Complex safety regulations

The Consumer Safety Regulations 1988 regulations were recently published for domestic furniture and mattresses. These are a complex series of relatively simple ignition tests designed to restrict the use of easily ignitable fabrics and infill materials. The 1988 regulations replace the earlier regulations of 1980 and 1983. 

The Consumer Protection, Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 is a complex application of a series of ignition tests based on BS 5852 Parts 1 and 2 and BS 6807. 

Chemicals regulations and labelling in the countries of Central East Europe were relatively weakly developed before their preparations for membership in the European Union (EU) and largely incompatible with EU standards (Regional Environmental Center 1996). Yet, within 10 years of pre-accession preparations these states fully adopted EU chemical safety regulations, which are considered to be among the most complex and advanced in the world. What explains the smooth diffusion of EU chemical safety regulations to the new member states despite the economic and administrative costs entailed ... 

The complexity of these activities, even with the current safety regulations and operating practices, is one of the reasons that accidents involving the transportation of hazardous materials occur. Table 1.1 illustrates some recent chemical transportation accidents in various countries and across different modes of transportation around the world. 

Contrary to a widespread misconception, safety cannot be achieved regardless of cost. It is therefore unacceptable that safety regulations be drawn up by a remote bureaucratic system. Even in high-level international bodies, such a system tends to add new constraints without taking into account the probability of the risk that these constraints are designed to combat, their economic effects, or sometimes even their feasibility. It is possible to arrive at provisions that are so complex and difficult to apply that they are not implemented. 

There are few DOT safety regulations as complex to administer — or as important — as Part 382, especially when combined with the testing procedures described in Part 40 in the previous tab. Failure to comply with even small sections ofthese regulations can have devastating effects — on public safety, on driver and vehicle safety, and on your bottom line. 

Today, thanks to the genius of researchers, manufacturers, and commerce, there are more products on sale than ever before in the history of mankind. Increasing complexity is leading to a greater need for consumer protection. More and more products require testing to ensure compliance with specification and safety regulations before release to the market. 

Genn (1993 226) reports similar criticisms in her study of employer responses to health and safety regulation. Indeed she found that while the quantity of information generated posed problems for managers in both large and small companies, the quality and complexity of material weighed down smaller companies, especially those without specialist staff to interpret it for them. 

The assessment is deemed necessary, because the concept of prudence has materially remained unchanged for a long time, while the industry has changed and our understanding as to how safety is created and eroded has evolved. As complexity increases, the occurrence and recurrence of major accidents are increasingly linked to how we fail to address complexity in practice. In this context, increasing pressure on current safety regulations to get simpler and clearer, actualizes also the question of what is prudent to simplify. 

The essential safety requirements themselves are detailed and complex. Full details can be found at Annex B of the DTI guidance referenced belo w, and Annex 1 of the Machinery Directive (Council Directive 89/392/EEC), which is also reproduced as Schedule 3 to the Supply of AAachinery (Safety) Regulations 1992. 

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