People Are the Solution

Ron Gantt will be presenting “People Are The Solution” to the National Capital Chapter.

Safety is inherently about people. People taking actions to care for themselves and others. It’s unfortunate then that so much of safety management seems to treat people as a hazard to control. We take the stance that safety is about “protecting you from you, in spite of you.” And then we wonder why there is so much mistrust and disengagement in organizations. What if there was a different way? This presentation will present an alternative perspective on the role of people in organizations and safety – people as the solution. This isn’t saying that people are perfect. Instead, by actively creating the conditions where people thrive we not only make things safer, but we also achieve other organizational goals as well.

Like so many others, Ron fell into the safety profession unintentionally. He took what was supposed to be a temporary job inspecting safety equipment in 2001. Quickly though he became more interested in safety as a career though so he took steps to increase his knowledge and skills. He did this through the normal methods, learning about regulatory requirements, getting an undergraduate degree in OSH and a graduate degree in safety engineering, and even becoming a Certified Safety Professional.

But almost a decade ago he grew frustrated with the traditional approaches to safety management. They seemed to be getting diminishing returns in an increasingly complex world, while often inadvertently disrespecting those the safety profession was meant to serve – workers. He started studying new approaches to safety, organizations, and people based in social science and systems thinking. Now he is Director of Innovation and Operations at Reflect Consulting where he works with organizations to release the adaptive potential of people to improve work. He specializes in safety management systems, leadership, culture, and human factors.

Registration Closes 24-Hours in Advance