The Dangerous Lie Hiding in Plain Sight

Your site didn’t log a single incident last year? Sounds impressive. But let’s not confuse silence with safety.

The Dirty Little Secret Behind “Zero”

Let’s stop pretending that a blank incident report is proof of a safe workplace. Most of the time, it’s proof of something else: fear, apathy, or a culture where nobody wants to be the messenger.

Safety stats look great in board meetings. But real safety? That lives in the moments nobody logs. The near-miss that almost took someone out. The shortcut that went unspoken. The risk ignored because speaking up just isn’t worth it.

People don’t stay quiet because they don’t care. They stay quiet because they’ve learned it’s easier that way.

Why Reporting Gets Buried

Look—we all want people to report hazards. But when you peel back the layers, the real question is: do they feel safe to?

If reporting means getting blamed, or worse, benched—people will keep their heads down. If the last guy who raised an issue got brushed off or labeled “difficult,” guess what lesson everyone else learned?

This is how a zero-incident streak starts looking a lot less like success and a lot more like denial.

Safety Theater Doesn’t Cut It

Too many companies try to paper over the cracks. A pizza party here. A gift card there. Maybe even a “safety champion” sticker slapped on a hard hat.

But culture doesn’t change with cupcakes. It shifts when people know that speaking up won’t cost them—and that it might actually change something. Carolynne Heron said it best: the goal isn’t just compliance, it’s connection.

If you want real reporting, drop the fluff and get serious about listening.

Want the Truth? Stop Watching the Rearview

Let’s be honest—your “incident-free” dashboard is like driving while staring in the rearview mirror. It tells you what already happened, not what’s coming next.

The organizations that actually improve safety are tracking the right stuff: near-misses, informal observations, crew participation, the number of hazards flagged before something goes wrong. That’s the real safety data.

Wes Rundle summed it up: when people care, they don’t wait for a form—they take action in the moment.

Make Safety a Two-Way Street

So what now? Ditch the command-and-control. Create space for honest conversation. Stop praising “zero” and start rewarding real-time awareness.

Leadership’s job isn’t just to collect data. It’s to build trust. If your team doesn’t believe reporting will help, they won’t bother. And if you don’t act on what they say, they’ll stop talking altogether.

Reality Check

So let’s ask it plainly: when was the last time someone brought you a problem?

If the answer is “a while,” your clean record might be more illusion than achievement. Safety isn’t about avoiding paperwork—it’s about surfacing problems before they blow up.

Zero reports doesn’t mean nothing’s wrong. It might mean no one feels safe enough to say it.

Forget the banner. Forget the bonus. If your people aren’t talking, you’re not safe—you’re just lucky.