Innovation is everywhere in safety right now, from vendor marketing to conference programs to job titles. It is also in the name of our consulting practice and our academy, and a word you put in your own company name is one you should be able to define. So here is how we define it.
Innovation is not invention, and it is not technology. Invention is about making something new; innovation is about making that newness useful. Innovation is a novel idea, method or tool, applied in a way that creates value. It needs three things: it has to be new, at least in its own context; it has to be applied rather than just imagined; and it has to make something better.
New and valuable but never applied is a prototype. New and applied, but without value, is a gimmick. Applied and valuable but not new is just good practice.
Our definition
Safety Innovation is the disciplined practice of applying new thinking, methods and technologies to measurably improve the design, experience and safety of work.
The novelty is in the new thinking, methods and technologies. The application is putting those things to use in the practice of safety and in the context of real work. The value is measurable improvement in how work is designed, experienced and made safer, healthier and better.
We include thinking, methods and technologies because innovation in safety is not only technology. A new way of facilitating a pre-start conversation can be an innovation, and so can a new method for pulling critical controls out of dense procedures. So can a better way of helping leaders understand operational risk, or a practical use of AI, sensors, visual tools or automation.
The point is not that everything new is useful, or that every improvement needs to be labelled innovation. It is that Safety Innovation should be disciplined, applied and connected to better work. If it does not improve work, support people or help control risk in a meaningful way, it probably does not deserve the label.
