How To Reduce Safety Clutter

In this episode, Mary Conquest speaks with Drew Rae, an Associate Professor in the Safety Science Innovation Lab at Griffith University, who co-authored a research paper named; ‘Safety clutter: the accumulation and persistence of ‘safety’ work that does not contribute to operational safety.’ 

We all know that excess safety procedures, documents, roles and activities cause organizational issues, so Drew helps HSE professionals understand the leading causes and key solutions.

After briefly outlining his research methods, Drew explains why safety clutter (a term he coined) exists, and we learn why adding new safety activities is much easier than removing them.

He then reveals how we can identify different types of clutter, including duplication, generalization, and over-specification, and how they can be managed more effectively.

Drew describes how the word “clutter” was carefully chosen to make discussions about this workplace problem easier, and he provides great practical advice on starting conversations about decluttering. He also shares the crucial question HSE professionals can ask co-workers to identify the main pain points.

A key learning is that safety clutter is surprisingly difficult to reduce - despite apparent absurdities. Therefore, limiting new safety activities is easier than removing existing ones. This rational and insightful interview will give safety professionals many sensible decluttering solutions.

Drew’s safety clutter paper:

Safety clutter: the accumulation and persistence of 'safety' work that does not contribute to operational safety (griffith.edu.au)

Drew’s safety podcast:

The Safety of Work

Drew Rae on LinkedIn:

Drew (Andrew) Rae | LinkedIn

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