ABSTRACT
A note on this chapter before I really dig into things… The safety profession, like many other vocations, is a practice that involves both art and science. We use art in our writing, designs, training packages, and many other aspects of the profession. We use science to find answers to problems, to ensure that artful design has function, and to examine facts regarding the human body, psychology, and performance factors; science makes our profession viable. To be the most effective safety professional possible, one has to subscribe to sound science and follow the principles found therein. That is why safety professionals are best served to accept the basic biological tenet that human beings are an animal of nature, evolved from genetic ancestors that were also animals. I am not asking you to discard religious belief if that is part of your life; only to accept the science as well.
