In the past I have written about luck and it’s role in safety. We think we can control everything, but there is very little we truly control. I’ve worked around big machines my whole life. Machines don’t kill people, but people die from making mistakes while working with them. Machines are totally unforgiving of human error, which…
Tag Archive: investigation
Are You Interested in an Armor Upgrade?
As I mentioned in Monday’s post, I spent part of the weekend at Dragon*Con, a convention for enthusiasts of all things science fiction, comics, role playing, fantasy, computer gaming and more. It was intriguing, to say the least, to see people walking around with weapons of all sorts. By policy, all weapons had to be…
8 Frequently Given Answers – Management Response
Accident investigations are essential for improving safety. There are many American companies who manage safety well and do a good job of investigation and resolving problems. I have submitted lists before of employee answers and supervisor answers to investigations questions. This last list in the series are the answers that management gives in companies do…
In a Hurry? Breathe!
If you were invited to review a pile of accident reports from a company that utilizes a good investigation process, you will see that several factors contribute to most accidents. A very consistent error is related to human behavior. Accidents happen most frequently when people feel rushed, or when they are frustrated by the problems…
Exploration is Never Done
About a week ago I brought up the idea of the safety warrior. This is the safety guy who works tirelessly against all things that threaten the safety of the employees he is charged with protecting. The fact is, he can’t do it alone. He needs help. One of the people who can provide help…
How’s My Driving?
Late morning Sunday we were driving in an area of Atlanta we were not familiar with. We had a general sense of where our destination was, and so we were not inclined to use the GPS. When we got near our destination, I began to realize the final navigation might be harder than I thought…
13 Frequently Given Answers – Supervisory Edition
A few weeks, ago, my Monday list was fueled by the many excuses I have heard when doing accident investigations. This week, I offer the supervisory side of the FGA’s, based on actual investigations I have been part of through the years. Fortunately, most of these represent the the first 15 years of my career,…
Always Make New Mistakes
Does someone have to be blamed for every accident? Isn’t it OK, at least once and a while, to conclude that “shit happens” at the end of an accident investigation? As long as we avoid ever making this mistake in the future? For many people, closure seems to require that someone is blamed. Whether you…
13 Frequently Given Answers – Safety Investigations
Safety Investigations are serious matters, but they are also imperfect and frequently intimidating. People hate to acknowledge that they weren’t thinking, forgot themselves for a minute, or were just too hurried to do something the safer way. The good investigator gets to root cause, so that a permanent fix can be put in place. Along…
It’s Good To Investigate
One thing about accidents is that we can usually spot after the fact exactly how we could have avoided them. Often we are embarrassed by the result of a post-incident investigation. Being human means that we will make mistakes. The key is that we learn from them. That’s why investigation procedures in some businesses are…
