Rules Aren’t Enough: Brad Johnson’s Exclusive Safety Article for LiveWire

Following rules does not always mean understanding hazards. In “Beyond Compliance: Teaching Employees to Evaluate Risk,” Brad Johnson explores how to build better judgment when working conditions change.

Brad explains how two questions—how likely is an incident, and how serious could it be—help employees evaluate risk beyond simply remembering the rules.

⚡Inside The Article

Expert Perspective: Brad Johnson on Teaching Employees to Evaluate Risk

Understand what drives the requirements.
Safety policies and procedures exist because a risk was identified. Helping employees understand that connection gives them a reason to look beyond the instruction and recognize the exposure it addresses.

Ask how likely an incident is.
Routine tasks can make hazards easy to overlook. Considering the possibility of an injury helps employees examine familiar activities, such as lifting or walking through a work area, with greater awareness.

Consider the potential consequences.
An activity that appears simple can still carry serious consequences. Electrical work illustrates why employees must consider the possible outcome of an incident, not just whether they expect it to happen.

Make risk visible.

Encourage questions. Strengthen judgment. Give employees a framework they can use when conditions change, and the confidence to make safer decisions without a supervisor nearby.

If Brad Johnson’s article resonated with you, grab a copy of Non Compliant Safety and keep exploring what it means to build safety beyond the rules.

Stay tuned for more untold stories behind America's electrical infrastructure!

P.S. If you lead safety training, supervise employees, or develop workplace procedures, this article offers a useful starting point for helping your team think through hazards rather than rely on memorized instructions alone.

Listen now and join the conversation.

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The LiveWire Podcast Team