Safety concepts through a memetic lens

Within safety practice and science there are countless ideas, approaches and concepts to manage safety. Some of these safety concepts are picked up, discussed widely and spread, while others do not. Little is known about this subject. This paper provides a unique perspective on the development and adoption of safety concepts by using an evolutionary framework to explore reasons why. As a case, this paper traces the historic development of one of safety’s most influential and iconic safety concepts, the accident triangle, over nearly a century through successive cycles of replication, variation, and selection. Knowledge of factors that influence the adoption of safety concepts can contribute to the design of more effective concepts that attract attention and of social and organisational environments that are receptive of these concepts. In the end, provided the concepts in question are useful, this can contribute to enhancing safety and reducing harm. In addition, the insights gained in this paper can help safety professionals and academics to critically reflect on the development of safety concepts, to help them better understand how safety concepts evolve and can change meaning leading to various interpretations and reflect on what this means for their own adoption of concepts and eventually their practice.