http://www.citehr.com/18544-seven-common-accident-causes.html SEVEN COMMON ACCIDENT CAUSES Accidents occur for many reasons.

In most industries people tend to look for "things" to blame when an accident happens, because it's easier than looking for "root causes," such as those listed below. Consider the underlying accident causes described. Have you been guilty of any of these attitudes or behaviors? If so, you may have not been injured-but next time you may not be so lucky. Taking Shortcuts: Every day we make decisions we hope will make the job faster and more efficient. But do time savers ever risk your own safety, or that of other crew members? Short cuts that reduce your safety on the job are not shortcuts, but an increased chance for injury. Being over Confident: Confidence is a good thing. Overconfidence is too much of a good thing. "It'll never happen to me" is an attitude that can lead to improper procedures, tools, or methods in your work. Any of these can lead to an injury. Starting a Task with Incomplete Instructions: To do the job safely and right the first time you need complete information. Have you ever seen a worker sent to do a job, having been given only a part of the job's instructions? Don't be shy about asking for explanations about work procedures and safety precautions. It isn't dumb to ask questions; it's dumb not to. Poor Housekeeping: When clients, managers or safety professionals walk through your work site, housekeeping is an accurate indicator of everyone's attitude about quality, production and safety. Poor housekeeping creates hazards of all types. A well maintained area sets a standard for others to follow. Good housekeeping involves both pride and safety. Ignoring Safety Procedures: Purposely failing to observe safety procedures can endanger you and your co-workers. You are being paid to follow the company safety policies-not to make your own rules. Being "casual" about safety can lead to a casualty! Mental Distractions from Work:

Having a bad day at home and worrying about it at work is a hazardous combination. Dropping your 'mental' guard can pull your focus away from safe work procedures. You can also be distracted when you're busy working and a friend comes by to talk while you are trying to work. Don't become a statistic because you took your eyes off the machine "just for a minute." Failure to Pre-Plan the Work: There is a lot of talk today about Job Safety Analysis. JSA's are an effective way to figure out the smartest ways to work safely and effectively. Being hasty in starting a task or not thinking through the process can put you in harms way. Instead, Plan Your Workand then Work Your Plan! Attribution: http://www.citehr.com/18544-seven-common-accident-causes.html#ixzz20V17f9gv http://www.ehow.com/info_7989706_causes-industrial-accidents.html Industrial accidents are unforeseen incidents that are not scheduled or planned and cause injury to employees. These types of accidents accounted for more 1.2 million U.S. employees missing time from work because of nonfatal injuries, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This 2009 statistic was a decrease of 9 percent from 2008. A host of causes created industrial accidents, and these causes can be placed into different categories. Industrial accidents accounted for 4,340 deaths during 2009, as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Human Error Most industrial accidents occur because of human error. A worker does not follow the proper safety procedures or is attempting to accomplish a task without the proper equipment. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of 2009, 74.8 percent of these injuries occurred in the service-related industry. Most of these injuries were caused because an employee worked on equipment without the proper tools, damaging the industrial equipment and creating a safety hazard. Training Many industrial accidents occur because an employee is not trained properly on the use of the equipment or the safety procedures used during the operation and maintenance of the equipment. The manufacturing industry reported 4.3 industrial accidents occurring for every 100 workers during the 2009 work year. Most of these accidents occurred because of lack of training of the employee. The equipment must have qualified operators and these operators must know what to do if something happens to the equipment. Manufacturing Defect

Industrial accidents also occur because of a manufacturing defect in a piece of equipment or material. During the course of manufacturing several quality-control steps are taken to ensure the equipment is within safety tolerances. Because most of these quality controls are handled by humans, there is a chance that a piece of equipment can have a defect that is missed during the process. The equipment is installed, operated and then fails, causing an industrial accident that can injure or even kill an employee. Maintenance One of the common causes for industrial accidents is improper maintenance procedures or the lack of preventive maintenance programs. Equipment cannot run without having maintenance performed on a scheduled basis. Most equipment manufacturers publish a recommended preventive maintenance schedule for the equipment, but the companies and their maintenance personnel are responsible for carrying out these preventive maintenance programs. Like an automobile that does not regularly get fuel, oil or the brakes replaced, a piece of equipment not maintained fails -- at times with consequences. Equipment should be free of all unauthorized attachments. Spilled gasoline should be cleaned up before starting an engine. If flushing is not possible orpractical, the approved absorbent material should be used. Metal shovel, metal grid, orother sparkproducing tools should not be used in this process. When more than a pint of gasoline has been spilled, a person should standby with a the extinguisher while the spill iscleaned up.A machine which is improperly loaded or which is not in a safe mechanical condition should notbe used.The engine should be stopped and brakes set before the operator leaves the machine. Only licensed operators should be permitted tooperate equipment.Suitable fire-extinguishing equipment should beavailable at all times.A truck or trailer should not be unloaded unlessit is blocked.Floorload capacity should not be exceeded.Equipment should not be operated in excess ofthe maximum speed limitations.Stacks should not be bumped nor pushed withpower-driven equipment.Forklift truckss should travel with forks elevatedapproximately 4 inches above the floor and beparked with the forks resting on the floor.Personnel should not be permitted to stand underloads being hoisted or lowered, nor be allowedto ride on equipment.Personnel may be hoisted with a forklift onlywhen authorized and then only when a safetypallet is used.The load capacity should be prominentlystenciled on a forklift truck; do not overload.Do not load a forklift truck while it is in motion.Tilt the mast back when transporting a load byforklift truck.Drive forward when transporting a load up aramp and in reverse when going down a ramp.The following paragraphs discuss causes ofaccidents, some specific danger areas, supervisoryresponsibility, and provide a checklist of safetyprecautiom

