ACCIDENT ESCALATIONS

Some accident scenarios show a very rapid increase in the seriousness of the event sequencescalled an escalation. In principle, this escalation can be modeled by event trees, but may in practice be very problematic since it is often very difficult to foresee what events may take place. Examples of pivotal events that often result in escalation are:

Explosions Fireballs Jet fires Pool fires

Ways of preventing Accident from Escalating:

Accident management is a planned and systematic handling of an accident condition to (1) prevent its escalation into a more serious accident, (2) mitigate its consequences, and (3) achieve a safe (accident free) state.

Example of which is the defence in depth. It is fundamental to the safety of nuclear installations. Nuclear safety does not rely on one line of defence but is achieved using a range of complementary means. These factors start with the design and building of a nuclear facility which requires choosing a good design and appropriate site, use of high-quality construction materials and testing before operation. They also cover the whole range of organisational and behavioural issues that are critical to operating a nuclear installation. If accident happens, report to a person with a higher knowledge on what to do to the current situation. Example is a supervisor, and superintendent.

INVESTIGATION -The first priority whenever an accident occurs is to deal with the emergency and ensure that any injuries or illnesses receive prompt medical attention. -The accident investigation ensures that details of what occurred will be fresh in peoples minds and that witnesses dont influence one another by talking about the accident. - It also minimizes the likelihood that important evidence is not moved, lost, taken, destroyed, or thrown away before the scene has been thoroughly inspected. Who Should Investigate -Supervisors should note initial details of the incident and contact EHS to schedule an interview with the injured employee. Regardless of the type of investigation, the supervisor should be involved for the following reasons: Supervisors have a responsibility to provide their workers with a safe and healthful workplace; Supervisors know the workers and their work better than anyone else and are in the best position to gather the facts and find a practical solution to the problem; The supervisors involvement can help promote better relations with workers by demonstrating concern for their safety and attention to accident prevention. Accident Investigate Approach

-Report the accident occurrence to a designated person within the organization -Provide first aid and medical care to injured person(s) and prevent further injuries or damage -Investigate the accident -Identify the causes -Report the findings -Develop a plan for corrective action -Implement the plan -Evaluate the effectiveness of the corrective action -Make changes for continuous improvement

What should be looked at as the cause of an accident?

l. Task Here the actual work procedure being used at the time of the accident is explored. Members of the accident investigation team will look for answers to questions such as: -Was a safe work procedure used? -Had conditions changed to make the normal procedure unsafe? -Were the appropriate tools and materials available? -Were they used? -Were safety devices working properly? -Was lockout used when necessary? -For most of these questions, an important follow-up question is "If not, why not?" II. Material to seek out possible causes resulting from the equipment and materials used, investigators might ask: -Was there an equipment failure? -What caused it to fail? -Was the machinery poorly designed? -Were hazardous substances involved? -Were they clearly identified? -Was a less hazardous alternative substance possible and available? -Was the raw material substandard in some way? -Should personal protective equipment (PPE) have been used? -Was the PPE used? -Were users of PPE properly trained? -Again, each time the answer reveals an unsafe condition, the investigator must ask why this situation was allowed to exist. III. Environment The physical environment, and especially sudden changes to that environment, are factors that need to be identified. The situation at the time of the accident is what is important, not what the "usual" conditions were. For example, accident investigators may want to know: -What were the weather conditions? -Was poor housekeeping a problem? -Was it too hot or too cold? -Was noise a problem? -Was there adequate light? -Were toxic or hazardous gases, dusts, or fumes present?

IV. Personnel The physical and mental condition of those individuals directly involved in the event must be explored. The purpose for investigating the accident is not to establish blame against someone but the inquiry will not be complete unless personal characteristics are considered. Some factors will remain essentially constant while others may vary from day to day: -Were workers experienced in the work being done? -Had they been adequately trained? -Can they physically do the work? -What was the status of their health? -Were they tired? -Were they under stress (work or personal)? Management V. Management Management holds the legal responsibility for the safety of the workplace and therefore the role of supervisors and higher management and the role or presence of management systems must always be considered in an accident investigation. Failures of management systems are often found to be direct or indirect factors in accidents. Ask questions such as: -Were safety rules communicated to and understood by all employees? -Were written procedures and orientation available? -Were they being enforced? -Was there adequate supervision? -Were workers trained to do the work? -Had hazards been previously identified? -Had procedures been developed to overcome them? -Were unsafe conditions corrected? -Was regular maintenance of equipment carried out? -Were regular safety inspections carried out? What to do With the Results Supervisors should take action to control or eliminate the conditions that caused the accident once these have been conclusively identified. EHS can provide assistance in determining the level of action that may be necessary, such as the following: -When equipment changes or safeguards are necessary, supervisors should discuss specific recommendations with Department management; -When an operation can be changed to eliminate the hazard, supervisors should make the change if it is within their authority, or seek the necessary approval from Department management; -If unsafe acts by workers are involved, ensure that the worker is properly trained and that training is followed. All others involved in similar operations should be trained as well.

Accident Prevention Accident prevention is a planed safety management function that results from implementation of effective safety programs. Elements of Accident Prevention Accident Prevention Plan - Accident Prevention Plan details specific plans and management activities that are designed to prevent workplace accidents and injuries such as implementing investigations, correction of hazards, use of Job Safety Analysis, inspections and safety audits. Employee Safety Training - Prevention of workplace accidents depends on the knowledge of employees. Initial safety orientation training followed by job specific safety training is necessary for employees to understand workplace hazards and be able to identify and respond to hazards with specific safe behaviours that preclude injury and accidents. Engineering Safety Controls - Specific engineered safety designs and safeguards are the best means for accident prevention. This process completely eliminates specific hazards by safe design of the facility, processes and equipment. An example of engineering safety controls are machine guards that provide a physical boundary between an employee and the hazard of moving machine parts. Administrative Safety Controls - Detailed procedures and operational standards are needed when engineering controls cannot be employed or are not sufficient to control a specific hazard. Administrative controls include equipment operating and maintenance procedures and limits on who is allowed to operate equipment. PPE Controls - Personal protective equipment should be used when all other safety controls are either inadequate or impractical. PPE assessments are made on a task by task basis to ensure all hazards have been identified and specific PPE has been selected to control the hazards and protect the worker. An example of PPE Controls is use of safety glasses to prevent eye injury from flying debris. Safety Audits - Periodic review of safety programs is essential for ensuring programs are effective and up to date. All programs should be audited annually and specific programs should be audited if an inspection, accident or near-miss reveals a program deficiency Safety Inspections - Detailed material inspections of the workplace are used to identify hazardous conditions. Corrections of hazards should be a management priority. Hazardous conditions can also be identified through reports by employees, pre-start up checks, and informal walk-through. All identified hazards should be immediately reported and action taken to prevent the hazard from causing an accident.

Accident Prevention Tips for the Workplace Preparation - This notion makes it crucially important that your workplace is capable of properly handling an accident, should one occur. Anticipation - One of the greatest tools against accidents is anticipating how and when they may occur. Regular Maintenance - is not only necessary to ensure reliability of technical structures or productivity of the company, but regular maintenance has an important role in providing safer and healthier working conditions. Awareness - being aware of safety issues, and of potential hazards to yourself and others in the workplace.