Top 50 Safety Books (Just in case life was getting too exciting!)

NOTE ON LINKS

All links below point to Australian retailers or publishers. They are not affiliate links. No commissions, no kickbacks. The aim is to empower practitioners and leaders for the long haul, not to make a quick buck.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Workplace & WHS Foundations

• Human Factors & Psychology

• Culture, Systems & Leadership

• Investigations, Learning & Audits

• Disasters, Case Studies & Risk

WORKPLACE & WHS FOUNDATIONS

1. Safety at Work — John Ridley & John Channing - Theme: Broad OHS reference on duties, risk control, systems and practical compliance. https://www.amazon.com.au/s?k=Safety+at+Work+John+Ridley+John+Channing
   

2. Introduction to Health and Safety at Work — Phil Hughes & Ed Ferrett - Theme: Clear fundamentals of risk assessment, controls and management systems. https://www.amazon.com.au/s?k=Introduction+to+Health+and+Safety+at+Work+Phil+Hughes+Ed+Ferrett
   

3. Work Health and Safety Regulation in Australia: The Model Act — Richard Johnstone & Michael Tooma - Theme: How the Model WHS Act operates, intent, duties and enforcement. https://federationpress.com.au/product/work-health-and-safety-regulation-in-australia
   

4. Work Health and Safety Law and Policy (3rd ed.) — Richard Johnstone, Rosemary Bluff & Michael Clayton - Theme: Australian WHS legal principles, policy settings and regulatory practice. https://www.amazon.com.au/s?k=Work+Health+and+Safety+Law+and+Policy+Johnstone
   

5. Tooma’s Annotated Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (2nd ed.) — Michael Tooma - Theme: Section‑by‑section commentary on duties, due diligence and penalties. https://www.booktopia.com.au/tooma-s-annotated-work-health-and-safety-act-2011-michael-tooma/book/9780455500270.html
   

6. Safety, Culture and Risk — Andrew Hopkins - Theme: Why organisational design and incentives matter more than slogans. https://www.amazon.com.au/s?k=Safety+Culture+and+Risk+Andrew+Hopkins
   

7. Organising for Safety: How Structure Creates Culture — Andrew Hopkins - Theme: How governance, resourcing and reporting lines shape safety outcomes. https://www.amazon.com.au/s?k=Organising+for+Safety+Andrew+Hopkins
   

8. Principles of Occupational Health & Hygiene — AIOH (ed.) - Theme: Exposure science, controls and monitoring for Australian practice. https://www.aioh.org.au/shop/principles-of-occupational-health-and-hygiene/
   

9. Integrating Project Management & Work Health and Safety — Helen Lingard & Michelle Turner - Theme: Embedding WHS into procurement, planning and contractor management. https://www.booktopia.com.au/integrating-project-management-work-health-and-safety-helen-lingard/book/9781138576926.html
   

10. Occupational Hygiene and Risk Management — Megan Tranter - Theme: Practical identification of hazards with effective control strategies. https://www.amazon.com.au/s?k=Occupational+Hygiene+and+Risk+Management+Megan+Tranter

HUMAN FACTORS & PSYCHOLOGY

11. The Human Contribution — James Reason - Theme: Humans as creators of safety through adaptation and recovery, not just error. https://www.amazon.com.au/s?k=The+Human+Contribution+James+Reason
    

12. Human Error — James Reason - Theme: Slips, lapses and mistakes, and designing error‑tolerant systems. https://www.amazon.com.au/s?k=Human+Error+James+Reason
    

13. Managing the Risks of Organisational Accidents — James Reason - Theme: The Swiss‑cheese model and multi‑layered defences against catastrophe. https://www.amazon.com.au/s?k=Managing+the+Risks+of+Organizational+Accidents+Reason
    

14. The Human Factor — Kim Vicente - Theme: Designing technology and work to fit human capabilities and limits. https://www.amazon.com.au/s?k=The+Human+Factor+Kim+Vicente
    

15. Set Phasers on Stun — Steven Casey - Theme: Case stories of small human‑machine mismatches causing large incidents. https://www.amazon.com.au/s?k=Set+Phasers+on+Stun+Steven+Casey
    

