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Week 4 - Lecture Notes

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Week 4 - Lecture Notes

Uploaded by

Iron- ventures
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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ENG-6201 Occupational Health and Safety

WEEK 4 – THEORIES OF ACCIDENTS


This course introduces the student to the study of workplace occupational health and safety.
The student will learn safe work practices in offices, industry and construction as well as how
to identify and prevent or correct problems associated with occupational safety and health in
these locations as well as in the home. The course is designed to assist the student with the
implementation of safe healthy practices at work and at home.

Lecture Notes

Key points that should be made in this lecture are as follows:

 The Domino Theory of Accident Causation was one of the earliest developed. The
theory posits that injuries result from a series of factors, one of which is an accident.
The theory is operationalized in ten statements called the Axioms of Industrial Safety.
According to this theory, there are five factors in the sequence of events leading to an
accident: ancestry/social environment, fault of person, unsafe act/mechanical or
physical hazard, accident, and injury.
 The Human Factors Theory of Accident Causation attributes accidents to a chain
of events ultimately caused by human error. It consists of three broad factors that
lead to human error: overload, inappropriate response, and inappropriate activities.
 The Accident/Incident Theory of Accident Causation is an extension of the human
factors theory. It introduces such new elements as ergonomic traps, the decision to
err, and systems failures.
 The Epidemiological Theory of Accident Causation holds that the models used for
studying and determining the relationships between environmental factors and
disease can be used to study causal relationships between environmental factors and
accidents.
 The Systems Theory of Accident Causation views any situation in which an
accident might occur as a system with three components: person (host), machine
(agency), and environment.
 The Combination Theory of Accident Causation posits that no one model/theory
can explain all accidents. Factors from two or more models might be part of the cause.
 There are seven principles of behavior-based safety: intervention; identification;
identification of internal factors; motivation to behave in the desired manner; focus
on the positive consequences of appropriate behavior; application of the scientific
method, integration of information; and planned interventions.
 Drugs and Alcohol are the root or a contributing cause of many workplace accidents
every year. Approximately 77 percent of drug users are employed, and more than a
third of all workers between 18 and 25 are binge drinkers. Alcoholism alone causes
500 million lost days annually.

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 Clinical Depression is an invisible problem in the workplace. However, it can be a
major cause of accidents. One in 20 people suffer from clinical depression, which is
the root cause of more than 200 million lost workdays annually.
 Management Failures are another leading cause of accidents on the job. If
management is serious about workplace safety and health, it must establish
expectations, provide training, evaluate employee performance with safety in mind,
and reinforce safe and healthy behavior.
 There is a strong correlation between obesity and injuries, suggesting a need to
promote optimal body weight as an injury prevention strategy.

REFERENCES:
ONLINE REFERENCE:
1. http://wps.prenhall.com/chet_goetsch_occupation_7/139/35769/9157107.cw/-
/9157132/index.html

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