfy the need for swift action, but it rarely addresses the deeper, systemic factors that led to the incident. And it certainly doesn’t prevent recurrence. HOP challenges us to flip that script. Instead of asking, “Who failed?” we ask, “What failed? And how can we learn from it?” 🚧 Blame Creates Silence. Learning Creates Safety. When workers fear punishment, they stop speaking up. They hide errors. They work around problems instead of re...