Insights by Paul Chivers

Better questions create safer systems.

Practical thinking on work health and safety, officer due diligence, risk governance and how organisations learn. These articles connect research, legal developments and real-world experience with decisions leaders can act on.

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Current article

AI Is Changing the Work. Are Your Controls Keeping Up?

Paul Chivers · 22 July 2026 · 8 minute read

AI implementation is not only a technology decision. It is a redesign of work—and leaders need evidence that the redesigned work remains safe in practice.

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Governance & due diligence

What officers, directors and senior leaders need to know about assurance, verification, contractor governance and changing WHS expectations.

Safety metrics webinar cover: Green Lights, Red Flags and Reality Checks

What if the metrics you celebrate most are the ones telling you the least?

Why injury statistics cannot show whether an organisation has the capacity and resilience to manage tomorrow's risks.

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Illustration for NSW workplace law reforms

Navigating the Latest WHS, IR and Workers Compensation Reforms in NSW

A practical overview of significant reforms and the shift towards proactive, systemic risk management.

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Cover image for contractor safety and control article

Why Telling Contractors How to Work Could Cost You Millions

A court decision showing why consultation and respect for expertise matter when managing contractor risk.

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Cover image illustrating audit blind spots

Ticked Every Box, Missed Every Risk

What major accident investigations reveal about audit blind spots, surface compliance and false assurance.

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Systems & controls

Moving beyond paperwork and blame to design controls that remain effective in complex, variable work.

Diagram comparing blame with a systems approach to accountability

A Practical Guide to Improving Systems Without Losing Accountability

How to strengthen systems while maintaining fair, meaningful individual accountability.

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Warning symbol crossed out to illustrate that human error is a clue, not a cause

Human Error Isn't the Cause, It's the Clue

Why effective prevention begins by understanding and redesigning the conditions in which people work.

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Aviation image illustrating adaptive non-compliance and real-world risk

When Non-Compliance Makes Us Safer

What aviation teaches us about professional judgement, adaptation and real-world risk.

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Cover image illustrating safety as organisational value

Safety Is Value

Why settling for lower-level controls should become the exception rather than the organisational default.

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Investigation & learning

Using disciplined inquiry, operational evidence and learning approaches to understand why outcomes make sense in context.

Iceberg illustrating the visible and hidden factors in accident investigation

Accident Investigations Aren't Broken. Our Assumptions About Them Are.

Evidence from aviation challenges simplistic claims about investigation methods and organisational learning.

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Cover image for the climbing system failure learning report

The Climber Trusted the System. The System Failed Him.

A learning report on maintenance, verification, competence and governance failures behind a fatal fall.

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Beyond Root Cause

How learning teams can complement traditional root cause analysis and reveal how work is actually performed.

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Cover image illustrating safety numbers and production pressure

Are Your Safety Numbers Lying to You?

The hidden cost of production pressure and the danger of relying on reassuring outcome measures.

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Emerging & human risks

Critical thinking about AI, digital work, fatigue and the changing conditions that influence safe performance.

Cover image illustrating three high-consequence artificial intelligence risks

3 Risks That Keep the CEO of OpenAI Up at Night

What retaining the ability to intervene can teach risk leaders about emerging high-consequence technologies.

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Cover image illustrating artificial intelligence as a workplace hazard

AI Is Now a Workplace Hazard

What NSW's digital work reforms mean for leaders, WHS professionals and the design of algorithmic work.

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Cover image for Sleepless on the Job and workplace fatigue

Sleepless on the Job

The hidden organisational costs of fatigue, irregular working patterns and inadequate recovery.

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Cover image illustrating critical thinking in the age of AI and ChatGPT

Critical Thinking in the Age of AI and ChatGPT

Why judgement, scrutiny and human reasoning become more important as AI tools become commonplace.

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