Fatal events more likely in “vulnerable systems”, where “only a single failure by humans or technology can lead to severe consequences”.
Nothing new here for most people – but data from 2011 – 17 on 69 fatal Norwegian construction accidents reiterate some key points:
1. Brittle systems with less margin for failing safely are more dangerous for people and less tolerant of mistakes.
2. Relatively few barrier elements were present in these fatalities, and when one barrier element was not used or failed, “there was no other barrier present to interrupt the accident sequence”.
Not only should we eliminate hazards and the interactions of hazardous energy, but increase capacities for failing safely and designing error-tolerant systems.
Ref: Winge, S, & Albrechsten, E. (2020). Accident types and barrier failures in 69 fatal accidents in the construction industry. Proceedings of the 30th European Safety and Reliability Conference and the 15th Probabilistic Safety Assessment and Management Conference
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