Tuesday, May 22, 2018

What are the Human Factors Causing Accidents?


Safety professionals have known for years that not all accidents are caused by humans, 
but most are.  Many factors are responsible for large number of accidents that occur in a workplace. The following is a list of some human factors that are common causes of accidents:
  • Memory - Memory lapse may occur at any time
  • Judgment and reasoning power - May be reduced due to many factors
  • Attention - Failure to remain attentive or lack of attention
  • Delayed or false sensation of the sensory organs - Failed senses that could otherwise stimulate a response to avoid the accident
  • Competence - Lack of competence and experience
  • Skills - Skill level of individuals is important in any accident avoidance
  • Personality - Some are compromising while others are hardliner
  • Attitude - Negligence, arrogance, boldness and overconfidence etc.
  • Risk perception - Poor risk perception due to poor knowledge and experience
  • Individual characteristics - Anger, temper, curiosity etc.
Accidents that are caused due to human factors may be prevented or reduced by the following preventative measures:
  • Training and awareness
  • Supervision, monitoring and controlling
  • Feedback and reports
  • Frequent inspections and audits
  • Skill development
  • Education
The human behavior model teaches us that these preventive measures are known as antecedents (or the things we put in place to avoid the accident), but experience shows us that it is the feedback and consequences that work to change behavior.  


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