Are all Injuries Preventable?

Absolutely. Okay done. Next.....

Wait…. Not good enough, why say that every injury is preventable?

The National Safety Counsel (NSC) a nationally and world recognized Safety organization with chapters in every major city in the United States has conducted years of research concerning causalities of injuries in the workplace. The basic statistic tells us that 90% of every injury is caused by an UnSafe Act (USA).

Furthermore, DuPont Safety Systems (you might have heard of them, creators of the STOP Safety program) bring this down even further. There research drives that percentage up to 99%. Whereby, 99% of all “accidents” (we will come back that term in a moment) are caused by an action or inaction of a person.

Consider a fall from a ladder:

John (a maintenance associate working 2nd shift) has received work orders to change the ballasts in the light fixtures within the OAS department. He finds a ladder and carries the ladder from light fixture to light fixture disconnecting the chain supports and unplugging the units from the ceiling plug-ins to carry back to the shop. Nearing the end of his shift he climbs the ladder to reconnect the last light fixture, the ladder step bends causing him to fall backward striking his head on the concrete floor and knocking him unconscious. He is found by production associates a few minutes later disoriented and confused. The supervisor transports the individual to the hospital. He is diagnosed with a contusion, cranial fracture, and held overnight due to a possible concussion.

Upon investigation it is discovered that the ladder step broke causing the fall.

The real question is, was this an UnSafe Act (USA) or was it an UnSafe Condition (USC)?

Reconsider: Did John inspect the ladder before use, as he is suppose too. In doing so he would have observed the indentation in the step that was at fault. Sure the UnSafe Condition was the cause of the “accident” but an UnSafe Act caused the UnSafe Condition, by failing to inspect prior to use!

Who is really at fault then? John? Well yes and no… John is at fault for failing to inspect the equipment, but moving up the chain of command, his supervisor is at fault for failing to self audit documentation of the inspection, perhaps the EHS Coordinator is at fault for failing to inspect equipment on a routine basis. Ultimately it is a system failure. The system of checks and balances or responsibility and accountability failed, failed the associate and failed his co-workers.

Next Post: Are there really such a thing as "accidents"?