Brad Johnson: Why Compliance Isn't the Same as Safety

Would your workplace still be safe if every regulation vanished overnight? That question sits at the heart of this conversation between Christian Harris and Brad Johnson, safety coordinator and author of Noncompliant Safety. Brad talks candidly about breaking into safety with no formal training, learning the hard way that a fully compliant team can still be carrying real risk, and why he now treats risk itself as the metric that matters. He and Christian discuss the myth of the perfectly compliant workplace, why accountability needs to shift toward the organisation rather than landing solely on the frontline worker, and Brad's SLOW framework for challenging "we've always done it this way" thinking. They also touch on Brad's win of Safest District of the Year in 2024, and the practical, risk based tools any safety professional could start using this coming Monday. Resources mentioned: Brad's book, Noncompliant Safety, plus free risk conversation guides and presentation resources, available on his website. Connect with Brad on LinkedIn as Brad Johnson, CSP. Enjoyed this one? Subscribe to Safety and Risk Success so you don't miss next week's conversation.