16. The Psychology of Risk (2nd ed.) — Glynis Breakwell - Theme: Risk perception, communication and decision‑making in organisations. https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-psychology-of-risk-glynis-m-breakwell/book/9781107602700.html
    

17. Normal Accidents — Charles Perrow - Theme: Why tightly coupled, complex systems produce rare but inevitable failures. https://www.amazon.com.au/s?k=Normal+Accidents+Charles+Perrow
    

18. The Logic of Failure — Dietrich Dörner - Theme: Cognitive traps in dynamic situations and how to avoid them. https://www.amazon.com.au/s?k=The+Logic+of+Failure+Dietrich+Dorner
    

19. Managing Maintenance Error — James Reason & Alan Hobbs - Theme: Human factors in maintenance and practical defences. https://www.amazon.com.au/s?k=Managing+Maintenance+Error+Reason+Hobbs
    

20. Ten Questions About Human Error — Sidney Dekker - Theme: Accountability, procedures and design beyond blaming individuals. https://www.amazon.com.au/s?k=Ten+Questions+About+Human+Error+Dekker

CULTURE, SYSTEMS & LEADERSHIP

21. The Safety Anarchist — Sidney Dekker - Theme: Cut back counterproductive bureaucracy; enable expert judgement and learning. https://www.amazon.com.au/s?k=The+Safety+Anarchist+Dekker
    

22. Safety Differently — Sidney Dekker - Theme: Treat people as problem‑solvers; focus on what goes right. https://www.amazon.com.au/s?k=Safety+Differently+Sidney+Dekker
    

23. Drift Into Failure — Sidney Dekker - Theme: How organisations normalise risk and drift toward accidents. https://www.amazon.com.au/s?k=Drift+Into+Failure+Sidney+Dekker
    

24. Safety Culture: Theory, Method and Improvement — Erik Hollnagel - Theme: Defining, assessing and improving safety culture with evidence‑based methods. https://www.amazon.com.au/s?k=Safety+Culture+Theory+Method+and+Improvement+Hollnagel
    

25. Safety‑I and Safety‑II — Erik Hollnagel - Theme: From preventing negatives to enabling resilient everyday performance. https://www.amazon.com.au/s?k=Safety-I+and+Safety-II+Hollnagel
    

26. The Fifth Discipline — Peter Senge - Theme: Systems thinking and learning organisations that adapt before incidents. https://www.amazon.com.au/s?k=The+Fifth+Discipline+Peter+Senge
    

27. Managing the Unexpected — Karl Weick & Kathleen Sutcliffe - Theme: High‑reliability organising and mindful leadership under uncertainty. https://www.amazon.com.au/s?k=Managing+the+Unexpected+Weick+Sutcliffe
    

28. The ETTO Principle — Erik Hollnagel - Theme: The efficiency‑thoroughness trade‑off and its consequences for safety. https://www.amazon.com.au/s?k=ETTO+Principle+Hollnagel
    

29. Resilience Engineering in Practice — Erik Hollnagel, Jean‑Christophe Pariès & David Wreathall (eds) - Theme: Anticipate, monitor, respond and learn for resilient operations. https://www.amazon.com.au/s?k=Resilience+Engineering+in+Practice+Hollnagel
    

30. A Field Guide to Safety Professional Practice — David Provan - Theme: Role‑based, practical guidance for contemporary safety leadership. https://www.booktopia.com.au/a-field-guide-to-safety-professional-practice-david-provan/book/9781032216106.html

INVESTIGATIONS, LEARNING & AUDITS

31. Learning from Accidents — Trevor Kletz - Theme: Turn real incidents into better design, procedures and training. https://www.amazon.com.au/s?k=Learning+from+Accidents+Trevor+Kletz
    

32. What Went Wrong? — Trevor Kletz - Theme: Process‑safety case histories with prevention lessons. https://www.amazon.com.au/s?k=What+Went+Wrong+Trevor+Kletz
    

33. An Engineer’s View of Human Error — Trevor Kletz - Theme: How design and organisation set people up to fail, and what to fix. https://www.amazon.com.au/s?k=An+Engineer%27s+View+of+Human+Error+Kletz
    

