Welcome!

Earlier this week, a major power outage affected Spain, Portugal, and parts of France, leaving millions without electricity or mobile phone service for over 10 hours. It made international headlines, and for good reason. The sudden loss of access to basic infrastructure was a stark reminder of just how interconnected we are, and how vulnerable those connections can be.

In moments like this, it's not just about responding, but about how we respond. Misinformation can spread just as fast as concern. That’s why we need robust strategies for communication, coordination, and calm action during crises. As engineers, we also have a responsibility to investigate root causes and consider how to re-engineer systems so that outages like this don’t have to happen again.

Whether you're working in safety, infrastructure, or leadership, this event reminds us all of the importance of resilience planning, systems thinking, and cross-border collaboration. What happened in Southern Europe could happen anywhere. The question is: Are we ready?

Final Call to Submit

The Masculinity in Engineering survey is closing very soon, and this is your final opportunity to contribute your voice to this important piece of research.

As a reminder, previous survey findings revealed worrying mental health trends among engineers, including that 1 in 4 respondents had considered self-harm or suicide. This year’s study continues that critical work, focusing on how gender norms, stigma, and workplace culture influence the lived experiences of engineers across the UK.

If you haven't filled it in yet, please take a few minutes to do so, or share it with colleagues who might. Every response matters, and your insight could help shape the future of mental health and inclusion in our profession.

This Week’s Article

This week, I’m launching a new weekly article series on my Beehiiv page, reflecting on key takeaways from the Safety on the Edge conference. Across the coming weeks, I’ll be sharing thoughts on the standout talks, panels, and keynotes I attended, starting with a session delivered by Andresa Hernandes, who posed a simple yet profound question:

This piece dives into the concept of systems thinking, and how we often treat safety as a reactive process instead of something proactively woven into the very architecture of how we design, build, and lead. I also reflect on what it means to build safety in a way that’s not just technical, but cultural and inclusive.

If you’re interested in how safety can evolve, technically and culturally, make sure to subscribe to my Beehiiv page. I’ll be posting weekly articles exploring more of the themes, insights, and challenges that emerged at Safety on the Edge.

Ayo Sokale on Purpose, Equity and Innovation

What happens when a seven-year-old sees injustice and decides to do something about it? In this week's episode of The SAFE Leader Podcast, I speak with Ayo Sokale, civil engineer, children’s TV presenter, tech founder, and author, whose inspiring career began with witnessing severe flooding in Nigeria. That experience sparked a lifelong commitment to protecting people through engineering.

Ayo shares how her personal story has shaped her mission-led approach to engineering, and how she is now using technology and storytelling to widen access to opportunity. Her latest project, Get Coached, is an AI-powered coaching app designed to make leadership development tools accessible to everyone, not just those at the top.

This conversation explores how we navigate systems not built for us, why storytelling and data are equally powerful tools for change, and how purpose fuels progress. If you're in STEM, leadership, or simply looking for more direction, this is one of those episodes that will stay with you.

Let’s connect

Please reach out and connect with me on LinkedIn if we are not already connected.

I love helping organisations where the angle I take with the work I do might help in someway have you make traction in your culture.

Feel free to get in touch here.

Stay SAFE!