Why "Safety First" Fails in The Real World

Meet Cam – The Man Behind Cam’s Corner

As Aussies as they come If there’s one thing Cam loves more than a strong cup of coffee and a freshly sharpened pencil, it’s asking one simple question: “But what really caused it?” Cam is Safety Wise’s resident ICAM investigation expert and full-time Incident Whisperer. He’s been digging beneath the surface of incidents long before it was fashionable to talk about systems thinking. Safety Wise has been operating since 2002, and Cam has been part of that journey from the early days — back when investigations meant clipboards, highlighters, and very strong opinions about “human error.” Over the years, he’s seen the evolution of incident investigation from blame-focused reports to structured, systemic learning — and he’s been helping lead that shift. With decades of hands-on experience across industries, Cam has: Investigated serious workplace incidents Trained thousands of leaders and frontline workers in ICAM Helped organisations move from finger-pointing to fact-finding Turned messy, complex events into clear, practical learning Politely (and sometimes not so politely) retired the phrase “operator error” Cam specialises in applying ICAM the way it was meant to be used — as a tool for understanding systems, controls, human factors, and organisational influences. He has a knack for translating complex causal mapping into plain language that makes sense in boardrooms, workshops, and site sheds alike. He’s the guy who: Spots the missing barrier before anyone else Asks the awkward-but-necessary questions Refuses to accept “that’s just how we do it” Believes every incident is a learning opportunity — if you’re brave enough to look properly On Cam’s Corner, he shares stories from the field, lessons from investigations, common ICAM mistakes, and practical advice to help organisations build stronger systems — not thicker reports. Because at the end of the day, Cam isn’t interested in who’s to blame. He’s interested in what we can learn. And he’ll keep asking “why?” until we get there.!