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Theories of Accident Causation Chapter 3
Industrial work place accidents
3/100 persons per year
One accidental death every 51 minutes
One injury every 19 seconds
Why do accidents happen?
Is there a theory that explains the causes of accidents?
To prevent accidents we need to know the causes.
Six widely used theories for accident causation
Domino theory
Early theory, not widely held to today
Two central points
Injuries caused by the action of preceding factors
Removal of the central factor negates the action of the preceding factor
Domino theory
Five factors leading to an accident
Ancestry & social environment
Fault of person
Unsafe act/mechanical or physical hazard
Accident
Injury
Human Factors theory
Chain of events ultimately caused by human error
Three factors
Overload
Inappropriate response
Inappropriate activities
Human factors theory
Overload
Capacity - abilities
Load
Environmental factors (e.g noise)
Internal factors (e.g. personal problems)
Situational factors (e.g. risk)
Human factors theory
Inappropriate response
How a person responds given certain conditions
Incompatibility with workstation
Human factors theory
Inappropriate activities
Doing a task without training
Misjudging the degree of risk
Accident/incident theory
Human factors theory plus
Ergonomic traps
Decision to err
System’s failure
Accident/incident theory
Overload + Ergonomic traps + Decision to err lead to human error
System’s failure link
a causal relationship to management
establishes management’s role in health and safety
Epidemiological theory
Causal relationship between environmental factors and disease
Extended to accidents
Study causal relationships between environmental factors and the accident
Epidemiological theory
Predisposition characteristics
People, perceptions, environment
Situational characteristics
Risk assessment, peer pressure, priorities of supervisor, attitude
Cause or prevent accidents
Systems theory
System - interacting components intended to meet a common goal
A change in any component affects the entire system
Systems theory
Components
Person
Machine
Environment
Collect information, weigh risks, make decisions
Systems theory
Stressors cloud judgment
Job requirements
Worker’s abilities & limitations
Benefit if task accomplished
Loss if task is tried but fails
Loss if task is not attempted
Combination theory
In many cases, one theory is not sufficient
Need to use several models to explore the causes of accidents
Don’t rely on one theory
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