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ACCIDENT CAUSATION THEORIES

Accidents in Construction
Why do accidents happen in construction?
Physical hazards Environmental hazards Human factors No safety regulations or poor ones Poor communication within, between, and among various trades working on a job site

Accidents should not be viewed as inevitable just because hazards exist. For every accident that occurs, there is a cause.
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Theories of Accident Causation

The most widely known theories of accident causation:
Domino theory Human factors theory Accident / incident theory Epidemiological theory Systems theory Combination theory Behavioral theory
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Domino Theory
Herbert W. Heinrich Travelers Insurance Company In the late 1920s, studying reports of 75,000 workplace accidents, he concluded the following:
88% of accidents are caused by unsafe acts committed by fellow workers 10% of accidents are caused by unsafe conditions 2% of accidents are unavoidable

Contemporary research considers domino theory as outdated however todays more widely accepted theories can be traced back to Heinrichs study.
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Domino theory explained

Conclusions laid foundation for Axioms of Industrial Safety (came to be known as the Domino Theory)
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Injuries result from a completed series of factors, one of which is the accident itself. An accident can occur only as the result of an unsafe act by a person or a physical or mechanical hazard, or both. Most accidents are the result of unsafe behavior by people. An unsafe act by a person or an unsafe condition does not always immediately result in an accident or injury. The reasons why people commit unsafe acts can serve as helpful guides in selecting corrective actions. The severity of an accident is largely fortuitous, and the accident that caused it is largely preventable.
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7.

The best accident prevention techniques are analogous with the best quality and productivity standards. 8. Management should assume responsibility for safety because it is in the best position to get results. 9. The supervisor is the key person in the prevention of workplace accidents. 10. In addition to the direct costs of an accident (i.e., compensation, liability claims, medical costs, and hospital expenses), there are also hidden or indirect costs.

Domino Theory
Five factors in sequence leading to an accident:
1. Ancestry and social environment. Negative character traits that may lead people to behave in an unsafe manner can be inherited (ancestry) or acquired as a result of the social environment. Fault of person. Negative character traits, whether inherited or acquired, are why people behave in an unsafe manner and why hazardous conditions exist. Unsafe acts and mechanical or physical hazards. Unsafe acts committed by people and mechanical or physical hazards are the direct causes of accidents. Accident. Typically, accidents that result in injury are caused by falling or being hit by moving objects. Injury. Typical injuries resulting from accidents include lacerations and fractures.
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Heinrich believed any safety programs taking all 10 axioms into consideration will likely be effective.

2. 3. 4. 5.

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Domino Theory
Two central points:
Injuries are caused by preceding factors By removing the unsafe act or hazardous condition, the action of these preceding factors is negated and the accidents/injuries are prevented.

Domino Theory - Example

Construction Products Company (CPC) is a distributor of lumber, pipe and concrete products. Warehouse personnel load most of the orders by hand therefore they are required to wear personal protective gear. Management observed increases in minor injuries among personnel during summer months. However during the last summer they suffered from the serious back injuries of two workers.
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Domino Theory - Example

Investigation revealed a series of events and a central causal behavior which created a domino effect.
Personal protective gear becomes uncomfortable due to hot weather and loaders take it off. This situation increases the number of minor injuries but management does not pay attention due to the nature of injuries. Therefore it was probably inevitable to suffer from more serious injuries.
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Domino Theory - Example

Solution:
Removing the causal factor - the failure of warehouse personnel to use their personal protective gear during summer months. Forming a committee. Committees recommendations: 1. Provide all warehouse personnel with training on the importance and proper use of personal protection 2. Require warehouse supervisors to monitor the use of personal protection gear more closely 3. Establish a company policy that contains specific and progressive disciplinary measures for failure to use required personal protection gear 4. Implement several heat reduction measures to make warehouses cooler.

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Human Factors Theory

Attributes accidents to a chain of events ultimately caused by human error. Consists of three broad factors that lead to human error:
Overload Inappropriate Response Inappropriate Activities

Factors Leading to Human Error

Overload

Inappropriate Activities

Human Error Factors

Inappropriate Response
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Overload
Capacity product of such factors as a persons natural ability, training, state of mind, fatigue, stress, and physical condition. Load consisting of tasks for which a person is responsible and added burdens resulting from environmental factors (noise, heat), internal factors (personal problems, stress), and situational factors (unclear instructions). State the product of a persons motivational levels. Overload an imbalance between a persons capacity at a any given time and the load that the person is carrying in a given state.
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Inappropriate Response or Incompatibility

How a person responds to a given situation can cause or prevent an accident. Inappropriate response occurs when:
A person detects a hazardous condition but does nothing to correct it A person disregards an established safety procedure.

Incompatibility of a persons workstation with regard to size, force, reach, feel and similar factors can lead to accidents and injuries.
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Inappropriate Activities
Human error can be result of inappropriate activities. Examples:
Person who undertakes a task that he / she does not know how to do. A person who misjudges the degree of risk involved in a given task and proceeds on that misjudgment.

Human Factors Theory

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Human Factors Theory - Example

Jones Cabinets & Construction Company sees rapid growth in sales which overwhelmed companys work force. New teams of cabinet makers and installers hired. Authorized unlimited overtime. Numbers of accidents and injuries increased.
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Human Factors Theory - Example

Investigation revealed human errors in the three categories:
Overload:
Employees working beyond their personal limits and beyond their capabilities. Stress, insufficient training and fatigue

Inappropriate response:
Carpenters removing the safeguards to speed up construction.

