Most incident investigations depend heavily on witness accounts, but what if human memory is far less reliable than we assume?

In this episode, Christian Harris is joined by Elizabeth Hyde and Dr Samantha Masley, experts in witness memory, psychology and investigations, to explore the fascinating science behind how people remember events and why those memories can sometimes be misleading.

Together, they discuss why memory is not a perfect recording of reality, how stress and trauma influence recall, why confident witnesses are not always the most accurate, and how investigators can unintentionally contaminate evidence through poor questioning techniques.

The conversation also explores the growing attention courts are paying to witness reliability, the role of cognitive biases such as hindsight bias, and practical steps investigators can take to gather better evidence and improve the quality of their investigations.

• Why memory is not like a video recording
• How stress affects memory formation and recall
• The dangers of witness contamination
• Why confidence does not equal accuracy
• Common mistakes investigators make when interviewing witnesses
• Open questioning and free recall techniques
• The impact of hindsight bias on investigations
• What courts are saying about witness evidence
• Practical ways to improve incident investigations

Whether you're a health and safety professional, investigator, lawyer, manager, or anyone responsible for gathering evidence after an incident, this episode offers valuable insights into the psychology of memory and how it influences decision-making.

• Elizabeth Hyde: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabeth-hyde-hesper/
• Samantha Masley: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-samantha-masley-62524564/
• Hesper GRC: www.hespergrc.com

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Mental health and wellbeing is something every Organisation talks about, yet many of the people who need support the most never ask for it. Why?

That question sits at the heart of my conversation with Nick Elston, who has spent more than a decade helping Organisations engage the people who are often the hardest to reach. Drawing on his own lived experience of obsessive compulsive disorder, anxiety and burnout, Nick shares why awareness alone isn't enough, why storytelling creates genuine engagement, and how a simple conversation can make all the difference. We also explore the common mistakes people make when trying to help, how to support someone without feeling responsible for fixing them, and why sharing a little of our own human experience can open doors that policies and procedures never will.

Highlights

• Why people stay silent: Fear, conditioning and lack of anonymity.
• Lived experience: Builds trust and encourages genuine engagement.
• Better conversations: Support people without trying to fix them.
• Human connection: Small vulnerability creates deeper trust.
• Protect yourself first: Set clear boundaries before listening.
• Supporting sceptics: Focus on self development, not labels.
• Energy management: Helping others starts with looking after yourself.
• Follow up matters: A simple check in can mean everything.

Resources and actions:

• Sign up for a future Safety Roundtable: https://safetyroundtable.co.uk/
• Connect with Nick on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickelston/
• Connect with Christian on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-harris-slip-safety/

Risk management is often viewed as something that keeps Organisations out of trouble. But what if it could do far more than that?

My guest, Graeme Fleming, argues that risk is one of the most powerful tools leaders have for making better decisions, achieving strategic objectives and creating competitive advantage. Drawing on more than 25 years of experience in governance, risk and compliance, Graeme shares why risk should be firmly on every CEO's agenda, how Organisations can move beyond compliance-led thinking, and what separates high-performing risk functions from those that struggle to influence the business.

We also explore the importance of storytelling in risk communication, lessons leaders can learn from the Titanic disaster, and why AI presents both significant opportunities and governance challenges. Packed with practical insights and memorable analogies, this conversation offers plenty of food for thought for anyone involved in leadership, safety, risk, compliance or operational performance.

Highlights

• Risk and strategy: Why CEOs need both connected
• Competitive advantage: Using risk to outperform competitors
• Better decisions: Turning uncertainty into business insight
• Storytelling: Making risk relevant to leadership teams
• Leading indicators: Spotting problems before they escalate
• Risk controls: Why brakes help businesses move faster
• AI governance: Balancing innovation with responsible oversight
• Business performance: Aligning risk with organisational objectives

Resources and actions:

• Sign up for a future Safety Roundtable: https://safetyroundtable.co.uk/
• Connect with Graeme on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/graeme-fleming/
• Connect with Christian on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-harris-slip-safety/

Before you think "it won't happen here", consider this: a company was fined £10,000 for a serious machinery incident in early 2016. Just weeks later, a similar case resulted in a £1.6 million fine.

Ten years after the sentencing guidelines transformed the health and safety legal landscape, the consequences are impossible to ignore. Fines are higher, accountability has sharpened, and Organisations are increasingly judged on exposure to risk rather than actual harm. I sat down with leading health and safety lawyer Chris Green to explore what has changed, where many businesses still get caught out, and why directors can no longer afford to view safety as something that sits solely with the safety team.

