Since the earliest development of occupational safety, we have used models and images to represent safety ideas and theories. From Heinrich’s pyramid and Reason’s Swiss Cheese to the visualization of contemporary safety ideas, drawings and visual models are central to how we understand safety and explain accidents. But in enabling our understanding and helping us manage safety, do models and metaphors also constrain our thinking and limit us? How do words and images affect how people understand safety and the decisions they take?

We will explore the role of visuals in safety practice, exploring what makes some more popular than others, and how their meaning changes within organizations. The talk will also explore the words and language that we use in safety and to describe accidents and errors, often attributing blame without even thinking about it. Attendees will gain a different perspective on the role of language and leave with greater awareness.