Reviewing Heinrich Dislodging Two Myths from the Practice of Safety

REVIEWING HEINRICH DISLODGING TWO MYTHS FROM THE PRACTICE OF SAFETY 

In The Standardization o/Error, Vilhjamur Stefansson makes the case that people are willing to accept as fact what is written or spoken without adequate supporting evidence. When studies show that a supposed fact is not true, dislodging it is difficult because that belief has become deeply embedded in the minds of people and, thereby, standardized. Stefansson pleads for a mindset that accepts as knowledge only that which can be proven and which cannot be logically contradicted. He states that his theme applies to all fields of endeavor except for mathematics. 

Safety is a professional specialty in which myths have become standardized and deeply embedded. This chapter examines two myths that should be dislodged from the practice of safety  

Unsafe acts of workers are the principle causes of occupational accidents. 

Reducing accident frequency will achieve an equivalent reduction in injury severity. 

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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. 

An analysis of some of the other myths can be found in Besnard, D. and Hollnagel, E. (2012), I want to believe Some myths about the management of industrial safety. Cognition, Technology Work, 12. Another example of relevance to this chapter is Manuele, F.E. (2011), Reviewing Heinrich Dislodging two myths from the practice of safety. Professional Safety, October, 52-61. 

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