NIOSH SHO 02-Incident Prevention2

Incident Prevention
Safety And Health Officer

Certificate Course
1
Learning Objectives
• To define what is incident
• To explain the causes of incident & role

of management control
• To explain 3 theory on accident

causation
• To list the cost involved in an incident

2 © 2014 NIOSH Malaysia. All rights reserved. No part of this document shall be
reproduced without written consent of NIOSH Malaysia.
Scope
• Principles of loss prevention
• Causes of incidents
• Incidents and productivity
• Approach to loss prevention
Principles of
Incident Prevention
1. Incident prevention is an essential part

of good management
2. Management and workers must fully

cooperate
3. Top management must lead in

organising safety
Principles of
Incident Prevention
4. There must be an OSH policy
5. Must have organisation and

resources to implement the OSH
policy
6. Best available knowledge and

methods must be applied
What Is An Incident?
• An incident is:
– An unexpected, unplanned event in a
sequence of events
– That occurs through a combination of
causes
– Which result in:
• Physical harm (injury, ill-health or disease) to an individual,
• Damage to property,
• A near-miss,
• Any combination of these effects.
Why Prevent Incidents?
• Legal
• Human Rights
• Business
Causes of Incidents
Types of Incidents
• Cause immediate injury or damage to
equipment or property:
– A forklift dropping a load
– Someone falling off a ladder
• That occur over an extended period:

– Hearing loss
– Illness resulting from exposure to
chemicals
Early Theory of Accidents
(Heinrich (1930's))
Ancestry/social
environment
Fault of a person
Unsafe
act/condition
Accident
Injury
Heinrich’s
Five Stage Sequence
Ancestry/social
environment
Fault of a person
Unsafe
act/condition
Accident
Injury
Accident Causation Model
(1974)
The Three Basic Causes of
Accidents
•Poor Management Safety Policy & Decisions
 •Personal Factors
•Environmental Factors
Basic Causes
 Unsafe Act Indirect causes Unsafe
Condition 
Unplanned Incident ACCIDENT

Personal Injury,
Direct Causes Property Damage
Lack of Management Control
• Management responsible for:
– Selection of workers
– Machinery and equipment
– System of work
– Information, training and Instruction
– Supervision, etc
• The accident prone worker is a false
approach. It is like blaming the victim
instead of the perpetrator
Multiple Cause of Accidents
Cause A
(Poor lighting)
Cause B Accident
(Not look where going) (Trip)
Cause C
(Wood in walkway)
Compatible with Loss Causation Theory

Fall From a Defective Ladder
– Why was the defective ladder not

identified during normal inspection?
– Why did the supervisor allow its

usage?
– Didn't the injured employee knew it

should not be used?
Fall From a Defective Ladder
– Was the employee well trained?
– Was the employee reminded not to

use the ladder?
– Did the superior examine the job

first?
Trip Although Warned in
Dark Walkway
– Was there a necessity for that person
to walk in that area or was there a
safer route
– If the person was not in a hurry

would they have been more aware
of their surroundings and avoided
the wood
Trip Although Warned in
Dark Walkway
– If the area was better lit would the

person have avoided the wood
– Could the wood have been

removed
The Accident Pyramid
1 Fatal / Serious injury
3 Lost days
50 First aid
80 Property
400 Near misses

TYE/PEARSON/BIRD 1969-1975
Accepted Accident Theory
• Multiple Causation Theory
– A single unsafe act or condition may or
may not cause an accident but both
are caused by lack of management
control
• Bird Loss Causation Model

– In line with Schewhart(1930’s) theory of
quality control
Accepted Accident Theory
• Heinrich’s theory is weak and negative

– Blaming victim and lack system thinking,
continual improvements, upstream
control and worker participation
Productivity Aspect of OSH
Direct Vs. Indirect
Incident Cost Iceberg
Direct It is estimated that

for every $1 in direct
Costs incident costs, there
Indirect are anywhere from
Costs $4 to $11 in indirect
or “hidden” costs
The Hidden Costs
Insured Costs -- covering injury, ill health, damage.
Hidden Uninsured – 8-36 times as much as insured costs
1. Product and 7. Investigation time

material damage 8. Supervisors time
2. Plant and building diverted
damage 9. Clerical Effort
3. Tool and 10.Overtime working
equipment 11.Temporary labour
damage 12.Loss of expertise /
4. Expenditure on experience supplies
emergency 13.Clearing site
5. Fines 14.Production delays
6. Legal costs
Incident Prevention Costs
• DESIGN COSTS (e.g to install machine
guards)
• OPERATIONAL COSTS (training costs, PPE,

etc.)
• SAFE GUARDING THE FUTURE COSTS (health

surveillance, audits etc)
Cost- Benefit Analysis of Control
Measures
• Compare specific incident costs with
cost of specific improvement being
suggested
Du Pont Ten Principles of Safety
Management
• All injuries and occupational illnesses are
preventable
• Management is directly responsible for

doing this
• Safety is a condition of employment
• Training is required
Management
• Safety audits and inspections must be
carried out
• Deficiencies must be corrected promptly
• All unsafe practices, incidents and injury

accidents will be investigated
Management
• Safety away from work is as important as
safety at work
• Incident prevention is cost-effective; the

highest cost is human suffering
• Employees must be actively involved
Summary
• Incident in the workplace is largely caused
by lack of management control
• “If you think safety is expensive, try
accidents”
• Implement an appropriate company policy
• Control OSH risk
• Put a management system in place
• Promote Occupational Safety and Health

NIOSH SHO 02-Incident Prevention2

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

NIOSH SHO 02-Incident Prevention2

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Incident Prevention

Safety And Health Officer

• To explain the causes of incident & role

• To explain 3 theory on accident

• To list the cost involved in an incident

• Incidents and productivity

• Approach to loss prevention

1. Incident prevention is an essential part

2. Management and workers must fully

3. Top management must lead in

5. Must have organisation and

6. Best available knowledge and

• That occur over an extended period:

Unplanned Incident ACCIDENT

Compatible with Loss Causation Theory

– Why was the defective ladder not

– Why did the supervisor allow its

– Didn't the injured employee knew it

– Was the employee reminded not to

– Did the superior examine the job

– If the person was not in a hurry

– If the area was better lit would the

– Could the wood have been

1 Fatal / Serious injury

400 Near misses

• Bird Loss Causation Model

• Heinrich’s theory is weak and negative

Direct It is estimated that

1. Product and 7. Investigation time

• OPERATIONAL COSTS (training costs, PPE,

• SAFE GUARDING THE FUTURE COSTS (health

• Management is directly responsible for

• Safety is a condition of employment

• Deficiencies must be corrected promptly

• All unsafe practices, incidents and injury

• Incident prevention is cost-effective; the

• Employees must be actively involved

You might also like