Why 'Human Error' Is Never the Root Cause

Gareth Lock

Gareth Lock is the founder of The Human Diver and Human in the System — two organisations built on a single conviction: that most unwanted events in high-risk environments are system failures, not people failures. Through structured courses, immersive simulations, incident investigation, and keynote speaking, he brings frameworks from military aviation and academic human factors research into the practical reality of diving and high-risk industry. His work spans recreational and technical divers learning non-technical skills for the first time, through to senior safety leaders restructuring how their organisations investigate, debrief, and learn. Everything sits under one guiding principle: be better than yesterday.