Accident Terms Discussed

In order to understand accident, some critical terms from the literature and the appropriate laws and regulations should be clarified. In the next section some of the more critical terms will be discussed and explained. It is the aim not to only to supply definitions, but also to explain the terms.

The explanations results from interpretations and a combination of explanations from various references. The words and phrases may have other meanings in general or scientific use, but for the purpose of this article the meaning of these words will be as explained below.Accident vs. Incident

In publications such as Loss Control Management by Bird and Germain (1996) and National Occupational Safety Association (NOSA) publications, the term incident is used in preference to accident. In order to ensure consistency the following references have been consulted.

The South African Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993 (Act No. 85 of 1993) defines the term incident in Section 24 (1) to include:

"Any person who dies, becomes unconscious, suffers the loss of a limb or part of a limb or otherwise becomes ill to such a degree that he is likely to die or suffer a permanent physical defect or likely to be unable for a period of at least 14 days either to work or to continue with activities for which he was employed or is usually employed."

Despite the definition used by this Act, no other reference could be found of incident having a meaning that includes injury to people.

The following sources all support the use of the term accident whenever injury to people is meant:

The ILO convention concerning the prevention of major industrial accidents adopted on 22 June 1996 (Convention C174:3) states the following:

For the purposes of this convention the term major accident means a sudden occurrence such as a major emission, fire or explosion in the course of an activity within a major hazard installation, involving one or more hazardous substances and leading to a serious danger to workers, the public or the environment, whether immediate or delayed.

Article 5 (2) of the ILO convention concerning safety and health in mines that were adopted on 22 June 1998 (Convention C176:3) requires national laws and regulations to provide for:

(c) The procedures for reporting and investigating fatal and serious accidents, dangerous occurrences and mine disasters, each as defined by national laws or regulations;

(d) The compilation and publication of statistics on accidents, occupational diseases and dangerous occurrences, each as defined by national laws or regulations;

In Chapter 16 of the Canadian Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997, the use of the term accident for work-related injuries indicate that Canada makes extensive use of the term accident and does not utilise the term incident at all.

The US military standard MIL-STD-882C dealing with system safety program requirements dated 19 January 1993, defines the term mishap or accident to be:

An unplanned event or series of events resulting in death, injury, occupational illness, or damage to or loss of equipment or property, or damage to the environment.

The British Standard with the title "Guide to occupational health and safety management systems" BS 8800:1996 defines the following terms:

Accident:

Unplanned event giving rise to death, ill health, injury, damage or loss.

Incident:

Unplanned event which has the potential to lead to accident

The occupational health and safety assessment series OHSAS 18001:1999 draft 4 dated 18 February 1999 defines the terms as follows:

Accident:

Undesired event giving rise to death, ill health, injury, damage or other loss.

Incident:

Undesired event, which has the potential to lead to accident.

The USA code of federal regulations part 30 (Mineral Resources) defines accident extensively in section 50.2 (g). In summary the term is defined to include death and injury to an individual as well as a number of conditions that relate to loss without injuries being associated with the condition. The term incident is not found in this legislation.

The definition of accident, included in the US Federal Government Employees Compensation Act, is interpreted by the appeal commission to encompass both accidental cause and accidental result.

The Queensland Mines Regulation Act of 1964 as in force on 21 March 1997 does not define the term accident, but from Section 39(4) it can be concluded that a reportable accident is an accident that has resulted in loss of working time by any person on or about the mine.

The Victorian (Australian) Accident Compensation Act of 1985 does not define the term accident but from the text it is clear that injuries are compensated by this Act indicating that the term accident is acceptable.

The South African Mine Health and Safety Act, 1996 (Act No. 29 of 1996) does not specifically define the term accident but it is extensively used throughout the Act.

In the light of the above, it is clear that there is overwhelming evidence for the use of the term accident when an event results in the death, ill health or injury to workers. In cases where property damage and/or loss is referred to, most agree that the use of the term incident is acceptable.

For the purpose of this research the term accident will therefore be used and will include the meaning of incident. The motivation for this is that the research will focus primarily on accidents resulting in the death, ill health or injury to workers.

Based on the above definitions obtained from the literature the following definition is accepted as the most descriptive.Accident

The final event in an undesirable, unexpected and unplanned event sequence that interrupts an activity, and directly or indirectly results in immediate or delayed injury or illness to an employee, and may or may not result in property damage or loss in production.

The definition utilises certain words that could have different interpretations and it is therefore necessary to define some of these terms.Final Event

The final event is the simultaneous, interconnected, cross-linked occurrence that takes place when the last of the fundamental contributing factors interact dynamically with other contributing factors in a four-dimensional space-time continuum. Fundamental Contributing Factors

A fundamental contributing factor is a feature or condition required before and/or during an accident that plays a part during the dynamic interaction of the fundamental contributing factors in such a way that it plays a primary part in the accident sequence.Accident Investigation

An accident investigation is the first step in a fact-finding process aimed at avoiding future accidents. It should determine what, why and how the accident happened. Its purpose should not be to blame someone. A good accident investigation will establish the failure modes of the fundamental contributing factors.

Appropriate accident investigations often confirm that many small, less serious accidents occurred earlier as a result of similar system failures. An accident investigation offers the chance to learn a great deal about the fundamental contributing factors present during an accident and thereby increase the opportunity to intervene in the interest of safety. To be useful, accident investigations must be an honest attempt to establish the facts.

© 2009 Carl Marx