Heinrich Myths

For further discussion on items 1 and 2, see Chapter 7, Heinrich Revisited Truisms or Myths. Furthermore, I am a member of the Editorial Advisory Board for the magazine Professional Safety. The number of articles submitted for publication that commence with one of the Heinrich myths is disturbing.)... 

Tilton, Hereward. Of Electrum and the armour of Achilles myth and magic in a manuscript of Heinrich Khunrath (1560-1605). J Warburg Courtauld Insts. 

A version of Heinrich Revisited Truisms or Myths was published by the National Safety Council in 2002. This variation is included here in accord with an agreement with the National Safety Council.)... 

In Chapter 7, Heinrich Revisited Tmisins or Myths, comments are made on Heinrich s often expressed premise that the predominant causes of no-injury accidents are identical to the predominant causes of accidents resulting in major injuries. I said that I found the premise to be invalid. Furthermore, I made the case that a large proportion of the incidents resulting in serious injuries are singular and unique events, that their causal factors are multifaceted and complex, and that descriptions of similar accidents are seldom found in the historical body of incident data. 

Manuele, F.A. (2002). Heinrich revisited Truisms or myths. Chicago National Safety Council. 

Galder, William M., Ill, and David A. TraUl, eds. Myth, Scandal, and History The Heinrich Schhemann Controversy. Detroit Wayne State University Press, 1986. 

Manuele, F. (2002). Heinrich Revisited Truisms or Myths Itasca 111 NSC Press. 

I Get rid of the management failure myth, said Paul Difford. ASSE supports the premise that management, not workers, without exception, cause all accidents. All industrial accidents are not causatively traceable to the management system. Difford in 2011 revised Heinrich s assertion that the unsafe acts of workers are the cause of 88% of accidents upward to what he calls a logical 98%. 

Reviewing Heinrich Dislodging Two Myths from the Practice of Safety This chapter examines two myths that should be dislodged from the practice of safety. They arise from the work of H. W. Heinrich and can be found in the four editions of Industrial Accident Prevention A Scientific Approach. The myths are ... 

It has not been possible to locate a body of research that supports the validity of either the Heinrich or the Bird and Loftus postulations. They are mythical. Yet, safety professionals continue to offer them as truths. (For further discussion on the Heinrichean myths, see Chapter 10, Reviewing Heinrich Dislodging Two Myths from the Practice of Safety ). 

An article titled Reviewing Heinrich Dislodging Two Myths from the Practice of Safety was published in the October 2011 issue of Professional Safety by Manuele. One of the letters to the editor about that article was written by Dr. E. Scatt Geller. It was published in the... 

Manuele, Fred A. Reviewing Heinrich Dislodging Two Myths from the Practice of Safety. Professional Safety, October 2011. 

On its face, this statement is absurd. Heinrich also wrote that in the largest injury group—the minor injuries—lies the most valuable clues to accident causes. That became the premise from which educators taught and many safety practitioners came to believe that reducing accident frequency will achieve equivalent reduction in injury severity. That is the second myth addressed in the Professional Safety article (Manuele, 2011). 

REVIEWING HEINRICH DISLODGING TWO MYTHS FROM THE PRACTICE OF SAFETY... 

The data collection and analytical methods used by Heinrich to develop the 88-10-2 ratios are unsupportable. Heinrich s premise that unsafe acts are the primary causes of occupational accidents cannot be sustained. The myth represented by those ratios must be dislodged from the practice of safety and actively refuted by safety professionals. 

One of Heinrich s premises is that The natural conclusion follows, moreover, that in the largest injury group. The minor injuries lie the most valuable clues to accident causes. (P31-3 edition, P33 edition). Heinrich s premise is wrong. This is a myth that must be dislodged from the practice of safety. 

Apply current methods that look beyond Heinrich s myths to determine true causal factors of accidents. 

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