CAUSES OF ACCIDENTS Primarily, accidents are caused by people.Equipment may be involved, but people handle theequipment. Most accidents are the result ofCarelessness,Inexperience, and/orWrong attitude.CarelessnessSome locations are potential danger spots. The lackof alertness may cause accidents resulting in injury ordeath. People working on piers, weather decks, and inthe ships hold must be constantly on the alert formoving or falling objects. As personnel becomefamiliar with a job, they may try to take shortcuts;which place themselves and others in danger. Fatigueis another cause of carelessness. As people tire, theyare less alert and more likely to cause an accident. Inexperience Unless personnel are indoctrinated and experiencedin handling a particular piece of equipment, they shouldnot be allowed to use it except under close supervision.Persons who operate cranes, capstans, winches,windlasses and other deck equipment must first getauthority from the first lieutenant. A person may knowhow to drive a forklift, but may not be fully aware ofthe safety precautions that should be observed whileoperating it. Operating materials-handling equipmentis not the only way that inexperienced personnel maycause accidents. A person working as a cargo handlerfor the first time may not be aware of the dangersinvolved. A minor mistake such as an improperlyloaded cargo net may result in injury to the operator orsomeone else. Attitude Some people work around dangerous machinery orequipment, explosives, acids, electrical equipmentwithout mishap.They take necessary safetyprecautions. Others, however, working arounddangerous objects or in dangerous work becomeoverfamiliar with the dangers.They have a tendency to slack off in the practice of safety. The adage there are old electricians and bold

Industrial Health and Social Security

The greatest activity over the past few decades, in so far as employees benefits are concerned, has occurred in the areas of health and social security. Industrial health is comparatively an new system of public health and preventive medicine practiced among industrial groups with the specific object of improving their health and preventing the occurrence of disease as well as injury to them. In the traditional sense, health implies the mere absence of an ascertainable disease or infirmity, but in its present connotation, health is the outcome of the interaction between the individual and his environment. According to such a dynamic approach, industrial health may comprise measures for (i) protecting the workers/employees

against any health hazards arising our of their work or the condition under which it si carried on; (in) fostering the adaptation of workers to the jobs and work environment and thus contributing towards the employees physical as well as mental adjustments; and (iii) promoting the establishment and maintenance of the highest possible degree of physical mental and social wellbeing of the workers. A large segment of the adult male population and quite a number of adult females too, spend a considerable portion of their working time today in an industrial setting where they are employed. Industry exposes the employee to certain hazards the may affect his health adversely. It is with the intention of reducing such hazards and improving the employees health that the discipline of industrial health has come into being as a branch of public health. The introduction of industrial organisation may contribute effectively to a positive reduction in employee absenteeism and turnover as well as discontent and indiscipline among the employees and thus may improve their morale, work performance and productivity. Obviously employees in the modern industrial setting are subject to various types of health hazards and occupational diseases. According to one view, the normal health hazards may be caused by Chemical substances at the work place such as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide, sulphuric acid, acetic acid etc. When they are inhaled or absorbed by the skin which may result in acute or chronic sickness including respiratory or heart diseases, cancer and neurological disorders they may shorten life expectancy; Biological factors including sickness caused by bacteria, fungi, viruses, dietary deficiencies, allergies, emotional strains due to fear, anxiety etc. and Environmental factors including illness due to radiation, noise, vibrations and shocks or atmospheric conditions such as inadequate ventilation, lighting arrangement or very high or low temperature at the work place. While exposure of workers to radiation may cause cataract, vibration and shocks may cause nerve injury and inflammation of tissues of he joints of the operatives hands and improper lighting may impair the employees vision, it has been pointed out that many manufacturing processes are accompanied by such noise as is capable of not only impairing the hearing of a workers but also of making it difficult for him to hear any warning of an impending danger. Besides such health hazards, various occupational diseases may also be caused as a result of the physical conditions and the presence of poisonous and non-poisonous dust and toxic substances in the atmosphere during the process of manufacturing or extraction. Such diseases are usually slow to develop and generally cumulative in their effects. Each diseases are usually slow to develop and generally cumulative in their effects.

In India, a list of such diseases are appended to sections 89 and 90 of the Factories Act, 1948 as well as the Workmens Compensation Act, 1923 which includes lead poisoning, phosphorous poisoning, arsenic poisoning, chorome ulceration, anthrax silicosis, primarily cancers of skin, dermatitis due to action of mineral oil, asbestosis, toxic anemia, begassoise etc.