Design-Based Safety

Overcoming Safety Skepticism

Authors

  • David MacCollum

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.56094/jss.v51i3.141

Keywords:

science, skepticism, behavior-based, design-based, system safety

Abstract

We are in an age of disbelief. The March 2015 issue of National Geographic included a feature story called “The War On Science.” Unfortunately, our system safety profession is right in the middle of this battlefield. Most people have no understanding of science, and even less of safety. Many are unable to accept that science can improve safety.

The symptoms of skepticism of science have been around for centuries. At the time Columbus sailed to the New World in 1492, almost everyone believed the world was flat. A hundred years later, Galileo claimed the Earth rotated on its own axis and orbited the sun. His findings were rejected by the church and he was forced to recant. It was not until 450 years later that the church admitted its error. During the 1830s, Charles Darwin developed his theory of natural selection that led to the proposition that humans are distant cousins of monkeys. This was a concept that was hard to swallow for most people, as they believed they had a Divine beginning. Science skepticism made national news in 1925 in Dayton, Tennessee, where John Scopes stood trial for teaching evolution in high school. When science conflicts with the public’s core beliefs, it usually loses.

Author Biography

David MacCollum

David V. MacCollum, 96, was a past president of ASSE and was a member of the first U.S. Secretary of Labor’s Construction Safety Advisory Committee [1969-1972]. He specialized in safety research and technical assistance on high-risk hazards to enterprise, insurance companies, universities, trade associations, attorneys, and government for over 20 years and was involved in the development of rollover protections and other safeguards and innovative construction methods and procedures. Mr. MacCollum held a B.S. degree from Oregon State University and was a Registered Professional Engineer and Certified Safety Professional. (in memoriam)

Design-Based Safety

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Published

2015-10-01

How to Cite

MacCollum, D. (2015). Design-Based Safety: Overcoming Safety Skepticism. Journal of System Safety, 51(3), 13–15. https://doi.org/10.56094/jss.v51i3.141