SH270: Safe diving starts from the system. Not from the human.
About this episode
The episode discusses how systemic issues in high-risk jobs contribute to accidents, advocating for a shift from blame cultures to learning cultures to improve safety.
This episode explores how accidents in diving and other high-risk jobs are often blamed on individuals, even when the real causes are deeper problems in the system, such as pressure, poor communication, lack of support, broken procedures, and unsafe cultures. Using real examples from rescue diving, healthcare, aviation, and emergency services, it shows how “blame cultures” create fear, silence, and hidden mistakes, which makes future accidents more likely. In contrast, “learning cultures” focus on understanding how systems shape behaviour, encourage people to speak up, and treat mistakes as chances to learn rather than punish. The message is clear and practical: safety improves when organisations build trust, psychological safety, and open reporting, so problems can be fixed before they turn into tragedies — because you can’t fix what people are too afraid to talk about. Original blog: https://www.thehumandiver.com/post/safe-diving-starts-from-the-system-not-from-the-human Links: Report about the search operation (in Polish): https://www.trojmiasto.pl/wiadomosci/Zarzuty-za-smierc-strazaka-Zginal-podczas-poszukiwan-Grzegorza-B-n203080.html When CRM isn’t implemented (in Polish)…
More episodes of Counter-Errorism in Diving: Applying Human Factors to Diving
- SH273: What story gets told? What words are used? Who gets to the tell the multiple stories?
- SH272: Seeing what is ‘unseen’: applying human factors to citizen science
- SH271: When the Story Hurts Too Much to Change
- SH269: What Is the Purpose of an Investigation in Diving?
- SH268: The Hidden Cost of "Never Show Weakness": Why Hiding Instructor Errors Undermines Dive Safety
- SH267: “Diver's depression” It's time to tackle stigma and taboos
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