Theorizing Accidents
An early 20th century innovator studying accident causation, Herbert Heinrich came to conclusions that still impact our approach today. His studies showed that among the 27,000 cases he reviewed, 88 percent of accidents on the job were committed or influenced by co-workers, 10 percent were caused by unsafe conditions, and 2 percent were simply unavoidable.
Heinrich also observed that for every accident with a major injury in the workplace, there were on average 29 accidents with minor injuries, and a further 300 accidents that caused no injury. Today we translate that to 1 lost time recordable accident, 29 first aid attended accidents, and 300 near misses. To some people, Heinrich’s work lends to the idea of a behavior based safety theory, which proposes that most accidents, (95%), are caused by unsafe acts initiated by human factors. This philosophy reinforced management’s idea that workers were the cause of accidents.
Despite the results of his theory, Heinrich, in his 1931 book, Industrial Accident Prevention, A Scientific Approach, postulated that regardless of the human interaction associated with the behavior of accidents, management and companies should not solely focus on the workers' responsibility in accidents. Heinrich stated, "No matter how strongly the statistical records emphasize personal faults or how imperatively the need for educational activity is shown, no safety procedure is complete or satisfactory that does not provide for the correction or elimination of physical hazards."
Based on the day and age that Heinrich conducted his research, a lot of his findings have been discounted today by some professionals. But, it did in fact lay the foundation for much of what has worked its way into place in today’s work climate. Heinrich’s work led to the fact that companies and management have an obligation to establish for its employee’s a safe environment from which to start working, and that employees have a responsibility to work in a safe manner.
Heinrich associated his concept to dominos. His Domino theory states these five factors,
• Ancestry, negative character traits can lead to inherited or acquired traits. This leads to,
• Fault of person, whether from inherited or acquired traits the person can or will work in an unsafe manner. This then leads to,
• Unsafe acts, these acts are performed by the being of the person. The person by association of the first two causes, will tend to act in an unsafe manner usually in association with a mechanical or physical item. This leads to,
• Accident, these occur from the person engaging in an activity that leads to an object falling or moving. The accident then leads to an,
• Injury, which is the condition a person is left in upon involvement of an accident. This may lead to lost time, recordable or near miss in the workplace.
Heinrich’s theory offers two points to remedy these factors in the Domino theory. First, injuries are caused by the action of the preceding factors. Second, by removing the central factor, the unsafe act, the action of the preceding factors can be prevented. This is where the company comes in to assist. The company has the ability and obligation to design, build, train and, retrain the building, equipment and employees in a manner to suitably eliminate as many of the unsafe acts as possible. The employee must work within the guidelines established, and in accordance with product warning labels. On their behalf, the company must in good faith create the safest environment for its employees.
Find out how to manage your business' health and safety better
RIDDOR and COVID-19
Many employers are concerned about their reporting obligations for COVID-19/Coronavirus/SARS-CoV-2 under RIDDOR in the ongoing pandemic. You may be pleased to know that you do not have to report everything to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). We'll provide more info about when, what, and how to report.
The most common concern we've seen recently from employers is whether they need to report all COVID-19 and coronavirus testing results to the HSE. The short answer is no. According to the HSE: “There is no requirement under RIDDOR (The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013) to report incidents of disease or deaths of members of the public, patients, care home residents or service users from COVID-19. The reporting requirements relating to cases of, or deaths from, COVID-19 under RIDDOR apply only to occupational exposure, that is, as a result of a person's work.”
Generally speaking, the ordinary RIDDOR rules already cover COVID-19. You should only make a report under RIDDOR when one of the following circumstances applies:
• an accident or incident at work has or could have caused the release of coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). (Report as Dangerous occurrence)
• a worker is diagnosed with COVID-19 due to occupational exposure. (Report as Disease)
• a worker dies because of occupational coronavirus exposure. (Report as Work-related death due to exposure to a biological agent)
The bottom line is that existing rules cover most COVID-19 measures, and most of the COVID-19 guidance comes from public health authorities rather than the HSE. The environment remains chaotic, but you can minimize your legal exposure by continuing your existing compliance steps. This will include communicating with your insurer about risks, following public health guidance, and communicating regularly with your workers or unions on any of their concerns.
© Gavin Coyle, 2021