High Risk Acts

The immediate causes of accidents are circumstances that immediately precede the contact with the source and flow of energy. They usually can be seen or sensed. Frequently they are called unsafe acts (behaviors that could permit the occurrence of an accident) and unsafe conditions (circumstances that could permit the occurrence of an accident). Modern managers tend to think a bit more broadly, and more professionally, in terms of high-risk practices and high-risk conditions, which are defined as deviations from an accepted standard or practice. 

High-risk conditions are physical work conditions throughout the workplace that are below accepted standards. This results in a high-risk situation or an unsafe work environment. High-risk work conditions include  

High-risk acts are the actions of people that put them, and possibly others, at risk (at-risk behaviors). This means that people are behaving contrary to the accepted safe practice, and thus creating a hazardous situation that could result in a loss. High-risk acts include  

Accidents and near-miss incidents are always a result of multiple causes, normally a combination of high-risk conditions and practices, and seldom, if ever, is an accident or a near-miss incident attributable to a single cause. Proactive safety cultures endeavor to determine all the contributing causes of an accident and do not dwell on the behavior only. This practice is termed looking beyond the injured. 

Natural factors account for a small percentage of accidents. Tornadoes, thunderstorms, volcano eruptions, earthquakes, and floods are examples of natural or environmental factors that can lead to major losses. These can be attributed to neither high-risk behavior nor an unsafe work environment. 

Operating without authority, failure to secure, or warn 

Failure to wear safe attire or personal protective devices 

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A luck factor exists here because the high-risk act or condition may only result in a near-miss incident with no loss—a close call. There is no contact with the energy, no energy exchange, or the energy is insufficient to cause harm. 

Management at all levels is then held accountable to rectify the problems identified by the safety system and to ensure that the high-risk acts or conditions highlighted by the system are rectified before a loss event occurs. 

Based on risk assessments, a manager lists and schedules the work needed to be done to create a safe and healthy work environment and to eliminate high-risk acts of people. If the need is to change the safety culture at the workplace, this would mean the inti oduction of a suitable structured SMS based on world s best practice. All SMS should be based on the nature of the business and be risk based, management led, and audit driven. 

Fortune, chance, or luck plays a major role in determining the outcome of high-risk acts and high-risk conditions. 

The majority of undesired events (high risk acts, high risk conditions, and near miss incidents) do not end up in injury. Less than 1 percent of all undesired events result in serious injury (injury-producing accidents), approximately 2 percent result in minor injury, and about 5 percent cause damage to property, material, and the environment. Based on the Bird-Germain (1992) 1 10 30 600 ratio, the majority are ranked as near miss incidents. 

The basic (root) causes of accidents are categorized as personal and job factors. They are the underlying reasons why high risk acts are committed and why high risk conditions exist. A personal factor conld be a lack of skill, physical or mental incapability to carry out the work, poor attitude, or lack of motivation. Job factors conld include inadequate purchasing, poor maintenance, incorrect tools, or inad-eqnate equipment. 

These basic causes then trigger the immediate causes that are unsafe work conditions and unsafe work practices (high risk conditions and high risk acts). 

In scenario one, a person is driving a motor vehicle and fails to stop at a stop sign at an intersection. This is a high risk act. The action had potential for loss. 

A near miss incident must have an energy phase or there is no near miss scenario. A high risk act or condition does not constitute a near miss incident if there is not a flow of energy that could have contacted. They should be reported and acted upon, anyway. 

Fires are devastating. Every year, millions of dollars worth of property and products are destroyed. Fires are undesired events and occur as a result of high risk acts, high risk conditions. Property damage caused by fires is overwhelming. Instances can occur where the fire causes no injuries, in which case, the only consequence is damage to property, machinery, and products. 

While the near miss incidents that form the base of the accident ratio are truly the foundation of a major injury, numerous high risk acts and conditions lie below on the next level (Model 1.2). Research has indicated that this lower level of unsafe situations could equate to as many as a thousand high risk situations for every serious injury experienced. While the actual numbers are debatable, the fact remains that there must be numerous high risk acts and conditions for the plenty of near miss incidents experienced. 

Many years ago, research of some 75,000 accidents indicated that the majority of accidents were caused by the high risk acts of people and the minority by the... 

Numerous accidents are a result of a combination of high risk acts and high risk conditions (National Safety Council, 2010). Very seldom does one isolated act or condition ever result in an accident. Multiple causes are nearly always present in the accident sequence. 

Although the high risk acts or conditions may be the most prominent factor that cause the accident, the identification and remedy must not stop there. A thorough investigation must be done to determine why the high risk act took place or why the high risk condition exists. This query will inevitably identify the root causes that must be eradicated. 

Once a high risk act has been committed, the outcome (or result) of this act depends largely on chance, good or bad fortune, or luck. This is termed Luck Factor 1. A high risk condition is a hazard and can result in a number of outcomes depending on Luck Factor 1. 

Numerous high risk acts are committed daily, but do not result in a contact of any sort. These are not near miss incidents as there has been no flow of energy that, in a contact situation, would have caused injury, damage, or other loss. Many confuse the high risk act and the high risk condition with near miss incidents. To fall into the latter category, there must be a flow of energy. 

High risk conditions may exist for years, but because of circumstances (luck), never result in a contact or any form of loss. Should something happen, a near miss incident, no loss or an accident with loss could occur. The difference is determined largely by chance or by luck. Thus, it can be deduced that the outcome of a hazardous situation is largely fortuitous. A high risk act may result in a contact with resultant loss or may remain an incident that had the potential, but did not cause any loss. 

A luck factor exists here because the high risk act may only result in a near miss incident with no loss. For example, a motorist fails to stop at a stop sign. This is a high risk act, but there was no loss. The action only had potential for loss. The same action is committed, but this time another car, which has the right of way, narrowly misses the vehicle that failed to stop. There was a flow of energy, but no contact or collision, therefore, no loss. This is an example of a high potential near miss incident. 

You cannot be near miss incident-free unless you have no high risk conditions and no high risk acts are committed. 

You cannot eliminate high risk acts and conditions until you have effective control measures in the form of a structured safety management system. 

A hazard is a situation that has potential for injury, damage to property, harm to the environment, or all three (high risk acts/conditions). 

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