Episode #291
Trish Kerin on Process Safety, Storytelling and the Platypus Philosophy of Weak Signals
Recorded on the 28th anniversary of the Longford gas plant explosion, Christian Harris speaks with Trish Kerin of Lead Like Kerin about the incident that redirected her career into process safety, and why she believes leadership, communication and weak signals are the three areas the industry most needs to improve. Trish explains what happened at Longford, how it led to a new legislative framework in Victoria, and the clear distinction between process safety and occupational safety, including why the two need entirely different measurement approaches. The conversation moves into storytelling, where Trish sets out her Four Cs framework (Context, Conflict, Conclusion, Call to Action) and the Five Ts of delivery, along with a real example of coaching a client through sharing a deeply personal story about a workplace error. The episode also covers Trish's Platypus Philosophy, a practical framework for identifying weak signals before they become incidents, with real examples from both process safety and occupational safety settings. Trish and Christian close by discussing where AI genuinely helps with weak signal detection, and what process safety risk might look like over the next decade. Trish is running three public training courses in Manchester this November: Weak Signals, Strong Actions (4 November), Culture, Leadership & Governance (5 November), and The Art (& Science) of Storytelling (6 November). Course details and booking: leadlikekerin.com/training-calendar Book a meeting with Trish directly: [ booking link ]