Whether you're advising the board, managing risk on the ground, or trying to influence decision-makers, this conversation offers valuable insight into how the legal landscape continues to evolve.

Highlights

• Why fines increased: Designed to reflect company size and turnover
• Risk versus harm: Exposure alone can trigger prosecution
• Very large Organisations: Courts can go beyond guideline thresholds
• Governance matters: Directors must actively engage with safety
• Paperwork isn't enough: Implementation is what courts examine
• Aggravating factors: Repeated exposure and ignored warnings increase penalties
• Small business challenge: Compliance burdens remain disproportionately difficult
• Looking ahead: New legislation may increase corporate liability

Resources and actions:

• Sign up for a future Safety Roundtable: https://safetyroundtable.co.uk/
• Connect with Chris on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-green-70a899a/
• Connect with Christian on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-harris-slip-safety/

There's a dangerous assumption still deeply embedded in many workplaces that if people would just follow the rules, incidents wouldn't happen. But what if that thinking is actually making safety worse?

My conversation with Jake Mazulewicz challenged a lot of conventional thinking around human error, procedures, investigations and safety leadership. Drawing on experience from firefighting, emergency medicine, military operations and human reliability, Jake shares a practical and refreshingly honest perspective on how people really make decisions under pressure, why experts don't simply follow procedures, and how resilient Organisations learn from mistakes rather than punish them.

This was one of those discussions that makes you stop and rethink how safety is approached day to day. Plenty of practical insights throughout that leaders can apply immediately.

Highlights from the conversation:

• Human error: Signals for learning, not failures to punish
• Safety rules: Why too many procedures can reduce reliability
• Decision making: The four layers experts use under pressure
• Resilience: Building systems that tolerate inevitable mistakes
• Investigations: Looking beyond who touched it last
• Psychological safety: Encouraging honest reporting and learning
• Near miss reporting: Making learning simple and non-punitive
• Work as done: Understanding how work really happens safely

Resources and actions:

• Sign up for a future Safety Roundtable: https://safetyroundtable.co.uk/
• Connect with Jake on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jake-mazulewicz/
• Check on Jake Book (Seven Practical Steps: How to Build Reliability, Safety, and Trust in Technical Teams): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FPFQ65GX
• Connect with Christian on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-harris-slip-safety/

Safety is changing faster than many organisations can comfortably keep up with. But as technology evolves, workplace expectations shift, and new risks emerge, one question becomes impossible to ignore: is the safety profession evolving quickly enough to stay relevant and make a bigger impact? In this conversation, I sat down with Richard Bate, President of IOSH, for a frank and insightful discussion on leadership, continuous learning, AI, and why safety professionals must think broader than compliance. From adapting to generational change and digital transformation, to tackling some of the most overlooked risks in rural industries, Richard shares a deeply human perspective on what the future of safety should look like and why standing still is no longer an option.

Highlights

• Purpose-led safety: Moving beyond compliance towards wellbeing, dignity and wider business impact.
• Learn or risk irrelevance: Continuous learning is essential as safety roles rapidly evolve.
• AI and digital change: Technology should support better decisions, not replace human judgement.
• Reverse mentoring: Younger professionals can help reshape leadership, communication and thinking.
• Rural safety crisis: Farming remains one of the UK's highest-risk and overlooked sectors.
• Mental health pressures: Isolation, financial stress and suicide in farming need greater focus.
• Safety as influence: Professionals must improve leadership impact and speak the language of business.
• Stay connected: Follow Richard Bate on LinkedIn and support wider conversations on rural safety.

Resources and actions:

• Sign up for a future Safety Roundtable: https://safetyroundtable.co.uk/
• Connect with Richard on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-bate-iosh-president-chair-of-council-4b547118/
• Connect with Christian on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-harris-slip-safety/

The internet was meant to make life easier. Instead, it's created a world where trust is constantly under pressure. That's why this conversation with Jesse Tayler stayed with me long after we finished recording. Jesse was there at the beginning of the digital revolution, creating the world's first digital app store long before platforms and online identities became part of everyday life. What followed was a fascinating exploration of digital trust, fraud, reputation, online safety, and why the future of risk management may depend on rethinking identity itself. From Steve Jobs stories to the unintended consequences of putting our lives online, this is one of those conversations that challenges how you see the modern internet.

