Gathering Data (SO2-AC3)

The intent is to fix the hazard immediately and safely if competent to do so, and there is no danger to yourself or others. Incident data gathering requires an organisation to deal with outputs that fail to conform to specified requirements.

Where the hazard cannot be fixed immediately, promptly notify your supervisor/manager, and isolate the site where there is an immediate risk of injury, investigate the reasons for the hazard being present.

Many data collection systems place the primary emphasis on the technical causes of accidents. There is usually a very detailed description of the process in which the accident occurred, together with an in-depth analysis of the technical failures that are seen as the major causes. The human or system failures that may have contributed to the accident are usually treated in a brief manner. Technically-oriented reporting systems are very common where engineers who may be unfamiliar with human factors principles, will not unnaturally, tend to focus on the technical causes of accidents unless provided with very clear guidelines or training to allow them to consider the human causes.

Where data collection systems do address human error, they are generally driven by the traditional safety engineering view and focus on the outcomes of errors, which are usually assumed to be due to basic human weaknesses such as inattention or lack of motivation and commitment. The outputs from traditional data collection systems may be both descriptive and statistical. Descriptive information about specific accidents may be used to emphasise the implications of frequently occurring and potentially dangerous behaviours such as entering confined spaces without carrying out checks to test for toxic gases or violating operating instructions. Generally, little attempt is made to identify any systemic causes of these behaviours. The statistical information is in the form of combined data such as lost time accidents.