【Sea and River Safety Discussion】A056: Is the 80/20 Rule (Pareto Principle) extremely useful in safety management? ?
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This post was last edited by Desert Fish on 2024-4-5 at 08:55. The Pareto Principle, also known as the 80/20 rule, or laws of Pareto, the principle of least effort, and the principle of imbalance, is widely applied in sociology and business management. In 1897, the Italian economist Pareto casually noticed the patterns of wealth and income among the British in the 19th century. Pareto observed from a large number of specific facts that 20% of the population in society possesses 80% of the societal wealth. At the same time, people have also noticed many imbalances in life. Therefore, the 80/20 rule has become an abbreviation for this type of unequal relationship; its principle is that there is an imbalance between input and output, effort and reward, cause and effect, with it often being a small number of key factors that determine the course of events.
The 80/20 rule also applies in safety management. On November 1, 2023, the Ministry of Emergency Management held a press conference on the action plan for improving safety skills in high-risk industries. Pei Wentian, Director of the Safety Foundation Department at the Ministry of Emergency Management, pointed out at the meeting that current accidents have revealed the weakness of insufficient safety skills among workers in high-risk industries. The main reasons are as follows: First, the overall condition of the workforce in high-risk industries in China is poor. According to statistics, among the approximately 18 million workers in five industries – hazardous chemicals, coal mines, non-coal mines, metal smelting, and fireworks – 34% have a education level of junior high school or lower. Only about 20% of these workers have received formal vocational training, which is roughly 10 percentage points lower than the national average. Second, the quality of corporate employees is poor. During the rapid process of urbanization, a large number of migrant workers with no prior safety skills have become industrial workers, accounting for around 40% of those working in high-risk industries. In particular, the operators in small coal mines, small quarries, and small chemical plants are mostly migrant workers, and accidents in these small enterprises account for over 80% of the total accidents in such industries. Third, safety training is inadequate. In particular, some small and medium-sized high-risk enterprises lack the capacity for training on their own, and are unwilling to invest funds in sending employees for training; as a result, problems such as no training at all, fake training, or training conducted to low standards are widespread. In other words, only about 20% of workers in high-risk industries have received formal vocational training, and accidents in small enterprises account for over 80% of the total accidents in these industries. Furthermore, small and medium-sized chemical enterprises account for about 80% of the total number of chemical enterprises in the country, while in Shandong Province, they make up around 85% of the province’s chemical enterprises. It can be seen that in high-risk industries, and indeed in the entire field of safe production, the 80/20 rule is present and applicable.
The 80/20 rule teaches us that the more severe the situation regarding safety production is, the less it is possible to address all aspects of safety management in a superficial manner. It is necessary to focus on key areas and critical elements, based on a thorough identification of safety risks and the implementation of corresponding control measures! The 80/20 rule teaches us that by focusing on the key issues in safety management, by implementing measures rigorously, by concentrating on the most important aspects and ignoring the less critical ones, it is possible to achieve 80% of the desired results with just 20% of the effort ； 80% of production safety accidents are caused by unsafe human behaviors; it is urgent to strengthen employee training and education, particularly for two key groups of personnel (safety management staff and those working in high-risk positions) ； Safety management cannot try to address everything at once; instead, it is necessary to focus on the key aspects. Only in this way can problems that are not anticipated, cannot be controlled, or cannot be resolved be effectively addressed, and only then can the situation regarding safe production be stabilized and improved! The key elements of safe production mainly include: key personnel (the main persons in charge of the enterprise) ； Safety management personnel ； A small number of individuals with poor safety awareness, weak safety skills, and low safety competence who frequently cause accidents). Key aspects (implementation of the work safety responsibility system, establishment of work safety standardization, identification and management of risks and hazards, development of a safety culture, *inherent violations, safety training for all employees, supervision and management of work safety, on-site safety management, etc.). Critical areas (major hazard sources, vehicles, pressure vessels, chemical hazards, areas prone to causing mass casualties such as electric shocks). Key operations (special operations, maintenance operations, concurrent operations, temporary operations, work at heights, operations in confined spaces, hot work, and other operations in special environments). Key times (shutdown, resumption of work, shift handover times, mid-night shifts, holidays). Critical hazards (major risks that can lead to the suspension of business operations, heavy penalties, or accidents and disasters). Key systems (hazardous operation system, inspection and maintenance system, education and training system, contractor management system, etc.). Key positions (single-person positions, high-risk positions).
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【HaiChuan Safety Discussion】A055-Murphy’s Law–The Shackle on Those Working in Safety https://bbs.hcbbs.com/thread-5660478-1-1.html (Source: 【HaiChuan Chemical Forum】-HaiChuan Network-Chemical HaiChuan Flow)
【Haichuan Safety Discussion Forum】Aggregated post; updates will be made regularly – feel free to discuss! https://bbs.hcbbs.com/thread-5497581-1-1.html (Source: [Haichuan Chemical Industry Forum] - Haichuan Network - Chemical Flow in Haichuan)
The 28 Laws focus on identifying the key aspects of business operations; security management involves risk control. To carry out risk control, skills and awareness are necessary, which can be achieved by establishing systems and procedures, providing training, and using relevant tools to enable one to identify risks, implement control measures, and handle emergencies effectively.