The 4 most important theoretical foundations of safety science

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The four most important theoretical foundations of safety science are: “every accident has a cause; the causes of accidents can be divided into unsafe human behavior and unsafe conditions of objects; major accidents result from the accumulation of minor accidents (the principle of safety accumulation); and the root cause of accidents lies in organizational errors.” The first three of these four principles were proposed by Heinrich in 1931, while the last one is derived from the principles of organizational behavior. They are the basic methodologies needed for doing anything in daily work and life. “\"Every accident has a cause,\" which means that every accident can be prevented. An accident is an unexpected, sudden incident that causes damage and is not desired by people. Whenever we do anything, we have expected outcomes. If some sudden unexpected event occurs, it may prevent us from achieving those expected outcomes, but this situation can be prevented by thinking ahead in advance; academically, this is known as risk assessment (identification, evaluation, control). This theory tells us that when doing anything, we must take measures to prepare for possible abnormal events. “\"Major accidents result from the accumulation of minor accidents\" is more universal. For example, the assassination of the U.S. ambassador to Libya in Benghazi on September 11, 2012, the attacks on American embassies in Africa or West Asia many years earlier, and the world-shocking 9/11 attacks – all of these are related to the various foreign policies adopted by that country over the long term, and represent the cumulative outcome of the implementation of those foreign policies. In life, situations such as family instability also result from the accumulation of minor conflicts in everyday life. Whether a child is admitted to a prestigious university is also likely related to the habits formed through daily study ； Whether a young person can succeed depends on their ability to do well in every small thing in their daily life. Proverbs such as “Those who commit many injustices will surely bring ruin upon themselves,” “Those who walk by the riverbank will eventually get their shoes wet,” “A dam a thousand miles long can be destroyed by ant holes,” and “One minute on stage requires ten years of hard work off stage” are all simple illustrations of this theory. According to this theory, once we detect any irregularities, we must be vigilant and address them promptly; otherwise, serious negative consequences will arise. This also doesn’t mean that many small events must occur before a major one happens. Once we expand the scope, when we observe a small event, there are actually already many small events that have taken place within that expanded scope, and these small events are sufficient to accumulate into a major event. Therefore, no minor incident should be overlooked. “The root cause of an accident lies in organizational errors” means that when members of an organization make mistakes at work, it may seem like it is their personal fault, but in reality, the underlying cause lies with their organization – its work procedures, the training provided by the organization, its operational philosophy (which in safety science is referred to as “safety culture”), and its management systems. For example, if a bookkeeper makes an error in recording transactions, it may seem like it’s the bookkeeper’s fault, but upon further investigation, flaws in organizational management can definitely be identified – just as with the flaws that lead to safety accidents. This shows that this fundamental theory is also universal. According to this theory, to eliminate adverse events at work and in life, starting with management at the organizational level is a fundamental approach; it’s similar to the idea of replacing a coach when a football team is performing poorly. “The causes of accidents are divided into unsafe human behaviors and unsafe conditions of objects,” which means that to resolve any problem, both software and hardware resources are needed; relying on only one type of resource is insufficient to solve the problem. Moreover, human behavior is the most important, isn’t it? *As it has been said, “Man is the most active and proactive factor among the productive forces”; it is man who controls things. By addressing the human factor, over 90% of problems can be solved. Based on the above analysis, these four theoretical foundations of safety science are applicable to everything in work and life; they represent a universal methodology. Isn’t it worth for everyone to pay attention to safety science? In fact, there is much knowledge in safety science that is universal, applicable to all aspects of work and life, representing a universal methodology.