In this episode, Mary Conquest speaks with Stephen Scott, a Human and Organizational Performance  (HOP) consultant and speaker who spent three decades at Alcoa, the aluminum giant that famously decided to focus on safety over profits.

Stephen had a realization that pursuing zero incidents was actually harming workplace safety. He argues this approach encourages organizations to cover up mistakes and focus too much on metrics. Furthermore, it actively discouraged the workforce from raising safety events, and EHS professionals missed out on crucial feedback to create safer workplaces.

After a series of fatalities, Stephen knew that something had to change. He tells the story of how HOP and then Critical Risk Management (CRM) were slowly embedded into Alcoa.

Once the organization had embraced principles such as error is normal, people make mistakes and blame fixes nothing, the safety culture started to improve. They then shifted focus from trying to prevent all the high-frequency, low-consequence events to managing critical risks that could lead to serious injuries or fatalities.

It wasn’t a straightforward journey, but Stephen shares real-life stories and practical guidance to help safety professionals embrace new approaches to workplace safety.

Stephen Scott on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-scott-65059a9/

Todd Conklin’s podcasts recommended by Stephen::

PreAccident Investigation:

https://preaccidentpodcast.podbean.com/

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