Shows
Punk Rock SafetyEp. 31: The DeclineIt was sort of like a NOFX show. People had the wrong time, Ron rolled in when he felt like it, a lot of friends were there, and a few hooligans showed up to make sure we actually did something.Seriously, though, thanks to the gang for ideas and discussion. It wasn't quite as messy as inviting Fletcher on stage, but we've got time to work up to it.With the faithful there (and Ron later on), the discussion started out by asking: "Is any of this actually new?" There is a sense sometimes that...2025-05-141h 06Punk Rock SafetyEp. 29: Wolves in Wolves’ ClothingTwo-thirds of the dickheads on this podcast are consultants, so an episode about consulting seemed like a good idea.Also, there's a lot of chatter at conferences, online, and probably in bars that play ska music about how safety has just become commoditized and monetized. Usually, it's a consultant trying to sell something who's saying that.Ben, Ron, and Dave head into the dimly lit back alleys where consultants apparently live to look at the good, the bad, and the sometimes fucked up realities of bringing external help into organizations. The reality for many organizations...2025-04-1653 min
This is Fine! A podcast about resilience engineering and softwareResilience, Complexity, and Your Boss a collab w/Punk Rock SafetyBen (Goodheart), Dave (Provan) and Ron (Gantt) have the very awesome podcast Punk Rock Safety (punkrocksafety.com) - you can get your own punk rock safety merch at punkrocksafetymerch.comCharles Perrow wrote Normal Accidents and talks about safety and power in his essay (book, really), Complex Organizations.Drew Rae lit the stage on fire about safety work as soothing rather than actually improving safety: EHS Congress Berlin 2024 - Day2Dr. Richard Cook’s concepts of ‘Above the Line/Below the Line’ got a shout out - here’s...2025-04-0955 minPunk Rock SafetyEp. 20: I'm So Sorry TonySometimes bad shit happens to good people. We know it's weird, but here's another episode with a NOFX title. This time, it's a song about Tony Sly's (from No Use For a Name) death. Good dude and an awesome musician, but dead way too early.What about when organizations that are trying really hard to do safety stuff have an accident? Or a fatality?That can feel tough to reconcile, even though we can (and should) separate outcomes from building systems that effectively reduce safety risk. What do we do when there are emotional or...2024-12-1153 minPunk Rock SafetyEp. 17: 21st Century Digital Boy (With Colette Alexander)This one's a little different. The title may give some of that away (and it's a Bad Religion song).None of your three hosts are tech wizards, but Collette Alexander joins the pod, and she is (even though she might argue that).Colette has been a professional cellist, worked in software engineering at Spotify, and earned a Master's degree from Lund University in Human Factors. She's got a lot of tattoos, too.There's a lot of banter, but the thing this episode really looks at is how reliability in software compares to other...2024-10-301h 02Punk Rock SafetyEp. 15.5: Someone Else Is HurtAlright, the First Annual PRS Field Trip was a success.Well, Ron fucked up our TRIR, but it was a success other than that.We recorded a short episode midway through the 3-day Punk in Drublic Festival. Ben is sleepy, Dave's jetlagged, and Ron's head hurts, but we made it.This episode is short because we've got video of some of the live performances. Until someone complains and they get taken down.Watch it on YouTube, ya animals. It's better that way.
DISCLAIMER: You probably shouldn't take anything...2024-10-1044 minPunk Rock SafetyEp. 10: Wanna Go To A Joint Party?The fact that we've made it to episode 10 is sort of miraculous. Like a stage diver, you don't have to want it, but it's happening.We're talking about contractor management—or, as Ron calls it, "cross-boundary joint activity." Ron talks about agents and stuff like that, not even in the context of Agent Orange, which is probably a better conversation.Ok, what we're really looking at is some of the mismatch between why we hire contractors to begin with. How do we reduce friction between clients and contractors? Is it about the alignment of goals? Da...2024-07-241h 00Punk Rock SafetyEp. 9: Ron Goes to CollegeBy the time this episode comes out, Ron will have defended his doctoral dissertation, a whole lot like Milo from The Descendents did. Except Ron is cooler.We're talking about investigations in this episode. What are they for? Ron thinks they're a little different than Dave and Ben do, but the consensus from the boys is that a lot of the espoused values of investigating don't make it into practice. Is it a process of creating closure or are we just dumb?There's some leftover conversation after returning from CHOL, but mostly, we talk about...2024-07-101h 02Punk Rock SafetyEp 1: Sound CheckIt's the first episode of Punk Rock Safety!Ben, Ron, and Dave are all over the place on this one, but we'll settle into a rhythm soon. In the true spirit of punk, if it isn't good, at least make it loud. So, you might want to turn this first one up.That's ok, though. Safety works the same way a lot of times. There's experimentation and a need for intelligent failure. We're doing our best to manage on that second part.In the next few episodes, we'll look at what makes a...2024-03-2551 min