Accident Prevention
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What is accident prevention? The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) views accident prevention as a program – Injury and illness prevention program1. The overall goal is to be proactive versus reactive and design a program built upon processes to help find and fix workplace hazards before personnel can get hurt.
Florida Tech is a leader of innovation and technology where we value effective programs that educate personnel so they can contribute to society and make life better. Effective programs come in many shapes such programs that help reduce injury, illness, and fatalities. The following are a few examples: Workplace Inspection Program, Risk Management, Security, Medical Surveillance, Respirator Protection, Radiation Safety, Biosafety, Chemical Safety, Environmental, Regulated Waste, Administrative Management, Policy and Training.
Near Miss Reporting
What is near miss reporting?
As mentioned by OSHA, employers are encouraged to investigate all incidents in which a worker was hurt, as well as close calls (sometimes called "near misses"), in which a worker might have been hurt if the circumstances had been slightly different.
OSHA also provides resources to aid in providing guidelines in root cause analysis. The fact sheet also notes the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Fact sheet name is OSHA 3895 (The Importance of Root Cause Analysis During Incident Investigation).
Near misses can be reported via the Safety Hazard & Near Miss Report.
Root Cause Analysis
What is root cause analysis?
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) urge employers (owners and operators) to conduct a root cause analysis following an incident or near miss at a facility. A root cause is a fundamental, underlying, system-related reason why an incident occurred that identifies one or more correctable system failures. By conducting a root cause analysis and addressing root causes, an employer may be able to substantially or completely prevent the same or a similar incident from recurring.
Many workplaces have already adopted such approaches, for example as part of OSHA's cooperative programs2. Not only do these employers experience dramatic decreases in workplace injuries, but they often report a transformed workplace culture that can lead to higher productivity and quality, reduced turnover, reduced costs, and greater employee satisfaction.
Are you doing your part?
Safety is not one-sided; it takes all personnel to build a strong accident prevention program.
If you’re aware of an unsafe act, take responsibility, speak up and let others know.
Prevention helps build a proactive stance to an incident versus a reactive response because we did not know someone would get hurt.
If you see a sign that spells out ‘Do not enter’ or ‘No skateboarding or No bike riding,’ it is there for a reason - meaning something may have been damaged, or could cause harm to you, or someone was hurt just trying to walk a path and was struck down by someone that was not following written posted directions.
Footnote 1: The occupational safety and health community uses various names to describe systematic approaches to reducing injuries and illnesses in the workplace. Consensus and international standards use the term Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems; OSHA currently uses the term Injury and Illness Prevention Programs and others use Safety and Health Programs to describe these types of systems. Regardless of the title, they all systematically address workplace safety and health hazards on an ongoing basis to reduce the extent and severity of work-related injuries and illnesses.
Footnote 2: OSHA's cooperative programs are several programs were the goal is promoting a safe work environment. The following are the names: Alliance Program; OSHA Strategic Partnership Program (OSPP); Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP); OSHA Challenge Program; and On-Site Consultation Program's Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP).