Todd Conklin

Dr. Todd Conklin is recognized for his expertise in safety culture, human performance, and organizational behavior. Conklin spent 25 years at Los Alamos National Laboratory as a senior advisor for organizational and safety culture, dedicating the final 15 years of his tenure to the Human Performance program. He holds a doctorate in organizational behavior from the University of New Mexico, a Bachelor of Arts in communication from Southwestern College, and a Master of Arts in interpersonal communication from Fort Hays State University.

Conklin's professional approach challenges conventional perspectives on workplace safety. Drawing on principles from Human and Organizational Performance (HOP), he reframes safety as an organization's capacity to adapt, respond, and learn, rather than simply the result of compliance or control. He encourages leaders to move beyond measuring safety by the absence of incidents and instead focus on understanding how everyday work succeeds under pressure. Conklin emphasizes the importance of viewing workers as problem solvers and prioritizes understanding organizational systems over assigning individual blame for failures. His work centers on organizations engaged in high-risk, high-consequence activities, focusing on the interface between work control systems and employees to create system influences and prevent unexpected events.

Conklin delivers presentations to executives, groups, and work teams worldwide, sharing insights on the relationship between frontline workers and organizational systems, processes, and programs. He has contributed to event investigations and has been featured as a guest on National Public Radio programs All Things Considered and Morning Edition, highlighting the relevance of his ideas to a broad audience. Conklin translates complex organizational theory into practical guidance for industries including energy, healthcare, construction, and aviation.

As an author, Conklin has produced a body of work that is widely referenced in the safety field. His book, "Pre-Accident Investigations: An Introduction to Organizational Safety," is considered a key text. Additional titles include "Pre-Accident Investigations: Better Questions – An Applied Approach to Operational Learning," "Workplace Fatalities: Failure to Predict – A New Safety Discussion on Fatality and Serious Event Reduction," and "The 5 Principles of Human Performance: A Contemporary Update of the Building Blocks of Human Performance for the New View of Safety." Conklin also hosts the "Pre-Accident Investigation Podcast," a twice-weekly program focused on human performance, systems safety, and safety culture, which has become a widely followed resource in the global safety community.