Category Archives: Design for Safety

AI Won’t Need to Become Evil to Become Dangerous: What the AI Doomsday Debate Means for EHS

Posted on September 19, 2026 by Chet Brandon

Artificial intelligence is rapidly moving from a tool that provides information to systems that can make decisions, take action, and interact with other agents. For EHS professionals, that shift should raise a familiar question: are capability and autonomy expanding faster than the controls designed to manage them? This article examines the AI “doomsday” debate through an EHS lens, connecting emerging AI risks to Management of Change, SIF prevention, human factors, inherited risk, and defense in depth. Continue reading →

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Inherited Risk Ecosystem: How Upstream Decisions Shape Human Error at the Point of Work

Posted on July 24, 2026 by Chet Brandon

Serious injuries and fatalities are often shaped long before a worker reaches the point of exposure. The Inherited Risk Ecosystem provides a practical way to identify how upstream decisions, organizational conditions, and interacting risk factors combine to influence the real risk of work—and where leaders can intervene before an event occurs. Continue reading →

Posted in Artificial Intelligence, Culture, Design for Safety, EHS Management, enterprise risk management, Innovation, operational integrity, psychological-safety, risk management, Technical Skills | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Cyber-Physical Risk in the Age of AI: How Safety Leaders and Boards Can Protect Operational Technology – Part 1

Posted on March 26, 2026 by Chet Brandon

Artificial intelligence is reshaping cyber risk — and for industrial organizations, the stakes are no longer just digital.

Cyber attacks on operational technology (OT) can now disrupt physical processes, threaten worker safety, and create significant economic impact. Managing this evolving risk requires new thinking that connects plant-level realities with boardroom oversight.

I’m excited to share a new four-part thought leadership series I’ve co-authored with Fay Feeney, bringing together perspectives from industrial safety leadership and enterprise governance.

Together we explore how organizations can strengthen operational resilience, cyber-physical risk management, and strategic oversight in the age of AI.

Part 1 is now available — more to follow soon.

#OperationalTechnology #CyberSecurity #AI #IndustrialSafety #RiskManagement #BoardGovernance #Resilience Continue reading →

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Human Fallibility Meets System Design: Strategies for a Safer, Smarter Workplace

Posted on September 5, 2025 by Chet Brandon

Prelude While reviewing past presentations, I came across a human factors course I taught for BLR in a webinar a few years ago. It was an exciting opportunity, as human factors is an area I consider essential for creating safer … Continue reading →

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Technology Designers Must Begin the Journey to Safety

Posted on March 31, 2018 by Chet Brandon

Uber self driving car accidents and the facebook data scraping scandal are the most recent indications of a significant risk in the technology industry: the lack of mature safety processes.  The icons of the “hot industry” of the 21 century … Continue reading →

Posted in Design for Safety, Ethics, Innovation, Responsible Use of Technology, risk management | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment