1912 article discussing the role of fatigue in industrial accidents and arguing against ‘carelessness’ as an “ultimate cause”

This was an interesting article from 1912 highlighting the role that fatigue has in industrial accidents. Also challenges ‘carelessness’, saying it doesn’t account for the effects of fatigue. While scientific knowledge has progressed over the century, it’s cool how well they articulated the issue. ·        Image 1 top panel shows a breakdown of accidents per time… Continue reading 1912 article discussing the role of fatigue in industrial accidents and arguing against ‘carelessness’ as an “ultimate cause”

Forgiveness as morally serious response to errors in healthcare: A narrative review

An interesting and recent discussion paper from Sidney Dekker, exploring forgiveness as a ‘morally serious response’ to incidents, as opposed to retributive approaches. Tl;dr: ·         “while retribution addresses certain ethical concerns, it is incomplete and can be counterproductive, particularly for patient safety and organizational learning” ·         “Systems that focus primarily on individual blame risk fostering… Continue reading Forgiveness as morally serious response to errors in healthcare: A narrative review

Automation’s lacklustre effects on fatal accidents & cheap migrant labour hampering adoption of engineering controls

REALLY interesting findings from Associate Professor Masahiro Yoshida. It suggests that automation over a historical context didn’t really drive down workplace injuries since it tended to be employed in already mature industries. And, ready access to cheap migrant workforces may hinder broader industrial risk reduction due to a negative correlation with automation investment. And the… Continue reading Automation’s lacklustre effects on fatal accidents & cheap migrant labour hampering adoption of engineering controls

Allocation of Blame After a Safety Incident

This single page conference paper discussed an experiment on how blame is allocated following incidents. The scenario was a “realistic, but fictitious” incident involving a worker (both experienced or not experienced, depending on the scenario), whom is killed when touching an energised bus bar while feeding electrical wire into a pedestal. They systematically manipulated the… Continue reading Allocation of Blame After a Safety Incident