This issue and the previous one contain an article by Terry Ryan originally published in the OHS Magazine. The following are crucial factors that are often missed during accident investigations.

Department/company injury prevention programs: Often an accident indicates a weakness or failure in an accident prevention program. Each investigation is, in part, an evaluation of that program and should result in its improvement.

Department/company morale: Poor Morale leads to accident. If people don’t care about their work, concentration decreases and accidents and injuries increase.

Employee’s age: Many young workers are assigned to jobs without being properly trained, while many older people are now working longer and doing jobs unsuited to their physical condition.

The employee’s experience: Experience is often misinterpreted in accident investigations. For example, many would consider a mechanics experience as the length of time that person was employed as a mechanic in a given department. It’s better to focus on the mechanics experience doing the particular task he was performing at the time of the accident. False assumptions can result in overrating an employee’s experience and undervaluing the need for training.

The employees’ home/social life: Employers must recognize that problems at home are often brought into the workplace. A person with drug/alcohol problems or one who is going through a divorce, or has had a death in the family cannot be expected to perform at par. Systems should be in place to accommodate these possibilities.

Terry Ryan – OH& S Canada