ABSTRACT
This paper analyses the causality of occupational accidents occurred in a Portuguese shipyard during two years, 2014 and 2015. The objective is to identify not only the immediate causes of the accidents, but also their underlying causal factors at the organizational level, aiming to identify opportunities for improvement and to reduce accident rates in the shipyard. A second objective of the paper is to explore a way of modelling, quantitatively, the system studied from the causation point of view (cause-to-effect relationships). The method for Recording, Investigation and Analysis of Accidents at Work (RIAAT) is adopted to achieve the first goal. A Bayesian Network model of the causal relationships and consequences of the occupational accidents is then developed and used to simulate and analyse quantitatively different scenarios. A tangible plan of action is proposed, in which three categories of preventive measures are suggested: Engineering, Training & Awareness and Management & Control measures.
