Discusses workplace safety by considering four questions: is human error a cause of workplace accidents or a consequence of trouble deep within an organisation?; is ensuring compliance with rules and procedures a sufficient or limited approach to safety?; is safety more appropriately conceptualised as an absence of negatives or the presence of certain capabilities?; and is workplace safety best addressed at the level of components or systems? Reference is made to relevant literature underpinning the polar positions inherent in these questions.