ABSTRACT
“We...are still unable to see a worker safely through a day’s work. Why? Because we have not thoroughly analyzed our accident causes. As a result of inadequate accident reporting we have had insufficient data to target in on unsafe tools, machines, equipment or facilities. We also continue to place all of our safety bets on ‘human performance’ to avoid hazards that are not being identified. We cannot expect to reduce our accident experience by a solitary approach of attempting always to change human behavior to cope with hazards. If there is a hole in the floor, we cannot reliably expect to avoid an accident by training all of the people to walk around the hole. It is far simpler to cover the hole.” (David V MacCollum, past president, American Society of Safety Engineers)
