Tweaking accident investigations to gain better organisational learning with Ben Hutchinson

What?

Every accident tells a story — but uncovering learnings behind it is rarely an easy task. Accident investigations are among the most challenging activities in safety management, requiring investigators to navigate uncertainty, incomplete evidence, human factors, organizational influences, and the natural tendency to seek simple explanations for complex events. Despite our best intentions, investigations can easily fall into familiar traps, producing conclusions that feel convincing but fail to deliver meaningful learning or lasting improvement.

SÄKU is happy to welcome Australian safety researcher, podcaster and safety manager Ben Hutchinson, for an engaging and thought-provoking webinar where he will explore the complexity of accident investigation and challenge some of the assumptions that often shape how organizations learn from incidents.

Drawing on a range of studies and practical insights, Ben will highlight the common limitations and pitfalls found in safety investigations—from hindsight bias and oversimplified causality to well-intentioned recommendations that rarely address underlying challenges. More importantly, he will propose a number of tweaks that can help investigators generate richer insights, improve organizational learning, and support more effective safety outcomes.

This session is designed for safety professionals, investigators, leaders, and anyone interested in understanding how we can move beyond finding causes toward gaining deeper understanding — regardless of industrial sector.

Join us to rethink accident investigation, challenge conventional wisdom, and discover practical ways to make safety learning more meaningful.

Warm welcome and hope to see you there!

About Ben Hutchinson

Ben Hutchinson has a PhD in Safety Science from the Safety Science Innovation Lab at Griffith University, where he also works as part-time safety researcher. He is also a full-time safety manager.

Ben also facilitates his own YouTube channel & podcast As Safe, which provides a thrifty analysis of scientific research on safety, AI, risk, cognition, and organisational performance. Other topics include AI and Large Language Models, resilience, cognitive biases, heuristics, accident investigations, critical risks and critical controls, psychological safety, and more. At SafetyInsights.Org, Ben shares more research.

Registration and fee

Register by using the buttom "Register!" above or below.

For SÄKU Members: Choose the free “SÄKU member ticket” option when registering and checking out. 

The event is free of charge for members of Säkerhetskulturnätverket (SÄKU).

Not sure if your organization is a member of SÄKU? Have a look here (the membership applies to every employee): https://en.xn--sku-qla.se/vara-medlemmar

For Non SÄKU Members: Choose the “Non SÄKU member ticket” option when registering and checking out. 

The webinar is open to non-SÄKU members. For non-SÄKU members the ticket fee is 1 500 SEK plus VAT per attendee.

Please note: You pay the ticket with your credit card. Contact the secretariat (niclas.grahn@afry.com) if you want the receipt. Payment visavi invoicing is not an option.

Refunding is possible up until the last day before the event. If you don't attend but haven't let us know one day prior to the event, no refund is possible.

Getting the link to the webinar

After the registration a Teams-invitation will be sent to you (the same day or a few days later). In a few days prior to the event, the link will also be sent to you in an email. If you can’t attend the event after you've registered, please get in touch.

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