Safety Starts With Me

There is a seductive appeal in the modern fashion of creative sentencing. It arrives clothed in empathy, wrapped in good intentions, and marketed as enlightened justice. Community service instead of incarceration. Training programs instead of fines. Public apologies instead of prison time. In cases involving safety-related failures—where negligence, recklessness, or willful disregard leads to serious harm or death—creative or alternative sentencing is increasingly advanced as humane, forward-thinking, and constructive. It is anything but. When used as a substitute rather than a supplement to punishment, creative sentencing is morally and ethically irresponsible. It fails the victim, undermines justice, corrodes deterrence, and ultimately erodes the moral architecture upon which safety itself depends.

As organizations enter 2026, the landscape of safety leadership is evolving faster than ever. The old paradigm—where safety was primarily about compliance, rules, and reactive programs—is giving way to a more integrated, strategic, and human-centered approach. Leaders are no longer judged solely on the absence of incidents; they are evaluated on how they build trust, foster accountability, and embed safety into the very fabric of how work is done. Safety is no longer a departmental function—it is a leadership discipline that intersects with every decision, every interaction, and every system in the enterprise.This transformation is driven by complexity, technology, and societal expectations. Emerging risks, hybrid work environments, real-time data, and moral scrutiny demand that leaders not only manage hazards but also shape culture, model values, and navigate ethical dilemmas. Success in 2026 will favor organizations where safety is seen as a strategic capability, intertwined with operational excellence, employee well-being, and organizational resilience.The trends outlined in this list represent the critical areas where leaders must focus their attention, skill, and influence. They go beyond compliance checklists or behavior observation programs to highlight the capabilities, mindsets, and practices that define modern safety leadership. From fostering psychological safety and accountability to leveraging data ethically and integrating human-centered approaches with systems thinking, these trends reflect the evolving expectations for leaders who must keep people safe while driving performance and innovation.Taken together, these ten trends illustrate a fundamental shift: safety is no longer optional, isolated, or reactive—it is a leadership imperative and a moral responsibility. Leaders who understand and act on these priorities in 2026 will not only prevent harm but also cultivate resilient, high-performing organizations where trust, learning, and excellence thrive.

There is a phrase that has crept quietly into incident investigations, executive briefings, and regulatory testimony: the safety system failed. It is spoken with the neutrality of a coroner’s report and the comfort of distance. When this phrase is used, no one raises their voice. No one’s reputation is threatened. No one’s moral agency is challenged. “The system failed” does not accuse—it absolves. And in doing so, it obscures the most uncomfortable truth in safety leadership: safety does not fail; people abdicate responsibility.

There is a profound difference between a slogan that decorates a wall and a principle that governs behavior. “Safety Starts with Me” is routinely treated as the former—printed on posters, embedded in slide decks, and recited in meetings with the ceremonial tone reserved for things that no longer demand thought. But properly understood, Safety Starts with Me is not a motto at all. It is a line in the sand. It is a declaration of moral boundary, personal accountability, and non-negotiable responsibility that separates seriousness from theater, leadership from abdication, and care from convenience.

A deep dive into the findings from the BP Macondo Explosion and Fire from April 20, 2010.

Welcome to SSWM podcast and where we dive into the most crucial aspects of safety, leadership, and operational preparedness. I’m your host, Brent Janke and today, we’re discussing some of the differences amongst BBS, HOP and HRO, but also how they can complement each other. Are these systems, tools, and approached mutually exclusive or can they be combined into a powerful system that works together like a well-oiled machine? That’s what we’re going to explore in this episode of SSWM. So let’s get ready and dive in.

In this episode we explore Situational Awareness. We look at what it is and how it helps to prevent injuries, accidents, and ones involvement in incidents both on the job and off.

On the 20th Anniversary of the BP Texas City explosion that claimed 15 lives and refocused the oil and gas industry on the importance of Process Safety, we take a deep dive into the Final Investigation Report on the incident by the CSB. Critical sections of the final investigation report are reviewed and includes both the technical findings from the investigation and the cultural and leadership failings of the organization as well.

In this episode we dive into the three "P's" of safety: Personal safety, Process Safety, and Psychological Safety and discuss how a focus on all three "P's" are needed to ensure that a safety culture is created within your organization.

It was a cold morning on March 12, 2009. The sun had just begun to rise over the North Atlantic, casting a dull glow over the icy waters east of Newfoundland. The offshore oil fields of Hibernia and White Rose, bustling hubs of energy production, awaited their daily crew change. Eighteen men and women climbed aboard Cougar Flight 491, unaware that in less than an hour, their flight would become one of the most tragic aviation disasters in Canadian history.

It was the evening of February 14, 1982, a night that began like many others on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland—cold, dark, and unforgiving. The Ocean Ranger, the world's largest semi-submersible drilling rig, stood sentinel over the icy waters of the North Atlantic, towering above the endless, restless sea. Its mission: to probe the depths of the Hibernia oil field, a promising frontier in offshore exploration. Built to withstand the ocean's wrath, the rig was believed to be unsinkable, a fortress of steel amidst nature's wild unpredictability.

Today, we’re discussing The Boeing 737 Max 8 lessons learned — a sobering tale with powerful lessons for safety, leadership, regulatory oversight, and corporate integrity. We'll dive into what happened, the root causes, and how this crisis reshaped the aviation industry and beyond. We'll also highlight similarities between this incident and other, well-researched incidents, where we'll see similarities of lessons learned.

In this episode, we’ll define what emergency preparedness and response entail, cover the fundamentals of implementing a successful plan, explore best practices, and examine real-world cases where the lack of preparedness led to tragic outcomes. So, whether you’re a safety manager, business leader, or just passionate about creating safer workplaces, stick around!"   And remember, a key idea associated with Emergency Management and Response is that people do not rise to the occasion during a crisis, but sink to the level of their training.

Psychological safety is the belief that one can speak up, share ideas, and take risks without fear of punishment, ridicule, or reprisal. It’s about feeling safe to bring your whole self to work without the anxiety of making mistakes or being judged. The term was popularized by Harvard Business School professor Dr. Amy Edmondson, who defined it as a “shared belief held by members of a team that the team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking.”   Essentially, in a psychologically safe environment, people feel comfortable asking questions, admitting errors, or suggesting new approaches. They don’t hold back due to fear of looking incompetent or uninformed.

During this episode, we’ll explore what Lockout/Tagout is, why it’s important, the fundamentals of how to perform it properly, some best practices, and real-world examples of what can happen when this process is neglected. So, whether you’re a safety professional, manager, or just passionate about workplace safety, stay tuned!

Today we’re going to dive into a topic that is crucial for keeping everyone safe on the road—whether you're commuting to work or transporting goods across long distances—it's called Journey Management.   And this is a perfect time to be thinking about Journey Management as the author of some of my favourite books is noted to say… “Winter is coming!”   Journey management might sound complex, but it’s essentially about planning and executing road journeys with safety at the forefront. We’ll break it down for you, covering its definition, why it’s so important, how to apply it, and the best practices to follow for every trip. Whether you’re a driver, a manager, or a safety professional, this episode has something for you.  And while journey management can be a complex subject when you think of the myriad of risk and safety concerns in the locations that you are applying it, it can be as a simple as the missive that we all received from our mothers at one time or another … “call when you get there.” 

It is a classic concept that hubris precedes the fall. Operational and technical arrogance—the idea that you and/or your organization is smarter than everyone else—is something that every leader needs to be constantly vigilant about. It is not only a signal of possible complacency, but it also runs counter to the process of learning from others and the self-awareness that every leader must foster about themselves, their team, and their business. This arrogance blinds leaders to signals—either obvious or more subtle—of impending concerns, risks, or issues that need their attention. Operational and technical arrogance still occurs in business today, just as it has done over the years.

Shortcuts, often seen as expedient routes to achieving goals with minimal effort, play a significant role in both everyday life and professional environments. While they can increase efficiency and save time, shortcuts can also pose substantial risks, particularly in safety-critical industries. In sectors such as construction, manufacturing, and healthcare, the temptation to bypass standard procedures to expedite tasks can lead to severe accidents, injuries, or even fatalities. The impact of these shortcuts on safety management is profound, necessitating robust strategies to mitigate associated risks. The adverse effects of taking shortcuts in safety-sensitive contexts stem from the potential for critical steps to be overlooked, leading to inadequate hazard identification, insufficient risk assessment, and compromised safety measures. These omissions can result in unsafe work conditions, equipment failure, and human error. As a consequence, organizations face not only the direct costs associated with accidents but also long-term repercussions such as legal liabilities, reputational damage, and decreased employee morale.

The "watermelon effect" is a term used in safety management to describe a situation where the external appearance of an organization's safety performance looks green (or safe) while the internal reality is red (or unsafe). Just like a watermelon appears green on the outside but is red on the inside, some organizations may present a positive safety image externally but have significant underlying safety issues internally.

In today's rapidly evolving industrial landscape, the concept of a learning organization stands as a beacon of adaptability and resilience. Rooted in the pioneering work of scholars like Peter Senge, the notion of a learning organization transcends mere operational efficiency; it embodies a cultural ethos committed to continuous improvement, innovation, and, crucially, safety. At its core, a learning organization is characterized by its capacity to learn, adapt, and innovate in response to internal and external stimuli. Unlike traditional hierarchical structures, where knowledge flows from the top down, learning organizations foster a culture of open communication, collaboration, and shared learning. Employees are empowered to contribute their insights, experiment with new ideas, and critically reflect on their experiences.