Impact of the human factor on safety

Problem:

According to estimates of the World Health Organisation, accidents are currently the third leading cause of death after cardiovascular and cancer diseases.

In addition, violations of safety health requirements lead not only to injuries and death, but also to accidents, the destruction of equipment and the infliction of other types of damage on an organisation. According to different data, in 50-80% of instances the human factor is the cause of accidents, incidents, injuries, etc. A sad record was documented in 2016 – the human factor accounted for 94% of aircraft crashes.

Solution:

Our research cites the following reasons why people violate safety rules and create accidents and dangerous situations:

1. Lack of knowledge – an individual commits violations or ends up in a dangerous situation because he simply doesn’t know the respective rules or has no information on hazardous factors.
2. Dearth of abilities – in this case, even after receiving respective training or instruction an individual is unable to assimilate the material, and in real-life situations cannot assess the situation correctly and apply the knowledge that he/she received.
3. Personal predisposition to commit violations –– if an individual has certain personality traits, even if he/she knows the safety rules and is aware of the risks, he/she will still commit violations, take a risk or acts in a dangerous way.
4. Pressure exerted by other people or circumstances – in this case the individual may commit violations, giving in to the pressure of work colleagues or management. It is often the case that safety rules are ignored if a team is behind schedule or wants to complete an assignment more rapidly. Frequently, these issues are connected: for example, the manager demands that work be performed in violation of the rules in order to reduce the deadline or cost of the work.

You find out about Detech’s human risk assessment tools here

Compliance with production safety and the achievement of Goal Zero is only possible if the entire occupational health and safety system functions every day and in all related areas. We call this approach the “safety pyramid”:

[Translation of diagram: Implementation of a safety culture: safety as a value; Assessment of the inclination of employees to commit violations, staffing solutions; Assessment of the level of technical knowledge and literacy in the area of occupational health and safety; Improvements in the efficiency of the training system on occupational health and safety rules; Analysis of the root causes of violations]

We highlight the following in particular:

• Occupational health and safety knowledge training and assessment system.
• Establishment of a safe production culture.
• Analysis of the root causes of violations.

An article on the assessment of human risks in production can be found in the magazine “Work Safety in Industry”

Impact of the human factor on safety

Assessment of production staff

Safe production culture

Occupational health and safety knowledge training and assessment system

Analysis of the root causes of violations