Research Studies Involving Witness Reliability

• How reliable are eye witness accounts of an activity?– Investigators often rely on information provided

by eyewitnesses to determine the cause(s) of the accident and identify ways of preventing future mishaps.

– However, the data on which accident investigators rely is error-prone.

– There have been a number of research studies conducted which examine the reliability and validity of witnesses• Eyewitness memory for workplace accidents: Supervisors’

behavior compromises reports of occupational accidents– After a minor workplace accident, researchers measured recall and

recognition memory for the accident. – The supervisor’s behavior influenced memory performance and

productivity. – With direct implications for the product of occupational accident

investigations, these results suggest that accident investigators should exercise caution when relying on eyewitness reports.

Research and Eyewitnesses

• Research studies have also found differences in how the cause of the accident is perceived when questioning the injured person versus someone who witnessed the accident

• This is referred to a “attributing the cause for the accident”

Research and Eyewitnesses

• The fundamental attribution error involves placing a heavy emphasis on internal personality characteristics to explain someone's behavior in a given situation, rather than thinking about external situational factors. – The person got hurt in the accident because they

were lazy, not because of a hazardous condition.

Fundamental Attribution Error

• This hypothesizes that “actors tend to attribute the causes of their behavior to stimuli inherent in the situation, while observers tend to attribute behavior to stable dispositions of the actor”– Witnesses more often tend to place the cause of

the accident upon something the injured person was directly responsible for

– Injured persons more often tend to place the cause of the injury upon an external factor that was out of their control

Actor-Observer Bias

• A self-serving bias occurs when people attribute their successes to internal or personal factors but attribute their failures to situational factors beyond their control.

Self-Serving Bias

• Refers to a bias people commonly have towards members of an outgroup.

• Specifically, they view negative acts committed by outgroup members as a stable trait of the outgroup, and view positive acts committed by outgroup members as exceptions to normal behavior.

Ultimate Attribution Error

• The 52-year-old owner of a machinery and equipment training school violated the rule of following the safety rules while filming a forklift safety demonstration.

• With the cameras rolling, he was thrown from the forklift cabin and crushed.

• Subsequent investigation fingered the culprits responsible for the fatality: – Driver error and high speed over varied terrain coupled

with an unused seat belt

Accident Investigation of a Safety Video Accident

Multilinear Events Sequencing

• MES incorporates timelines into sequential diagrams, providing a scale that parallels the sequences of events to show the time relationships between events and the incident.• The method distinguishes between

actors, actions and events.

Definitions

• An event is one actor performing one action• Primary Events are directly tied to the accident sequence• Secondary Events are events that play a role in the

accident but are not directly part of the accident sequence

• Secondary Events are tied to the Accident Sequence of Events with vertical lines

• Conditions differ from events insofar as they:– (a) describe states or circumstances rather than happenings or

occurrences and – (b) are passive rather than active

Cause Mapping

• Cause Mapping utilizes the fundamental principles of systems thinking to identify the basic cause and effect relationships of any problem.

• Cause Mapping is a 3-step problem solving process for defining, analyzing and solving any type of problem.

• The steps in Cause Mapping are:• Step 1: Problem: Outline the problem by asking who, what, when, and

where?• Step 2: Analyze: Develop the Cause Map beginning with the unwanted

outcome. Working to the right, identify the preceding cause(s)• Step 3: Solutions: Identify the best possible solutions.

Activity 5

• Perform a literature search and identify one accident scenario or use a work accident you are familiar with.

• Remove all descriptors (ie: company name, employee names, etc)

• Using the scenario, apply the Multilinear Events Sequencing technique to develop a causal map of the accident.

• Complete the assignment and upload the activity to your instructor through Moodle by the due date in the course syllabus.