Accidents in the work place or in the course of duty to an employer must be logged according to rules laid down in health and safety legislation.

An accident can be defined as "an unplanned event that may or may not result in personal injury and/or damage to property".

The circumstances that lead to accidents are unexpected by those involved, but this does not mean that they are unpredictable. They are rarely "acts of God".

The term "accident" extends well beyond those incidents that cause personal injury. Near misses and damage incidents are potentially just as serious.

Most accidents are caused by carelessness: Statistics show that the vast majority are caused by fundamental failings on the part of management, rather than the injured person

Accident Prevention

The theory of accident prevention is founded upon the premise that all accidents can be avoided. Most accidents result from a sequence of individual steps. Once the chain of events has been set into motion, the end result is predictable unless preventative measures are taken at an early juncture. The objective is to remove one or more of the contributory pieces so as to prevent the final accident from happening. The technique of accident prevention therefore concerns the recognition and elimination or control of the factors that may lead to injury or damage. These include:

• lack of skills or training
• poor maintenance of equipment
• inadequate supervision
• inattention to detail.

Safety inspections

Safety inspections are basically hazard-spotting exercises. Usually a member of management, perhaps accompanied by an employee representative, walks around the workplace identifying circumstances which have potential to cause injury or damage.

Hazard awareness

Awareness of the environment and the hazards that exist is the first step towards achieving a safer workplace. Typical hazards which may occur in any organisation include: trailing wires; unstable fixtures and fittings; unguarded machinery; wet floors or stairs; overloaded power sockets; faulty equipment; insufficient lighting; obstructed access; fire doors wedged open.

Preventing Recurrence Through Accident Investigation

Gather the following information:

• outline of time, place, date and nature of any injury
• a summary of what is alleged to have happened
• details of events leading to the incident
• names of any witnesses
• information about injury or loss sustained
• photographs and diagrams.

Then establish:

• Was the person authorised and competent to do the work?
• Was he or she adequately supervised?
• Was he or she working in accordance with agreed systems of work?
• Were tools and equipment defective. When were they last checked?
• Were there any witnesses (obtain a first hand account)?
• What were the environmental conditions at the time?
• How long had the person been working. Was it day or night?
• Have there been any previous incidents of a similar nature?

The report which emerges must provide answers to the following questions.

• What was the likely immediate cause of the accident/injury/loss?
• What were the likely contributory causes?
• What was the necessary corrective action?
• Are system changes either necessary or desirable to prevent a recurrence?What policies or procedures need revision?

In addition to investigation of individual incidents, statistics should be collated so that it is possible to determine current trends. This information can be fed back into the accident prevention programme.
It should be noted that certain events are reportable to the enforcing authority (see A Guide to the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 ISBN 0 7176 1012 8, available from HSE Books. Tel: 01787 881165).

ALTERNATIVES AND/OR CASE STUDIES

Case Study One

A company decided to carry out departmental safety inspections on a monthly basis. A small team was set up in each area consisting of a supervisor, an employee representative and someone from the maintenance department. Their brief was to walk around their own designated area, and to note down any safety problems that came to their attention. These were then classified into three grades of priority.

Priority 1

These were situations which represented a serious and imminent risk, such as exposed live electrical wiring, or broken glass on staircases, where emergency action is necessary. These incidents were then reported verbally to the local manager.

Priority 2

These were situations which required attention reasonably quickly, such as replenishment of first aid stocks or flickering overhead lights.

Priority 3

These were situations that, although not a problem at the time, might become more significant if unaddressed in the medium term. Examples are flooring that is nearing the end of its useful life and scarcity of storage facilities.

After the inspection, report sheets were sent to those responsible for implementing the remedial measures. Recipients were required to complete the action column on the form, stating the date of completion or a reason for non-completion. The forms had to be returned within a prescribed period.

Case Study Two

An employee in an office block reported that he had narrowly missed being struck by a falling object when about to enter the premises. Management carried out enquiries and it transpired that the object (a telephone directory) had fallen from a window on the 11th floor. If the object had hit the person on the head, he could have died from his injuries.
Further investigation showed that the item had been standing on a window ledge inside the building. Although there were restraining devices to stop a person from falling out, the window could be left slightly open to provide fresh air. Somebody had inadvertently knocked the directory when reaching for it, causing it to be ejected through the narrow gap.
As a result of the investigation, additional shelving was installed in another (accessible) part of the office and employees were instructed not to use window ledges for storage. Provided that the rules are followed, which can be ascertained by regular monitoring, the likelihood of a re-ocurrence has been significantly reduced.