News & Insight
Notes from the working world.
Plain-English writing on safety, quality, ESG, compliance and the sensible use of technology.
Signal, noise, and the trouble with a busy dashboard
A 1948 paper about telephone lines, and what it says about the wall of green on your screen.
24 Jun 2026 · 5 min read
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How a small thing becomes a serious one
Serious incidents are the last link in a chain. The earlier links are usually in plain sight.
5 Jun 2026 · 5 min read
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The quiet power of the checklist
A bomber, an index card, and a surgical study that cut deaths by roughly a third.
21 May 2026 · 6 min read
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What last year’s numbers cannot tell you
The injury count tells you how last year went. It is quiet about what happens next.
30 Apr 2026 · 5 min read
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In praise of a good form
Nobody dreams of designing a better form. A good one is among the kindest design there is.
9 Apr 2026 · 5 min read
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The art of catching a mistake before it travels
Every barcode ends in a digit whose only job is to catch a lie. A small idea, beautifully cheap.
19 Mar 2026 · 5 min read
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ESG, with the noise turned down
Strip away the jargon and a sustainability report has a sensible, ordinary job to do.
26 Feb 2026 · 5 min read
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The moth in the machine
In 1947 a computer was stopped by a moth. What the engineers did next is a lesson in honest records.
5 Feb 2026 · 4 min read
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Plain English is a safety feature
When an instruction can be read two ways, eventually someone reads it the wrong way.
22 Jan 2026 · 5 min read
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Keeping a level head about AI
The loudest voices say AI changes everything, or nothing. The useful answer is quieter.
8 Jan 2026 · 5 min read
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