The "A" Word

[JOM]

Hi All.

Some OHS professionals and commentators discourage the use of the "A" word. They say it perpetuates the notion that "accidents happen", nothing we can do about it, in the lap of the gods, and so on.

Does anyone know of any research to determine exactly what sections of the population infer from the word "accident"?

Cheers,
John.

 

[kenvlach]

I don't know of any such research, but would guess that some government dollars (or other currency) has been wasted on it. The notion smacks of 'political correctness' rather than plain-speaking.

An accident is simply an unplanned event. We can try to minimize the chances of accidents having undesired consequences, but some will continue to occur until all motion stops at 0^oK.

 

[aspearin1]

In our increasingly PC world, the word "accident" may connote fault. In industry, at least, people are very reluctant to admit fault. The word "incident" may be more pacifistic. Then again, by the same reasoning, the word "accident" when used prior to any "incident", should be a "incident" deterent, in that the operator would refrain from unsafe actions in order to avoid fault. Often times, though, "accidents" are really the fault of some administrative loop-hole through which the plausibility of certain "incidents" may pass. Since the safety control put in place are quite intentional, the word "accident" may indicate inadequate controls, even if the "incident" were a special cause scenerio. In such a case, omitting the word "accident" may be a way the company saves face. As far as its usage increasing the likelyhood of "accidents," I don't don't buy it.

aspearin1