Inappropriate activities:
Assigning employees to duties for which they are not fully trained
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Accident / Incident Theory

Extension of human factors theory Developed by Dan Petersen New elements:
Ergonomic traps The decision to err Systems failures

Accident/Incident Theory

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Accident / Incident Theory

Some of the reasons why systems may fail:
1. Management does not establish a comprehensive safety policy 2. Responsibility and authority with regard to safety are not clearly defined 3. Safety procedures, such as measurement, inspection, correction, and investigation, are ignored or given insufficient attention. 4. Employees do not receive proper orientation 5. Employees are not given sufficient safety training
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Accident / Incident Theory - Example

Panhandle Precast Concrete has developed a well-earned reputation as a safe company. When the safety manager of the firm, Jack Bond, was elected as the president of a statewide safety organization, safety problems within the firm began. Jack Bond neglected his duties at PPC. Workers stopped following the safety precautions once they realized he had stopped observing and correcting them.
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Epidemiological Theory
Epidemiology: Study of causal relationships between environmental factors and disease. Epidemiological theory holds that the models used for studying and determining these relationships can also be used to study casual relationships between environmental factors and accidents. Components:
Predisposition Characteristics Situational Characteristics
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Epidemiological Theory

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Epidemiological Theory - Example

Jane Andrews was the newest member of the loading unit for Construction Products, Inc. She had 2 days of training on proper lifting techniques before beginning the work and mandatory use of backsupport belts Her supervisor and colleagues pressured to disregard the proper lifting methods she learned in training. She followed her supervisor and after 2 months had to undergo major surgery to repair two ruptured disks. Predisposition factor: Her susceptibility to pressure from her coworkers and supervisor Situational factors: Peer pressure and priorities of supervisor
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Systems Theory
System a group of regularly interacting and interrelated components that together form a unified whole. An accident may occur as a system which is composed of:
Person Machine Environment

The likelihood of an accident to occur is determined by how these components interact. Example: A worker who temporarily replaces an experienced crane operator increases the probability of an accident.

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Systems Theory
The primary components of the systems model are the person, machine, environment, and information; decisions; risks; and the task to be performed. Each of these components has a bearing on the probability that an accident will occur.

Systems Theory
Factors which should be considered before collecting information, weighing risks and making a decision:
job requirements the workers abilities and limitations the gain if the task is successfully accomplished the loss if the task is attempted but fails the loss if the task is not attempted

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Systems Theory - Example

Construction Service Company (CSC) makes customized trusses for residential construction jobs. Workers including the apprentices use manually operated machines which causes two problems:
It is difficult for even experienced workers to make clean accurate cuts Machines are so old that they frequently break down.

Combination Theory
Often the cause of an accident cannot be adequately described by one theory. Differences between the theory and reality may exist. Combination theory helps explain the actual cause of an accident by combining different parts of several theories.
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While working under a major contract, an apprentice gets careless and runs his hand into the saw blade. The person-machine-environment chain: Person involved was inexperienced. Machine involved was old and prone to breakdown The environment was stressful and pressure-packed.

Combination Theory - Example

Crestview Construction Company (CCC) maintains four large warehouses . Ventilation of these warehouses are important and the vent filters need to be changed periodically. Changing the vents filter involves two potential hazards:
Unvented dust and fumes can make breathing difficult. Vents are located 110 feet above the ground level, which can be accessed through a narrow cat walk that has kneehigh guardrails.
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Combination Theory - Example

CCC has well defined rules which are strictly enforced. However an employee fell from the catwalk while he was trying to change one of the filter. His lifeline held him for 20 minutes. When he panicked and tried to pull himself up he knocked the buckle of his safety harness open and fell to the concrete floor, breaking his neck. Critical factors: Absence of supervisor Inexperience of worker A conscious decision by the worker to disregard the safety procedures A faulty buckling mechanism on the safety harness An unsafe design (only a knee-high guardrail on the catwalk)
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Behavioral Theory
Referred to as Behavior-based safety (BBS) E. Scott Geller Safety Performance Solutions, Inc., and professor of psychology
Believes in 7 basic principles of BBS: 1. Use intervention that is focused on employee behavior. 2. Identify external factors that aid in understanding and improving employee behavior.
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Behavioral Theory
3. Direct behavior with activator or events antecedent to the desired behavior, and motivate employees to behave as desired with incentives and rewards that follow desired behavior. 4. Focus on the positive consequences that result from the desired behavior as a way to motivate employees. 5. Apply scientific method to improve attempts at behavioral interventions. 6. Use theory to integrate information rather than to limit possibilities. 7. Plan interventions with the feelings and attitudes of the individual employee in mind.
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BBS and ABC Model

Behavior-based safety trainers and consultants teach the ABC model (or three-term contingency) as a framework to understand and analyze behavior or to develop interventions for improving behavior. As given in BBS principle 3the A stands for activators or antecedent events that precede behavior (B), and C refers to the consequences following behavior or produced by it. Activators direct behavior, whereas consequences motivate behavior.
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BBS and ABCO Model

Outcome refers to the longer-term results of engaging in safe or unsafe behavior. For example, an antecedent of a sign requiring employees to wear safety goggles could produce the behavior of putting on the goggles, the consequence of avoiding an eye injury, and the outcome of being able to continue working and enjoying time with the family. One the other hand, the consequence of not wearing goggles could be an eye injury with a potential outcome of blindness, time off the job, and a reduced quality of life. Failure to address the issue of outcomes represents a lost opportunity to give employees a good reason for engaging in safe behaviors.
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Behavioral Theory - Example

Jack Coker decided to apply the ABC model in turning the unsafe behavior pattern of the workers (not wearing hard hats) in Bonded Builders, Inc.
1. He removed the old Hard Hat Area signs and replaced them with newer, more noticeable signs. 2. He scheduled a brief seminar on head injuries in which he told a story of two employees. One was in a hospital bed surrounded by family members he did not even recognize; the other was shown enjoying a family outing with happy family members.
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