Safety Management

( EEAI 4422)

1
Prepared by: NOEL C. ROSALES
The Theories
of Causation

2
Theories of Accident Causation:

1. Domino Theory
2. Human Factors
3. Accident/Incident
4. Epidiemology
5. Systems

3
Accident Defined:

• Unplanned / unavoidable event

• Generally associated with negative consequences
– Fatalities
– Injuries
– Near misses
– Damaged materials
– Shattered nerves

4
Heinrich’s Domino Theory

 explained accidents using an analogy to dominos

falling over one another and creating a chain of
events.

• 88% Caused by Unsafe Acts

• 10% Caused by Unsafe Conditions
• 02% Are Unavoidable

5
Ferrell’s Human Factor Model

Accident causation attributes accidents to a chain of

events ultimately caused by Human Error

Driven by:
• Overload
• Inappropriate Response/Compatibility
• Inappropriate Activities

6
Petersen’s Accident/Incident Model
Petersen’s model is largely an expansion upon Ferrell’s
Human Factor Model
• Overload
Pressure Fatigue
Motivation Drugs
Alcohol Worry
• Ergonomic Traps
Incompatible Workstations
Incompatible Expectations
• Decision to Err
Mgmt. Of Risk
Unconscious desire to err
Logical Decision based on decision
7
The Epidemiological Approach

• the epidemiological approach continually relies on

collecting additional information to expand our knowledge

• this technique can be observed in current insurance

provider practices.

For example, an insurance provider might observe that

increased safety training programs are negatively correlated
with accidents. Rates could be then lowered for
organizations using such programs or a discount used as an
incentive to increase training.
8
Systems Models

• A systems model theory approaches the relationship

between persons and their environments differently. Rather
than the environment being full of hazards and a person
being error prone, a system model view sees a harmony
between man, machine, and environment. Under normal
circumstances, the chances of an accident are very low.

• Another aspect of the systems model is what is referred to

as risk-taking. Whenever someone chooses to do something,
there is an associated risk.
9