Page 93 - Serious Incident Prevention How to Achieve and Sustain Accident-Free Operations in Your Plant or Company

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Understanding the Risks 71

comes a center of influence on safety issues—exerting influence both with
subordinates and members of the senior management team.
Visits to operating areas within a facility can be an effective part of the
management risk-education process. These visits also provide area personnel
an opportunity for interactive communication with managers. Advance sched-
uling is the key to making management visits a reality. Without advance sched-
uling, well-intentioned managers will find themselves yielding to the daily
pressures and rationalizing that trips to the field are deferrable to another day.

Small Boat Operation:

An Illustration of Risks

Consider the operation of a small fishing boat. Potential consequences
from boating incidents include drowning of passengers and loss of the boat.
This knowledge is of interest, but a more detailed consideration of potential
accident scenarios is needed for identifying the critical work necessary to
prevent incidents. In operating a boat, for example, potential scenarios lead-
ing to serious incidents include: (1) passengers falling out of the boat; (2) the
boat capsizing; (3) the boat sinking due to leakage; (4) the boat sinking due
to overloading; or (5) the boat being destroyed by striking another object.
Expanding the consideration of risks to include specific potential
causes and scenarios facilitates identification of critical work for effectively
controlling hazards. For example, identification of potential boating acci-
dent scenarios leads to a conclusion that boating risks may be controlled
through critical actions such as:

Training passengers in boating fundamentals, the proper wearing of
life jackets, and in swimming skills;
Properly equipping the boat with life jackets, a sign designating
maximum loading, and lights for any operation during poor visibil-
ity conditions; and
Maintaining an inspection process to ensure the boat remains in fully
satisfactory condition.

A boating novice would likely, on his or her initial outing, be cautious
and concerned about the possibility of an accident. However, as the novice
gains incident-free experience, a tendency toward complacency and blind-
ness to hazards may develop. We find ourselves becoming desensitized to
the hazards. Consider the following news report from the Atlanta
Constitution: