My heart is yearning (yep, it’s a NOFX song) in anticipation.

Of what?

Well, that’s what the episode is, you jerk. Don’t ruin the surprise.

Coming on the heels of the tragic shooting in Sydney, Australia, the boys couldn’t help but notice the commentary about how someone, somewhere, should have anticipated it.

What does that have to do with Punk Rock Safety?

Well, anticipation is one of what Erik Hollnagel calls the four potentials of resilient systems. Sounds great, but what - and how - are we supposed to anticipate? It doesn’t seem possible to predict every possible failure or event, right? But what about conditions in the system?

Instead of trying to 'Magic 8 Ball' everything, Ron, Dave, and Ben suggest that what organizations should anticipate is where systems, processes, or people may be stretched, stressed, or pushed to their limits. Like in the circle pit. Or pretty much any time you’re forced to listen to the Misfits for very long. Or ska.

Basically, we should focus on anticipating where there is less capacity to adapt and maneuver. Recognizing these vulnerable spots, organizations can then build their capacity to adapt, respond, and recover, even if it isn’t a specific scenario.

So, expecting a single, complex convergence into an unpredictable event is tough. Planning for degraded conditions in parts of the system without a lot of backup? That’s the kind of anticipation that counts (somebody let the sound guys at Punk in the Park know, would ya?).

DISCLAIMER: You probably shouldn't take anything in this podcast too seriously. Punk Rock Safety is for entertainment only. It's definitely not a replacement for professional or legal advice, and the fair amount of piss-taking, shithousery, and general ridiculousness ought to clue you into the fact that no one - and no organization - is endorsing (or un-endorsing, if that's a thing) any products, ideas, or other things. Except NOFX. We definitely endorse them.

Oh, and give your money to Punk Rock Saves Lives. They're a rad organization that works in mental health, addiction, and human rights. And they're awesome people who can use your help to keep on kicking ass at what they do.

https://www.punkrocksaveslives.org/

Let us know what you think at info@punkrocksafety.com or on our LinkedIn page.

Merch at punkrocksafetymerch.com

After the usual BS of “Did anyone invite a guest?” and “Let’s text random people while we're recording,” the boys get down to business: a whole lot of safety plans are the same recycled Word doc with a new company logo slapped on. Sounds almost the same as every ska song does. Turns out, not a lot of people spend time creating real, specific plans, so they just do a “File, Save As” on their way to compliance.

By the way, it's still a NOFX song for the episode title. Just saying.

Contractor management? Copy-paste, MFers. Workers think half these plans are useless, and even the managers know they’re just hoops to jump through. But don’t worry, checklists and forms will sort it out, because nothing says safety like paperwork!

Leadership? Yeah, leaders are supposed to show up and make all this “personal,” except half the time it's just performative nonsense. They debate whether “best practices” exist, eventually agreeing that the best practice is probably making sure people know what the hell a safety plan is even for.

The reason every unique, special snowflake job site's plans look exactly like the next is because, deep down, they're lazy (says Dave), too overwhelmed, or just too unbothered to actually change anything about work.

Brian Hughes from Sologic was cool enough to answer a last-minute call and hop onto the pod, and because he's a bassist, he's nicer than most people. He takes a better view of how something like a template can actually help, not hurt, especially when people are overwhelmed by other stuff. Like meat at the Brazilian steakhouse where Brian is housing steaks off a meat sword. He looks at a template or copy-paste as a life preserver, but he draws the line at stopping there.

And then Brian has to go get dessert.

So, maybe it's okay to have a little bit of help, but a wash, rinse, repeat of stuff that sounds the same but doesn't work isn't good. Cool. Now what? Questions, not "insert company name." As a starter kit, you can still get a jump start without just putting 27 people on stage with horns and calling it good. Check it out for all the answers.

DISCLAIMER: You probably shouldn't take anything in this podcast too seriously. Punk Rock Safety is for entertainment only. It's definitely not a replacement for professional or legal advice, and the fair amount of piss-taking, shithousery, and general ridiculousness ought to clue you into the fact that no one - and no organization - is endorsing (or un-endorsing, if that's a thing) any products, ideas, or other things. Except NOFX. We definitely endorse them.

Oh, and give your money to Punk Rock Saves Lives. They're a rad organization that works in mental health, addiction, and human rights. And they're awesome people who can use your help to keep on kicking ass at what they do.

https://www.punkrocksaveslives.org/

Let us know what you think at info@punkrocksafety.com or on our LinkedIn page.

Merch at punkrocksafetymerch.com

This episode dives into the reality of safety management systems; how they often feel disconnected, bloated, and stuck in the past. You know. Like a dinosaur.

Maybe worse than being a dinosaur is being a dinosaur just for the sake of having something to show off, even when it's just to call something a "system" or to have something to point at.

The boys chase down the idea that safety activities like inductions, audits, and incident investigations rarely talk to each other, leading to a lack of real coordination and feedback loops. They explore how organizations sometimes pile on useless tasks and “bullshit” safety activities, missing the mark on what actually matters.

Probably the best part - if there is one - of the conversation touches on the importance of knowledge management, the role of AI in surfacing hidden insights, and the need for systems to be dynamic, not just static documents. There’s also a healthy dose of skepticism about the value of safety professionals and a call to focus on what truly keeps people safe, rather than chasing every minor incident.

In a weird twist (not as weird as Dave's pods from Episode 43), the episode wraps up with some mushroom coffee stories, and a reminder that sometimes, the best safety move is knowing when to let go of the small stuff.

DISCLAIMER: You probably shouldn't take anything in this podcast too seriously. Punk Rock Safety is for entertainment only. It's definitely not a replacement for professional or legal advice, and the fair amount of piss-taking, shithousery, and general ridiculousness ought to clue you into the fact that no one - and no organization - is endorsing (or un-endorsing, if that's a thing) any products, ideas, or other things. Except NOFX. We definitely endorse them.

Oh, and give your money to Punk Rock Saves Lives. They're a rad organization that works in mental health, addiction, and human rights. And they're awesome people who can use your help to keep on kicking ass at what they do.

https://www.punkrocksaveslives.org/

Let us know what you think at info@punkrocksafety.com or on our LinkedIn page.

Merch at punkrocksafetymerch.com