Highlights

• The original vision behind the first digital app store: remove physical barriers to software access
• Why identity could become the internet's final frontier: trust now underpins everything online
• The hidden risk of digital IDs and verification systems: copied forever once exposed online
• How fraudsters exploit onboarding systems today: stolen identities bought cheaply online
• What iTunes taught the world about reducing fraud: convenience beats risky alternatives
• Why trust and safety teams should rethink barriers: excessive friction harms genuine users
• The powerful "safety rope" analogy for online identity: trusted anchors reduce exposure to fraud
• Jesse's remarkable memories of Steve Jobs: seeing possibilities others dismissed completely

Resources and actions:

• Sign up for a future Safety Roundtable: https://safetyroundtable.co.uk/
• Connect with Jesse on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jtayler/
• Connect with Christian on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-harris-slip-safety/

What if the real risk in your workplace is not the process, the procedure, or the equipment… but the way people are thinking under pressure?

This conversation with Helen Taylor Brinson completely shifted the way I think about safety leadership. We explored what actually happens in the brain when people are stressed, overwhelmed, distracted, exhausted, or emotionally overloaded, and why that can fundamentally change behaviour, judgement, attention, and decision making.

One of the biggest takeaways for me was this: behaviour is communication. When someone is acting out of character, cutting corners, withdrawing, freezing, or reacting emotionally, there is usually something deeper going on beneath the surface.

We also talked about psychological safety, presenteeism, recovery, sleep, curiosity, and why creating space for people to think

A genuinely thought provoking conversation with practical ideas you can start applying immediately.

Highlights

• Stress response: Fight, flight, freeze affects decision making
• Presenteeism: Often a bigger risk than absenteeism
• Curiosity: Helps teams solve problems more effectively
• Behaviour: Often communication, not carelessness
• Breaks and recovery: Essential for focus and judgement
• Sleep quality: Directly impacts resilience and performance
• Psychological safety: Helps people think more clearly
• Reflection habits: Improve wellbeing and mental resilience

Resources and actions:

• Sign up for a future Safety Roundtable: https://safetyroundtable.co.uk/
• Connect with Helen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/helen-taylor-brimson-b6222546/
• BrainWorks Website: https://brainworkshypnotherapy.co.uk/
• Connect with Christian on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-harris-slip-safety/

What if the biggest lever for improving safety isn't your systems, processes, or even your safety team but your supervisors?

That's exactly where this conversation goes. Speaking with Kevin Burns really challenged some deeply held assumptions about how safety actually works in organisations. We often focus on frameworks, metrics, and compliance, yet overlook the single most influential relationship on any worksite, the one between supervisor and frontline worker. If that relationship is weak, no amount of process will fix it. If it's strong, everything else becomes easier.

There's a lot here that made me stop and rethink, particularly around how we build buy-in, how we support new supervisors, and why safety culture can't sit in a silo. If you're serious about improving performance, not just talking about it, this is one to reflect on.

Highlights:

• Safety is a people issue: not a process problem
• Supervisors drive culture: more than safety departments
• Buy-in matters most: awareness alone changes nothing
• Leadership gaps: new supervisors lack proper training
• Relationships over rules: connection builds safer behaviour
• Explain the why: not just the how
• The supervisor tax: poor leadership costs organisations
• Careful supervision: care for work, safety, and people

Resources and actions:

• Sign up for a future Safety Roundtable: https://safetyroundtable.co.uk/
• Connect with Kevin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevburns-peoplework/
• PeopleWork Website: https://peoplework.app/
• Connect with Christian on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-harris-slip-safety/

When safety systems become bloated, disconnected and more focused on paperwork than people, they can quietly create the very risks they were meant to prevent. That is exactly what I explored in this special Safety Roundtable with the brilliant Sidney Dekker. We challenged long-held beliefs about responsibility, compliance, human error and whether many systems are helping people succeed or simply getting in their way. If you want a fresh perspective on creating safer, smarter and more human-centred Organisations, this is one to hear. Join our next Safety Roundtable live to be part of conversations like this and bring your own questions to the table.

Highlights:

• Why systems fail: when process matters more than real work.
• Safety ownership: everyone who touches work shares responsibility.
• Rules versus reality: people often adapt to get work done.
• Human motivation: purpose drives better decisions than fear.
• Variability at work: not all variation is dangerous.
• Hearts and minds: telling people rarely guarantees action.
• Documentation limits: records matter, but learning matters more.
• Better systems: make work easier, clearer and safer

Resources and actions:

• Sign up for a future Safety Roundtable: https://safetyroundtable.co.uk/
• Connect with Sidney on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sidneydekker-com/
• Connect with Christian on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-harris-slip-safety/