Article Category
Hazard/Risk
Browse Balmert Consulting articles about Hazard/Risk, with practical safety leadership ideas for frontline teams and managers.
Showing page 1 of 8 / 67 posts
MSP News
Environment And Safety
February 27, 2026
In this issue of Managing Safety Performance News, Paul looks at why separating “environment” from “safety” misses the point. Using real work examples—from hauling tools over a snowbank to executive debates about compliance—he makes the case that many hazards don’t come from the job itself, but from the conditions in which the work is done. By stripping injuries down to simple “headlines” and sorting them by the source of the hazard, patterns start to emerge that are easy to miss in root cause analysis reports. The takeaway is straightforward: environment and safety are inseparable, and leaders who want better safety performance need to see the work—and its hazards—clearly, from the moment it begins.
Read Article
MSP News
Managing Hazards
October 31, 2025
This month, Paul takes on one of the toughest challenges every leader faces — managing hazards. Not just the big, obvious ones that make the “A List,” but the ordinary, everyday things that cause most of the injuries. He reminds us that managing hazards isn’t about eliminating every risk; it’s about handling them — and the people around them — “with a degree of skill and care.”
Read Article
MSP News
Complacency Arising?
June 30, 2025
This month, Paul examines the challenge of complacency for leaders and their followers. He asks the question when was the last time you read an investigation report that began, “The root cause of this terrible tragedy can be found in the simple fact that so many of those involved failed to treat things as seriously as they needed to be”? For some reason, it’s rare for complacency to be described as the cause of a safety event. He goes on to discuss what to do about the problem of complacency.
Read Article
MSP News
The Critics Speak
May 30, 2025
This month, Paul focuses on the vital topic of hazard recognition, examining why failure to recognize hazards continues to show up in incident and near-miss reports. He underscores the reality that whenever someone is injured, a hazard is always present. Drawing on Dr. Daniel Kahneman’s psychological studies, Paul explores how human cognition impacts the way we perceive hazards. He concludes that leaders play a crucial role in fostering a culture where individuals feel compelled to take action when they detect a hazard or serious concern. The message is clear: if you see something, say something, and do something! This is an important read for any leader… and their followers.
Read Article
MSP News
What Was He Thinking?
March 31, 2025
This month Paul examines an off-the-job injury to the number one rated professional golfer, Scottie Scheffler who was seriously injured when he used an improvised tool to make dinner. Paul and colleague Dr. Pete Robison examine “What was he thinking?” framing the conversation around Thinking Fast.. And Slow teachings of Nobel Prize winner Daniel Kahneman.
Read Article
MSP News
New People
March 28, 2024
Last month Paul made a presentation in Louisville. His presentation was preceded by two researchers presenting their findings. Paul latched on to the data and started looking for the story in the numbers that would help good leaders send those who follow them home alive and well. His finding of the story in the numbers is fascinating and important.
Read Article
MSP News
The Individual and the Team
October 31, 2023
This month Paul has been out on assignment visiting many of our clients. Last week he visited a client’s Safety Day and asked, “What is the secret of your great safety performance?” It lead to a fascinating discussion and some very important learning. In this edition of the News he dives into learning from success and failure on the road to great safety performance.
Read Article
MSP News
See Something. Say Something?
August 15, 2023
In this month’s Flash Paul takes a look at choice as it relates to saying something, or not, when someone is taking too much risk.
Read Article
MSP News
No Worries?
March 31, 2023
If you know Paul, you know he has a Wall Street Journal habit and often finds in his reading lessons that transcend finances into Managing Safety Performance. This month Paul extracts important lessons from the recent banking crisis. He provides useful insights into risk, complacency, accountability and safety. The same challenges in banking are challenges managing safety performance.
Read Article