Injury and fatality prevention

One could argue that superior OSHA incident rates are not absolutely indicative as performance measures, and they are not. Some of those companies with superior OSHA statistical records are faced with the dilemma of having occasional serious injuries and fatalities. That subject is discussed in Chapter 8, Improving Serious Injury and Fatality Prevention. ... 

This chapter proposes that major and somewhat shocking innovations in the content and focus of occupational risk management systems will be necessary to achieve additional progress in serious injury and fatality prevention. Comments are made in this chapter on ... 

IMPROVING SERIOUS INJURY AND FATALITY PREVENTION Table 8.6 Differences in Fatality Categories... 

To achieve the necessary focus on serious injury and fatality prevention, the enormity of the culture changes needed must be recognized as well as how deeply some deterring premises are embedded in many companies. A list follows of innovations to be considered. Other safety professionals may want to revise the list. 

Importantly, a culture change will also be needed to add a focus on serious injury and fatality prevention within the safety management system while not diminishing efforts to reduce not-so-serious injuries. 

Data should be developed that links serious injury and fatality prevention to the need for the installation of new systems or the improvement in existing systems with respect to ... 

Chapter 8— Improving Serious Injury and Fatality Prevention — should be considered a primary resource for both situations as in item 1 and any situation in between. 

In Chapter 8, Improving Serious Injury and Fatality Prevention, this author wrote that risk assessments should be established as the core of an occupational risk management system. So, also, should risk assessment be a major element in a systemic causation model. 

A few prominent writers would have you believe that behavior modification, training, and leadership (consisting largely of what is referred to in OSHA literature as administrative controls) are almost the entirety of the practice of safety. But, events of the recent past indicate that several of the big hitters in behavior-based safety have revised their positions and now talk and write about taking a systems approach to safety management (see Chapter 8, Improving Serious Injury and Fatality Prevention ). 

Chapter 8 on improving serious injury and fatality prevention... 

A Systemic Sociotechnical Model for an Operational Risk Management System is provided in the chapter on Improving Serious Injury and Fatality Prevention. Some will consider it radical. 

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