Page 108 - Serious Incident Prevention How to Achieve and Sustain Accident-Free Operations in Your Plant or Company
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vehicle miles in Egypt to the nearly 50-fold improvement of 0.15 fatalities
per 100,000 vehicle miles in Britain. With the fundamentals of vehicle op-
eration similar in each locale, these differences in outcomes are directly re-
lated to each country’s effectiveness in identifying and implementing the
work necessary to minimize fatalities.
This same variation in results holds for other forms of transportation,
including commercial aviation. Statistics for a recent year, indicate that the
probability of commercial aviation passengers being involved in an accident
resulting in at least one fatality varied by a factor of 42 among air carriers
throughout the world. Flying with the carriers having the best records pro-
vided an approximate 1 in 11,000,000 probability of death or injury, while
flying with the poorest performers resulted in a 1 in 260,000 probability. 3
Interestingly, these wide variations in serious incidents exist despite each
carrier being involved in a similar operation, the process of transporting
passengers through commercial aviation.
Beyond Regulatory Compliance
Even though vehicle-related fatalities in both Britain and the United
States are substantially lower than in many other countries, one is hard
pressed to accept the results as satisfactory. Efforts to prevent traffic-related
fatalities are for the most part limited to developing and enforcing laws and
regulations. As with other regulated activities, vehicle laws and regulations
typically represent minimum acceptable standards. For example, it has been
legally acceptable to operate a vehicle in many parts of the United States
following consumption of alcohol, provided the blood alcohol level is main-
tained below 0.10 percent. However, sound science supports the premise
that operation of high-speed equipment is prudent only at much lower blood
alcohol levels.
Less-than-outstanding results are predictable when preventative actions
are focused primarily on regulatory compliance. A manufacturing or pro-
cessing facility, for example, should not expect satisfactory long-term re-
sults if actions are limited to complying with rules promulgated by OSHA,
EPA, and other agencies. A comprehensive, customized approach extending
beyond compliance is essential to successfully manage risks.
In evaluating probable causes of major incidents, as tabulated in
Chapter 1, the need for proactive identification and execution of preventa-
tive actions is evident. Many past incidents could have been prevented
through executing work considered fundamental for the type of operation
experiencing the incident—fundamental actions with tremendous favorable
benefits. For example, typical actions applicable to preventing serious inci-