Safety Engineering

(Terms and Definitions)

Dr. Ramakrishna Bag

Department of Civil Engineering
National Institute of Technology Rourkela
Terms and Definitions

Safety:

is the state of being Safe. The condition of being

protected against physical, social, spiritual, financial,
political, emotional, occupational, psychological,
educational or other types or consequences of failure,
damage, error, accidents, harm or any other event which
could be considered non-desirable.

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Terms and Definitions
Another definition of Safety:

is a state in which hazards and conditions leading to

physical, psychological or material harm are
controlled in order to preserve the health and well
being of individuals and the community.

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 What Is An Accident?
An unplanned, unwanted, but controllable (?) event which
disrupts the work process and causes injury to people.

An accident stops the normal course of events and

causes property damage or personal injury, minor or
serious, and occasionally results in a fatality.
Terms and Definitions

Accident:

Accident may be defined as an undesired event

that results in harm to people, damage to property,
loss of process and/ or production.

Accidents are the result of the failure of people,

equipment, materials or environment to react as
expected.

All accidents have consequences or outcomes.

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Terms and Definitions
Another definition of Accident:

An accident is an unexpected, unplanned event in

a sequence of events, that occurs through a
combination of causes. It results in physical harm to
an individual, damage to property, a near-miss, a loss,
or any combination of these effects.

near miss or dangerous occurrence are also

terms for an event that could have caused harm but
did not.

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Terms and Definitions

Fatalities

Severe Injuries

Minor injuries

Close calls

Hazardous conditions
Terms and Definitions
Types of accidents
Type 1 Accident: might be defined as an undesired and
unforeseen event that results in an unacceptable system
loss, which could have been foreseen and prevented
through the application of recognised principles and
methods of system hazard identification, evaluation and
control.

Type 2 Accident: might be defined as an undesired and

unforeseen event that results in an unacceptable system
loss, which could NOT have been foreseen and prevented
through the application of recognised principles and
methods of system hazard identification, evaluation and
control.

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 Terms and Definitions
Incident:

A incident usually refers to an unexpected

(unplanned, unwanted) event that did not cause
injury or damage this time but had the potential.

An incident may disrupt the work process, but

does not result in injury or damage. It should be
looked as a wake up call. It can be thought of
as the first of a series of events which could lead
to a situation in which harm or damage does
occur.
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 Example of An Incident
A 50 kg carton falls off the top shelf of a 12
feet high rack and lands near a worker.
This event is unplanned, unwanted, and has
the potential for injury.
 The Tip of the Iceberg
Accidents
Accidents or injuries are the tip of
the iceberg of hazards.
Investigate incidents since they are
potential accidents in progress.

Incidents

Dont investigate only accidents. Incidents should also be reported and

investigated. They were in a sense, aborted accidents.
Criteria for investigating an incident: What is reasonably the worst
outcome, equipment damage, or injury to the worker? What might the
severity of the worst outcome have been? If it would have resulted in
significant property loss or a serious injury, then the incident should be
investigated with the same thoroughness as an accident investigation.
Terms and Definitions

1. All accidents are incidents

2. All incidents are not accidents

3. All injuries results from accidents

4. All accidents do not result in injury

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Terms and Definitions

Hazard: is a situation which poses a level of

threat for life, health, property or environment.

Most hazards are dormant or potential, with only

a theoretical risk of harm, however, once a
hazard becomes active, it can create an
emergency situation.

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Terms and Definitions

Modes of Hazard:
(a) Dormant: The situation has the potential to be hazardous, but no
people, property or environment is currently affected by this. (Ex-
land slide)

(b) Potential: Also known as armed, that is a situation where the hazard is
in the position to affect persons, property or environment. (Ex-
Chemicals, radiation)

(c) Active: The hazard is certain to cause harm, as no intervention is

possible before the incident occurs. (Earthquake, cyclone)

(d) Mitigated: A potential hazard has been identified, but actions have
been taken in order to ensure it does not become as incident. This may
not be an absolute guarantee of no risk, but it is likely to have been
undertaken to significantly reduce the danger.

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Terms and Definitions

Causes of Hazards:
(a) Natural: It includes anything which is caused by a natural process
and can include obvious hazards such as volcanoes to smaller scale
hazards such as loose rock on a hillside

(b) Man made: Hazards created by human, which includes a long list
(Fire, chemical, biological, nuclear, structural collapse- bridge,
dam)

(c) Activity related: Some hazards are created by undertaking of

certain activity, and the cessation of activity will negate the risk.
This includes hazards such as flying.

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Terms and Definitions

Risk: is a concept that denotes a potential negative impact to

an asset or some characteristics of value that may arise from
some present process or future event. It express the
likelihood that the harm from a particular hazard is realized
and the extent to risk- thus a risk reflects both the
likelihood that a harm will occur and its severity.

Risk= likelihood of occurrence seriousness if incident

occurred.

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 Unsafe Acts

An unsafe act is something that someone

initiate which results in, or could result in an
accident

Unsafe acts can be active or passive:

Active Unsafe Acts: Worker deliberately removes machine
guard.
Passive Unsafe Acts: By pursuing an active safety policy, it is
possible to achieve a reduction in bad habits and hence
accidents. These are more difficult to deal with.

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 Unsafe Acts

Categories:
Operating without clearance, qualification or authorization
Operating at unsafe speed
Failure to warn (signs, signals, tags, etc)
Bypass or removal of safety devices
Using unsafe equipment, or using it unsafely
Unsafe methods (loading, carrying, mixing)
Adopting unsafe position or posture
Working on moving or dangerous equipment
Horseplay (distracting, teasing, startling)

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Unsafe Acts (Continue)
Categories:
Failure to wear PPE
Failure to shut off equipment not in use
Using defective equipment
Use of tools for other than their intended purpose
Working in hazardous locations without adequate protection
or wearing
Improper repair of equipment
Wearing unsafe clothing
Lack of concentration, fatigue or ill health
Operating errors ( Violating rules, standards, operating codes
and instructions as valid)

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Example of Unsafe acts

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 Unsafe Conditions
It is a condition in the work place that is likely to cause
property damage or injury. Unsafe condition is a
substandard provision matter and unsafe act is a
behaviour matter.
Ex- A worker working on a damaged working platform
without anchoring safety belt

Categories:
Inadequate guarding
Unguarded machinery
Defective, rough, sharp, slippery, decayed, cracked surfaces
Unsafely designed equipment

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 Unsafe Conditions (Continue)
Categories:
Poor housekeeping, congestion
Inadequate lighting, glare, reflections
Inadequate ventilation, contaminated air
Unsafe clothing or PPE
Unsafe processes
Hot, humid or noisy environment
Defective tools, equipment, or supplies
Inadequate supports or guards
Congestion in the workplace
Inadequate warning systems
Fire and explosion hazards

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Examples of unsafe condition

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 The Accident Weed
Unsafe Conditions Unsafe Act
Missing guard Horseplay

Poor housekeeping Ignored safety rules

Defective tools Didnt follow procedures

Equipment failure
Did not report hazard
No MSDSs Dont know how
(Material safety data sheet)

Purchasing unsafe equipment

Poor work procedures
Lack of supervision
No follow-up/feedback
Rules not enforced
Lack of Training
Lack of safety leadership
Poor safety management Poor safety leadership

Root Causes Material safety data sheet

 Unsafe Acts/Conditions
The picture shows how unsafe acts & conditions may interact
to produce an accident. Accident potential is increased when
unsafe acts & conditions occur simultaneously. Of course,
this is not to say that an act or condition alone could not
result in an accident.

Potential
Accident
Unsafe Acts Unsafe
Conditions