No More Accidents
Call it what it is: Injury, Collision, Incident or Crash

Picture a construction site with a tall wall. You can’t see the top.

All of a sudden a cinder block hits the ground a few feet in front of you. In safety terminology what just happened?

I hope your answer is a near miss or an INCIDENT.

Second scenario: The cinder block falls down and smashes $3000 worth of windows waiting to be installed. Was this an accident? Was it an incident? In safety terms it was PROPERTY DAMAGE. Was there an accident? What was the accident? I suggest an investigation of this event will decide what to call it (after the investigation, not before you start).

Next: The cinder block falls down and breaks your leg. “Hey everybody, we had an accident at work today, somebody broke their leg!” Maybe, maybe not. In safety terms there was a CRITICAL INJURY.

Hey everybody, there was a workplace injury today; someone had their leg fractured. What happened? Was it preventable?

Last case. The cinder block falls down and hits you on the head. Lights out. It’s FATAL.

That’s what it is, a workplace fatality. Was there an accident? Well I suggest that an investigation might indicate this. If there was, what is the accident? Where did it happen? Was the broken leg or the broken head the accident? Certainly NOT. If there was an accident it took place up on top of the wall. Look where you slipped, not where you landed.

So an investigation jointly finds that a coworker dropped the block deliberately. No accident here. It was murder, a criminal offence.

But another case: where safeguards in place, due diligence, right tool for the job, equipment well maintained, training, proper procedures and supervision for example?

I suggest if it was preventable then there was no accident, a preventable workplace fatality or injury.

“ACCIDENT” Anything occurring unexpectedly, or without known cause.

I think that if the cause is known and it was preventable then we should call it like it is, an injury or a fatality.

Ask yourself, “What are some excuses you have heard after an injury?”

Excuses.
Like:
“that’s the way we always do it!”

“it was only going to take a minute!”

“it was JUST an ACCIDENT!”

“it was a FREAK accident!’

“safety first! We talked about safety on the way to the job site, but
…!”

“we only do that job once or twice a year (so why should we worry about
safety?!”

There are three things that need to be done to prevent injuries.
1 Recognize the Hazard
2 Understand the Defense
3 Act in Time

Call it like it is. Don’t let people hide behind, “It was just an accident.”

People have to be made responsible for their actions or inaction.

Thank you.