

Safety FM with Jay Allen
Safety FM
Safety FM with Jay Allen is a twice-weekly podcast exploring the evolving world of safety culture, human and organizational performance (HOP), and systems thinking—plus the occasional detour into topics that deserve a little disruption.Each week, you'll hear two distinct formats:A full-length episode featuring in-depth conversations with thought leaders, innovators, and unconventional voices from the world of safety, leadership, and work.A shorter, focused mini-episode offering insight, perspective, or commentary directly from host Dr. Jay Allen.Whether you're rethinking how systems function or questioning the status quo, this show invites you to engage with the complexity behind modern safety and performance.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Oct 21, 2025 • 6min
EP 768- The Day the Cloud Fell: Lessons from the AWS Outage
When Amazon Web Services went down, so did the digital world — from Disney+ and Reddit to airlines and even McDonald’s. In this episode of Safety FM with Jay Allen, we dig into what really happened during the three-hour AWS outage, how a single point of failure brought global systems to a halt, and what it teaches us about redundancy, resilience, and risk in your own organization.This show is brought to you by Safety FM — where we talk about the things that matter, even when the servers crash.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Oct 17, 2025 • 3min
EP 767 – Safety FM Mini: “Do Something Different”
In this short and reflective Mini episode, Dr. Jay Allen invites you to step away from the usual safety talk and consider doing something different this weekend. Instead of focusing on work or routines, take time to pick up that book you’ve been meaning to read or dive into an audiobook that’s been sitting on your list. Sometimes, a small change in what you consume can spark a big shift in how you think.A reminder that growth doesn’t always come from the usual places — sometimes it’s found in doing something different.🎧 Presented by: Safety Focus MomentYour resource for consultants helping you build the safety culture you’ve been looking for.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Oct 14, 2025 • 6min
EP 766 - The Foundation of Safety: Principles, Values, and the Cog of Change
In this repurposed main story from The Rated R Safety Show, Dr. Jay Allen explores why principles and values must serve as the true foundation of every decision inside your organization. When safety becomes about compliance instead of care, or optics instead of meaning, culture shifts stall before they start. Jay challenges listeners to rethink how they introduce change—adding to the wheel instead of tearing down the base—and reminds us that even long-standing values can (and should) evolve.🎧 Tune in to Safety FM with Jay Allen for this reflective conversation on alignment, consistency, and the human side of organizational change.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Oct 10, 2025 • 3min
EP 765 - Mini - The Bureaucracy of Change
In this Safety FM Mini, Dr. Jay Allen explores why workplace change can be lightning fast in some organizations and painfully slow in others. From red tape to risk assessments, he breaks down the “manusia” that holds back progress—and asks why company size seems to determine how long it takes to get anything done. A short thought to take with you into the weekend.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Oct 7, 2025 • 7min
EP 764 - When Priorities Collide: The Hidden Patterns Behind Workplace Shifts
Have you ever been deep into an important project, only to have everything suddenly “re-prioritized” because something new landed on your desk? In this repurposed deep-dive from The Rated R Safety Show, Jay Allen, Ph.D. explores the unspoken reality of shifting priorities in the workplace — what it does to focus, habits, and safety performance.From last-minute cancellations to sudden organizational pivots, Jay unpacks how these constant shifts can derail even our best efforts and what they reveal about patterns, habits, and systems at work. This isn’t just a rant about frustration; it’s a decoded look at how priorities are assigned, taken away, and reshaped — and what that means for the people actually doing the work.Plus, Jay connects this conversation back to the themes of his Signal Transmission Trilogy, including Safety Mutation, and why recognizing these “mutations” in organizational behavior might be the first step toward reclaiming real safety culture.Tune in to Episode 764 of Safety FM with Jay Allen — a candid, unfiltered look at the everyday disruptions that shape how we work, lead, and learn.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Oct 3, 2025 • 3min
EP 763 - Mini - Shifting Safety Paradigms
In this Safety FM Mini, Dr. Jay Allen invites you to consider how often your perspective on safety truly shifts. What causes a paradigm change? And how might being open to new ideas—even ones you don’t initially agree with—spark fresh ways of thinking about safety today? As we head into the weekend, take a moment to reflect on what you’ve overlooked before, and what might transform the way you see safety now.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Sep 30, 2025 • 17min
EP 762 - Ask Me Anything: The Signal Transmission Warm-Up (Special Early Release)
Today’s episode of Safety FM with Jay Allen is dropping early for a reason.At 12 PM Eastern on September 30th, we’re going live with the Signal Trilogy Lunch & Learn — a free, online, one-hour transmission (not a webinar, not a slide deck, not compliance training). Consider this podcast your warm-up broadcast.In this special Ask Me Anything session, Jay takes on your questions about:Why safety isn’t about controlling people but creating conditionsHow to filter through noise and find the true signalWhat it was really like writing the Signal TrilogyBalancing compliance with human performanceWhether HOP is just another safety fad (spoiler: it’s not)And what’s next now that the Trilogy is completeThis isn’t about easy answers or checklists. It’s about seeing differently, tuning in to the real signal, and preparing for the collapse of the construct.👉 Reserve your free spot now: https://swiy.co/SignalVirtualJoin us live at 12 PM Eastern, September 30, 2025 — and let’s tune in together.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Sep 26, 2025 • 4min
EP 761 - Mini - It's All Signal!
In this Safety FM Mini, Dr. Jay Allen takes a quick dive into the idea of Signal Theory—a new way of looking at systems, behavior, safety, and human and organizational performance. With the upcoming free virtual lunch-and-learn event on September 30th at 12 PM Eastern, Jay previews the conversation around how we can define and understand "signal" in our work and beyond.Is there a perfect definition? Maybe not—but Jay shares his thoughts on system information generated through navigation, awareness, and liberation as a working framework to get the dialogue started. Tune in for a fast-paced episode that sets the stage for exploring how "signal" can help us see safety, systems, and people in a whole new light.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Sep 23, 2025 • 1h 7min
EP 760 - Signal vs. System: Jay Allen x Sheldon Primus on HOP, BBS & the Human Cost
Crossover episode! This is a rebroadcast of Jay’s conversation on The Safety Consultant Show with Sheldon Primus, now on Safety FM with Jay Allen. Jay and Sheldon go deep on the ideas behind the Signal Transmission Trilogy—how to blend HOP and BBS without the all-or-nothing dogma, why incentives quietly shape reporting, and the squeeze that middle managers feel between production and protection. They also tackle the part safety too often avoids: mental health, burnout, and suicide risk in construction and beyond (with practical self-care resources and why it’s okay to say you’re not okay).You’ll hear:How to drive micro-level change when the system won’t budge yetA better take on “accountability” that isn’t blameWhy numbers and forms aren’t the work—and what to do insteadOriginally recorded for Sheldon’s show, shared here to spark new conversations. If this helps, pass it on to a colleague who needs it today.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Sep 19, 2025 • 3min
EP 759 - Mini -Shifts in Organizations: How Do They Really Happen?
In this Safety FM Mini, Jay Allen explores how belief systems and practices inside organizations shift—sometimes gradually, sometimes abruptly. Do meaningful changes come from deliberate buildup and commitment, or do they swing with the “flavor of the week” after an incident or accident? Jay challenges listeners to think about how impactful shifts take place in their own workplaces and whether those changes truly last.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy