Simon is a rare find: he is a critical thinker, knowledgeable about safety engineering and keen to discuss his views and share his knowledge. To understand the complexity of sociotechnical systems, traditional safety engineering tools are often insufficient. Prof. Nancy Leveson’s (MIT) STAMP theory aims to address that gap and Simon has embraced STAMP and applied it to a multitude of pre- and post-accident analyses. In his STAMP training, he speaks with insight and passion about the why and the how. He’s used to working with audiences small and large, across sectors and continents, and is a skilled chair and host. He has made me feel welcome at every training and ‘community of thought’ event I’ve attended. Simon has a combination of technical aptitude and nous required to appreciate the ramifications of a multitude of situations. As a trainer and communicator, he easily zooms in on issues identified by individuals and out to more generic problems that leaders in most organisations face. Simon has generously contributed to my understanding of STAMP and STPA – and I’m grateful for his support in developing a sound foundation for my MSc dissertation, which was awarded a distinction.

Simon’s CAST workshop on the Überlingen collision was really well presented, to a high degree of professionalism and rich in detail. I found his introduction to STAMP and the framing of the methods informative and full of valuable practical tips. He is also a skilled facilitator and creates a positive, learning environment where you feel free to ask any question. Simon’s workshops are a must for anyone who applies or is keen to apply system engineering methods.

My course with Simon Whiteley was very useful in the introduction to STPA and how to apply it. This process and the methods, for me, enabled me to visualise a system and other related systems and how to model them with respect to hazard analysis. It is essential, like lots of other training courses, to work together on a real world example with Simon as part of the training. Thanks Simon.

Simon Whiteley has been patient and supportive in coaching me and JCB to utilise STPA and get real value out of it from day 1. I believe STPA as a process will be revolutionary for safety over the coming years, and I'm excited to be one of the first in the construction industry to fully embrace it. Simon's approach in particular is very flexible; he is supportive of tailoring the process to better meet out needs, rather than seeing it as a rigid set of rules. This pragmatism and enrichment has added real value to the training and coaching that Simon offers.

Simon is a passionate dedicated individual motivated to share the potential of the STAMP approach to the greater world. In explaining the fundamentals of control theory applied to safety as well as addressing factors beyond the obvious, he helps to broaden people’s traditional approaches to accident investigation of finding blame. His calm demeanor helps participants wrestle with the concepts without feeling stupid.

Systems-safety can be a fairly dry topic, whereas Simon's knowledge and smooth delivery made for a very engaging and interactive session. Furthermore, by employing an actual accident scenario, the benefits of the contemporary CAST investigation method were given proper context. Thank-you Simon for an excellent introduction to an important advance in systems-safety.

On August 8th, I participated in the online webinar on CAST/STAMP accident analysis, which was hosted by Simon Whitely. From the first minutes of the webinar, I was impressed by the time he took to welcome the participants. After a brief online survey to understand the backgrounds and level of knowledge of the participants, Simon took the time to explain the principles of STAMP / CAST and how the analysis approach works. Using the simple analogy of driving a car made understanding the basics of STAMP much easier. Simon then went to explain how the Ueberlingen mid-air collision took place, and how this could be translated into an analysis model in stamp. During the webinar there was plenty of room for discussion, and Simon took the time to field questions, but also to challenge the participants to think about what aspects of the systems could have contributed to the collision. I came away from the webinar with a better overview of STAMP/CAST and how this could help me in my current (design) project. I would highly recommend that if you would like to know more about STAMP/CAST, that Simon’s webinar is a great place to start!