Concepts and Theories of Accident Prevention

 

There is a striking analogy between accident prevention and the practice of medicine.  To begin with, the physician has the desire, opportunity, and authority to act.  He has the necessary basic philosophy and knowledge.  

He knows that a wholly normal person living under normal and proper circumstances and conditions should not be suffering an illness, just as the accident preventionist knows that accidents should not normally occur.  

The physician diagnoses the case; i.e., he identifies the particular illness and its cause or source just as is done in the case of an accident.  After analyzing all available facts, both the physician and the accident preventionist select appropriate remedies which they then apply, prescribe, or recommend.  

H.W. HEINRICH, Industrial Accident Prevention.

ALL safety work revolves around and stems from those ubiquitous events called an accident.  But what is an accident?  The dictionary defines an accident as :

(1) an undesirable or unfortunate happening; casualty; mishap and 

(2) anything that happens unexpectedly without plan, or by chance.  

This definition, however, would not be acceptable to the experienced safety engineer.  Some accidents are “planned” –unintentionally but, nevertheless, planned; for instance, using a rickety ladder, operating a power press without a guard, and driving at excessive speed are essentially preplanned accidents just looking for a place and a time to happen.  

And death from a fire, a fall, or a motor-vehicle collision is clearly an expected accident.  In Fact, the NSC predicts with a reasonable degree of accuracy how many people will die in traffic accidents over a holiday weekend and how many will fall to their death each year.  

These are expected accidents.  Their occurrence is anticipated.  But, of course, no one knows in advance when and where they will occur.

It is doubtful that any single definition can be devised that would cover all types of events that could be called “accidents.”  The psychologists would focus on the so-called behavioral accidents-those unintentional acts such as forgetting an appointment, losing things, or making a wrong turn.  

The industrial hygienist would likely view occupational disease, dermatitis, silicosis, and so on as the consequence of a series of recurring events or accidents.  

The safety engineer, on the other hand, would view an accident as the end product of a sequence of acts or events that result in some consequence that is judged to be “undesirable,” such as a minor injury, major injury, property damage, interruption, production delay, or undue wear and tear.

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