Questionable assumptions about O.H.S. Management

The safety profession in Australia is surrounded by fuzzy beliefs and unscientific thinking.

The Lost Time Injury Frequency rate is a valid & reliable measure of safety performance. Anyone who uses L.T.I.F.R. as their main measure of safety performance is engaging in acts of public masturbation

People cause accidents-All “accidents” have Person, Machine & Environment essential factors .You are missing out on many avenues for control by focusing solely on the people

Iceberg Theory- There are fixed ratios between near-misses, minor injuries, lost time injuries and fatalities and minor injuries are a good predictor of serious personal damage. The Iceberg theory should be relegated to the past.

. Focus on Class 1 Damage

 A method of classifying personal damage that seems appropriate is the following-

CLASS 1-Damage that permanently alters a persons life e.g. death, paraplegia, amputation of a leg, severe psychological damage.

CLASS 2- Damage that temporarily alters a person’s life e.g. fractured leg that repairs with no lasting impediment, deep laceration that has no underlying tissue damage and repairs without significant scarring

CLASS 3 inconveniences a person’s life

The report of the Industry Commission 1995 indicates that safety in Australia is fundamentally a class 1 problem (87% of occurrences were class 2 with18% of cost, 13% of occurrences were class 1 with 82% of cost. Most safety management systems in Australian industry focus on lost time accidents within the organisation. Better returns for effort will be gained by focusing on Class 1 damage in the companies industry or Australia-wide. We must lobby for government to improve methods of collecting, disseminating and analysing personal damage occurrence (accident) data. Collection of personal damage occurrence (accident) data on an industry-wide basis is essential.

A.S./N/Z.S. 4801 is an appropriate aim

Many organizations aim to have a Safety Management System that complies with A.S. / N.Z.S. 4801,having a Safety Management System that meets the identified  needs of the organization is the preferred approach.