JIM BURNS

 

Celebrating over 35 years of consulting....started in 1985!

Jim Burns studied psychology for six years at the Universities of Calgary and Victoria and did his post-graduate work in

Counselling Psychology (Solution Focused Counselling) specializing in Learned Helplessness, has taught university-level

management courses and has presented numerous papers throughout Canada and the United States.
 

Jim started his consulting career in 1985, at Cominco’s Kimberley Operations (Sullivan Mine). He is the creator of the Intellectual Property known as PASS and the registered trademark SupLex  and the founder of Positive Attitude Safety System Inc. Since then, he has given lectures to 40,000 individuals, in over a 100 operations, throughout North America, Australia, New Zealand and Asia. He is regarded as an Organizational Process Specialist who assists international corporations in creating significant improvements in Safety Cultures with World Class results. 

 

The Positive Attitude Safety System (PASS) was developed by Jim Burns and is based on the psychological concepts of Positive Reinforcement, Intervention Therapy and Learned Helplessness.  Jim’s Implementation Approach is strongly influenced by the works of the renowned psychologist, Dr. Martin Seligman, Dr. Carl Rogers and Dr. Kurt Levin.  Since 1985, Jim and his associates have been assisting numerous operations throughout the world to implement PASS, which has benefited over 90,000 employees. This Safety process is recognized internationally by natural resource companies as a significant and necessary component of an overall Safety approach and strategy.

 

Jim Burns has worked with individuals and groups in counselling and consulting roles for over 40 years; he has held executive positions in Human Resource and Productivity Management roles with Canada’s largest national warehousing company and a major multinational oil company.  In addition, he was a Consultant with Kepner-Tregoe and was responsible for all their Natural Resource Business in Eastern Canada and all their  business in Saskatchewan and Manitoba.  In addition to providing consulting services, he taught numerous 'problem-solving and decision-making' and 'project management' courses to hundreds of individuals.  Some of his clients were: Boeing, Petro Canada, Falconbridge, Manitoba Hydro, Atomic Energy of Canada, Suncor, etc.

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Jim has provided presentations and courses to almost 40,000 individuals, in numerous countries, and is regarded as an excellent speaker. He has lectured at universities, to individuals from the shop floor to the board room and has presented numerous papers to professional organizations. He is available to provide motivational talks regarding how to avoid the trap of Learned Helplessness and the importance of Positive Attitudes in all aspects of our lives. His unusual background and his diverse experiences allow him to transfer knowledge in an exciting and motivating storytelling fashion.

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Jim has been active in various communities through Rotary (he belonged to five Clubs), has held executive positions in both union (BCGEU) and political organizations (Federal and Provincial) and has been a volunteer and director of an inner city "soup kitchen" in Winnipeg, Manitoba. With his brother Bill Burns, Jim co-authored a movie script (Home Invasions) based on a plot Jim developed. They formed a company called Emerald Sky Productions to market the script until his brother's death in 2003.

 

Jim has been married to Claire for  47 years; they have three grown children; and Jim resides in Kelowna, BC, Canada, when he is not traveling extensively. Jim and Claire have been sponsors of the Materi Girls Centre located in Meru, Kenya, East Africa for over 35 years. They feel privileged to have been associated with the Centre and its director, Brother John Koczka, SC, a Brother of the Sacred Heart. In recent years, PASS Inc. has become a corporate sponsor of the Materi Girls Centre to continue their legacy.   Since the death of Brother John, they have switched their sponsorship to 'Chace' and continue to support girls going to school in Kenya. 

 

Papers Written and Presented:

• "The Role of Continuous Improvement Regarding Safety” was Presented at CIM MEMO 2019 –  "Technical Program,"

        in October 2019 in Kamloops BC, Canada

• “Harmonizing Traditional Safety Systems with an Attitudinal Approach Creating a Positive Safety Culture of Continuous Improvement,” was presented at the 36th International Conference of Safety in Mines Research Institute (CISIRM) in October 2015 in Sudbury Ontario Canada.

• “Positive Attitude Safety System,” Mine Safety Symposium, Sydney, Australia, Sept. 1992 (not presented by Jim Burns)

• “PASS:  A Process of Positive Management for Safety,” 61st Annual Conference of Mines Accident Prevention Association of Ontario, Toronto, Canada, May 1992

• “Supervisor's Role in Safety Performance,” 22nd Annual Porcupine Safety Conference, Timmins, Canada, Oct. 1991

• “Organizationally-Induced Helplessness,” Mining Association of BC, Vancouver, Oct. 1987

• “The Role of Leadership in Unions,” British Columbia Firefighters Association,  Kimberley, Canada, May 1987

• “The People Process In Organizations,” Annual General Conference of the Psychological Association of Montana, Butte, MT, USA, Apr. 1987

• "Organizationally Induces Helplessness" Mining Association of BC October 22, 1987

• “Survival through Positive Management,” 92nd Annual Convention of the Northwest Mining Association, Spokane, WA, USA, Dec. 1986

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Books Published:

• PASS:  Positive Attitude Safety System Process Guide;  Kelowna, BC; June 1996; ISBN 0-9696620-2-5

• PASS:  Positive Attitude Safety System; Winnipeg, MB; September 1992; ISBN 0-9696620-0-9

 

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