ABSTRACT
One of the points noted by the Iron and Steel Productivity Team which visited the U.S.A. in 1951 was the discrepancy between American and British accident rates. While there were differences in methods of compiling the figures, there was nevertheless sufficient evidence of a real difference in the level of accidents to cause concern. The American lost time accident frequency rate per million man-hours worked for the year 1949 was reported as 7.2, whereas the British equivalent was 32.6 [3]. As a result, the British Iron and Steel Research Association initiated a study of accidents in the British industry through its Operational Research Team, with the first author as the responsible officer. He, at a later stage, invited the collaboration of the Tavistock Institute, represented by the second author, when a further analysis of the findings appeared necessary after a preliminary report had been made. *
