Incident Prevention

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Incident Prevention

Safety And Health Officer

Certificate Course

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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

© 2014 NIOSH Malaysia. All rights reserved. No part of this document shall be

reproduced without written consent of NIOSH Malaysia.

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Scope

• Principles of loss prevention

• Causes of incidents

• Incidents and productivity

• Approach to loss prevention



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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



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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



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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. © 2014 NIOSH Malaysia. All rights reserved. No part of this document shall be


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Why Prevent Incidents?

• Legal

• Human Rights

• Business



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Causes of Incidents



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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 © 2014 NIOSH Malaysia. All rights reserved. No part of this document shall be


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Early Theory of Accidents

(Heinrich (1930's))

Ancestry/social environment

Fault of a person

Unsafe act/condition

Accident

Injury © 2014 NIOSH Malaysia. All rights reserved. No part of this document shall be


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Heinrich’s

Five Stage Sequence

Ancestry/social environment

Fault of a person

Unsafe act/condition

Accident

Injury © 2014 NIOSH Malaysia. All rights reserved. No part of this document shall be


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Accident Causation Model

(1974)



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•Poor Management Safety Policy & Decisions •Personal Factors •Environmental Factors

Unplanned Incident

The Three Basic Causes of

Accidents

Unsafe Condition

Unsafe Act

Direct Causes

Indirect causes

ACCIDENT Personal Injury,

Property Damage

Basic Causes



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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 © 2014 NIOSH Malaysia. All rights reserved. No part of this document shall be


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Multiple Cause of Accidents

Compatible with Loss Causation Theory

Cause A (Poor lighting)

Cause B (Not look where going)

Cause C (Wood in walkway)

Accident (Trip)



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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?



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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?



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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



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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



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The Accident Pyramid

TYE/PEARSON/BIRD 1969-1975

400 Near misses

80 Property

50 First aid

3 Lost days

1 Fatal / Serious injury



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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



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Accepted Accident Theory

• Heinrich’s theory is weak and negative

– Blaming victim and lack system thinking,

continual improvements, upstream

control and worker participation



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Productivity Aspect of OSH



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Direct Vs. Indirect

Incident Cost Iceberg

It is estimated that

for every $1 in direct

incident costs, there are anywhere from

$4 to $11 in indirect

or “hidden” costs

Indirect

Costs

Direct

Costs



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The Hidden Costs

1. Product and material damage

2. Plant and building damage

3. Tool and equipment damage

4. Expenditure on emergency

5. Fines 6. Legal costs

7. Investigation time 8. Supervisors time

diverted 9. Clerical Effort 10.Overtime working 11.Temporary labour 12.Loss of expertise /

experience supplies 13.Clearing site 14.Production delays

Insured Costs -- covering injury, ill health, damage. Hidden Uninsured – 8-36 times as much as insured costs



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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)



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Cost- Benefit Analysis of Control

Measures

• Compare specific incident costs with

cost of specific improvement being

suggested



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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 © 2014 NIOSH Malaysia. All rights reserved. No part of this document shall be


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Management

• Safety audits and inspections must be

carried out

• Deficiencies must be corrected promptly

• All unsafe practices, incidents and injury

accidents will be investigated



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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



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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



Documents

Incident Prevention