34. Guidelines for Investigating Process Safety Incidents — CCPS (AIChE) - Theme: Structured methods for evidence collection and root cause identification. https://www.amazon.com.au/s?k=Guidelines+for+Investigating+Process+Safety+Incidents+CCPS
    

35. Root Cause Analysis Handbook — ABS Consulting - Theme: Practical RCA tools, causal mapping and effective corrective actions. https://www.amazon.com.au/s?k=Root+Cause+Analysis+Handbook+ABS+Consulting
    

36. Developing an Effective Safety Culture — James Roughton & James Mercurio - Theme: Auditing, leadership and programme improvement that actually changes work. https://www.amazon.com.au/s?k=Developing+an+Effective+Safety+Culture+Roughton
    

37. Failure to Learn: The BP Texas City Refinery Disaster — Andrew Hopkins - Theme: What investigations missed and how organisations can truly learn. https://www.amazon.com.au/s?k=Failure+to+Learn+Andrew+Hopkins
    

38. Lessons from Longford — Andrew Hopkins - Theme: Governance, training and hazard‑awareness failures behind the Esso explosion. https://www.booktopia.com.au/lessons-from-longford-andrew-hopkins/book/9781864684223.html
    

39. Disastrous Decisions: The Human & Organisational Causes of the Gulf of Mexico Blowout — Andrew Hopkins - Theme: Decision‑making pitfalls and missed risk signals before Deepwater Horizon. https://www.amazon.com.au/s?k=Disastrous+Decisions+Andrew+Hopkins
    

40. Pre‑Accident Investigations — Todd Conklin - Theme: Learn from everyday work and weak signals before something breaks. https://www.amazon.com.au/s?k=Pre-Accident+Investigations+Todd+Conklin

DISASTERS, CASE STUDIES & RISK

41. Deepwater Horizon: A Systems Analysis of the Macondo Disaster — Earl Boebert & James Blossom - Theme: Technical and organisational breakdowns across the drilling system. https://www.booktopia.com.au/deepwater-horizon-earl-boebert/book/9780674973350.html
    

42. The Challenger Launch Decision — Diane Vaughan - Theme: Normalisation of deviance and organisational pressures in spaceflight. https://www.amazon.com.au/s?k=The+Challenger+Launch+Decision+Diane+Vaughan
    

43. Fire on the Horizon — John Konrad & Tom Shroder - Theme: Narrative of the blowout with frontline perspectives and systemic lessons. https://www.amazon.com.au/s?k=Fire+on+the+Horizon+Konrad+Shroder
    

44. Black Box Thinking — Matthew Syed - Theme: Build cultures that surface error, learn and improve relentlessly. https://www.amazon.com.au/s?k=Black+Box+Thinking+Matthew+Syed
    

45. Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk — Peter L. Bernstein - Theme: The history of probability and risk that underpins modern safety. https://www.amazon.com.au/s?k=Against+the+Gods+Peter+Bernstein
    

46. Engineering a Safer World — Nancy G. Leveson - Theme: Systems‑theoretic safety (STAMP): treat accidents as control problems; set design constraints, model control structures and create organisational feedback to prevent drift. https://www.amazon.com.au/Engineering-Safer-World-Systems-Thinking/dp/0262533693
    

47. Bow Ties in Risk Management: A Concept Book for Process Safety — CCPS (AIChE) - Theme: Scenario‑based barrier management; map threats, consequences and controls; define, monitor and verify critical controls in high‑hazard operations. https://www.amazon.com.au/Bow-Ties-Risk-Management-Concept/dp/1119490391
    

48. To Engineer Is Human — Henry PetroskiTheme: How failure drives safer, better engineering. https://www.amazon.com.au/s?k=To+Engineer+Is+Human+Henry+Petroski
    

49. Meltdown — Chris Clearfield & András Tilcsik - Theme: Complexity, collapse and practical antidotes for modern systems. https://www.amazon.com.au/s?k=Meltdown+Chris+Clearfield+Andras+Tilcsik
    

50. The Social Roots of Risk — Kathleen Tierney - Theme: How institutions and incentives produce disaster vulnerability and resilience. https://www.amazon.com.au/s?k=The+Social+Roots+of+Risk+Kathleen+Tierney

There you have it - some interesting, some intriguing, some different.