Principles of accident prevention

Hazard - something with the potential to cause harm 

Risk - the probability that the harm will occur and the severity of the 

Accident - an unforeseen event causing injury or damage 

Near miss - an event that narrowly missed causing injury or damage. 

An accident is not a single event it is the result of a series of linked causes. 

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The Ministry of Labour and National Service postulated six principles of accident prevention in 1956 that are still valid today. These are ... 

Outlines the principles of accident prevention and the main causes of accidents understands the difference between the cause of injury and the cause of accident. 

A basic principle of coimnon law is that an organization s management must provide competent staff. In safety and associated training, as well as at induction sessions, the principles of accident prevention and safe behaviour should be emphasized at all levels of work. 

United States Steel Corporation, 1968. Principles of Accident Prevention in United States Steel, 3rd edition. United States Steel Corporation, Pittsburgh, PA. 

In Heinrich s Principles of Accident Prevention, an inordinate emphasis is placed on the unsafe acts of individuals as causal factors, and insignificant attention is given to systemic causal factors. It is this author s belief that many safety practitioners would not agree with Heinrich s premise that man failure is the heart of the problem and the methods of control must be directed toward man failure (4). 

Behavioural sampling was developed in the 1950s to overcome some of the problems associated with the LTI-rate. It applies statistical sampling techniques in observing deviations from accepted safe work practices and conditions (Rockwell, 1959 Tarrants, 1980). The aim is to prevent losses by reducing the frequency of such deviations. The basic principle of accident prevention is the same as in the fertiliser plant case of Chapter 4. In behavioural sampling, we are concerned with the behaviour of people rather than of technical processes. 

In our view, Heinrichs principal contribution to the safety profession was his contention that science and engineering may be apphed practically and successfully to the prevention of accidents. He used the term science in the sense of knowledge of principles or facts. He stressed the four fundamental principles of accident prevention as (1) upper management interest and support (critical to the success of any safety program) (2) cause analysis (methods aimed at identifying the root cause of accidents) (3) selection and application of remedy (mitigation) (4) and executive enforcement of corrective practices (Hayhurst 1932). 

The handling of the end product is less dangerous than most other solvents. Therefore it illustrates Principle 12, Accident Prevention. ... 

The Seveso and Duphar accidents could have been avoided if proper containment systems had been used to contain the reactor releases. The proper application of fundamental engineering safety principles would have prevented the two accidents. First, by following proper procedures, the initiation steps would not have occurred. Second, by using proper hazard evaluation procedures, the hazards could have been identified and corrected before the accidents occurred. 

A written major-accident prevention policy has been established that includes the operator s overall aims and principles of action with respect to the control of major-accident hazards. 

In conclusion, it is not possible to prevent all accidents. It is therefore prudent to follow the precautionary measures outlined in the preceding section and also the cardinal principle of safety while handling explosives or ammunition and allied chemicals [36]. 

The welfare of the people who work with chemical products and processes is at least as important as the welfare of the environment. Green chemistry is anthropocentric (as is sustainable development). Several green chemistry principles reflect this anthropocentrism. Principles 3 (less-hazardous chemical synthesis), 4 (design of safer chemicals), 5 (safer solvents and auxiliaries), and 12 (inherently safer chemistry for accident prevention) express concern for the health of the people who handle materials or attend to processes (Anastas and Warner, 1998). While many of these safety benefits also accrue to nonhuman organisms, the focus of the principles is on the people who are exposed to these materials and methods. Inasmuch as we cannot know all of the environmental needs of nonhuman things, it is hard to imagine how the focus could be on anything else. 

Figure 2. The principle of warning sign to prevent accident.

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