2026 Community of Human and Organizational Learning 32nd Annual Conference

Part 1 of 2

This course is intended to introduce or act as a refresher to HOP philosophy. It will cover a brief history of how HOP came about. More importantly it will introduce and reinforce the basic principles of HOP and how they can be applied with an intended outcome of improving individual and organizational performance. There is emphasis on Accountability and Culpability using the new Just Culture Decision Tree. There will also be the application of the new HPI Resiliency Scale. In addition, attendees will walk away with the knowledge of “Proactively Preventing Unwanted Outcomes triggered by Human Error".
 

Part 2

This course is intended to introduce or act as a refresher to HOP philosophy. It will cover a brief history of how HOP came about. More importantly it will introduce and reinforce the basic principles of HOP and how they can be applied with an intended outcome of improving individual and organizational performance. There is emphasis on Accountability and Culpability using the new Just Culture Decision Tree. There will also be the application of the new HPI Resiliency Scale. In addition, attendees will walk away with the knowledge of “Proactively Preventing Unwanted Outcomes triggered by Human Error.
 

We all know that leaders are the key to success for any deployment of improvement activities, but how do you make sure they get there and stay there? Rob will share lessons learned from over 400 deployments of HOP, Human Factors, Operational Excellence, and other improvement activities.  Learn what leaders need to know, say, and do to make the improvements effective, sustainable, and profitable.  Learn how to manage the information that leaders need, how they get that information, and how to make sure it works.

We all know that leaders are the key to success for any deployment of improvement activities, but how do you make sure they get there and stay there? Rob will share lessons learned from over 400 deployments of HOP, Human Factors, Operational Excellence, and other improvement activities.  Learn what leaders need to know, say, and do to make the improvements effective, sustainable, and profitable.  Learn how to manage the information that leaders need, how they get that information, and how to make sure it works.

Operational waste, such as rework, friction, workarounds, delays, duplicated steps, and overcomplicated controls, is often your earliest signal of system stress. These are not just productivity problems. They are indicators that Work-as-Imagined (WAI) and Work-as-Done (WAD) are drifting apart.


Most organizations manage to the Black Line, the procedures, rules, and documented controls that describe how work should happen. But performance actually lives in the Blue Line, how work really gets done under real-world pressure, variability, and constraint.


The gap between Black Line and Blue Line is where learning lives. And it’s also where waste, friction, control erosion, and weak signals begin to accumulate. Most safety systems focus on closing compliance gaps. High-performing systems focus on understanding alignment gaps.


This session explores how HOP and operational learning tools, like the 4Ds, and AI can help you systematically learn from everyday operations at scale, not just from incidents. Instead of waiting for failure, you’ll discover how to surface early indicators of system strain by examining where WAI and WAD diverge across sites, teams, and environments.


You’ll learn how operational waste reveals:

1. Where work is “Difficult” and creating cognitive overload
2. Where processes are “Different” and introducing instability
3. Where exposure is becoming “Dangerous” beneath normal production
4. Where systems are “Dumb” adding steps that no longer make sense

These signals show up long before injury or loss. They show up in everyday work.


To scale this learning, organizations must move beyond isolated conversations and static reports. This scaling will be constrained without using AI as a Learning Amplifier, Not a Control Mechanism. An ethical and human-centered approach to AI is vital. AI should be:

1. A pattern amplifier, not a people predictor
2. A sensemaking assistant, not a decision-maker
3. A weak signal detector, not a surveillance tool
4. A conversation catalyst, not a compliance enforcer

AI helps connect Blue Line realities across operations. Humans interpret the meaning.

Part 1 of 2
Significant risks hide in our daily successes, but we don't have to wait for incidents to occur to learn -- we can learn every day through good habits, routines, and structured daily debriefs. Drawing on concepts from his 2026 book, Safety Science for Outdoor & Experiential Education, Steve Smith will provide an overview of HOP Principles and invite participants to practice debriefing through two different lenses - a traditional approach, and a HOP-informed approach. What are effective ways to use daily debriefs and guiding questions to understand the difference between work-as-imagined and work-as-done? This session will be 50% presentation, 50% hands-on-practice and applying the concepts from the presentation to actual, recent events and participant experiences, in the spirit of learning, not blaming.

Part 2

Significant risks hide in our daily successes, but we don't have to wait for incidents to occur to learn -- we can learn every day through good habits, routines, and structured daily debriefs. Drawing on concepts from his 2026 book, Safety Science for Outdoor & Experiential Education, Steve Smith will provide an overview of HOP Principles and invite participants to practice debriefing through two different lenses - a traditional approach, and a HOP-informed approach. What are effective ways to use daily debriefs and guiding questions to understand the difference between work-as-imagined and work-as-done? This session will be 50% presentation, 50% hands-on-practice and applying the concepts from the presentation to actual, recent events and participant experiences, in the spirt of learning, not blaming.

Preventing serious injuries and fatalities demands more than compliance—it requires shared learning, courageous dialogue, and a committed community of practice. Now entering its tenth year, the Serious Injury and Fatality (SIF) Roundtable has brought together practitioners and senior leaders from diverse sectors including Pharmaceuticals, Energy, Heavy Industry, Construction, Healthcare, and Manufacturing to advance thought leadership and practical solutions for SIF prevention.  Our goal of offering the SIF Roundtable at this year’s CHOLearning conference is to build on the legacy of the SIF Roundtable and expand its reach to a new group committed to the same goal. 
Building on the recent introduction of the Six Principles of SIF Prevention to the CHOLearning audience, this interactive session invites participants to move beyond awareness and into collaboration. Attendees will engage in meaningful discussion to challenge assumptions, refine these principles, and explore how they can be applied within their own organizational contexts.
This session is also a call to action. By expanding the SIF Roundtable into the broader CHOL community, participants will help shape a growing network of practitioners united by a shared vision: eliminating workplace fatalities through collective experience, open exchange, and sustained engagement. Whether you are new to the conversation or a long-time contributor, you are invited to help co-create a practitioner-led community that learns together, leads together, and drives lasting impact.