ABSTRACT
Failure to assess the hazards and control the risk triggers off poor controls in the form of an inadequate health and safety management system (SMS). This causes personal and job factors. These root accident causes create a climate that breeds high-risk behaviors and high-risk conditions. The stage has been set, and invariably the next event, as a result of the high-risk condition or action, is an exposure, impact, or contact with the source of energy or a near-miss incident, depending on Luck Factor 1.
Some in the profession put it this way: “On the other hand, the absence of an accident doesn’t mean there was no violation – it may only reflect the employer’s good fortune.”
As another seasoned safety professional put it, “In forty years of working in safety, no one has yet been able to explain to me what determines the difference between a near-miss incident and an accident that injures workers.”
