Safety professionals need to examine how they manage OHS reports
If a worker is injured slipping from a ladder while accessing an electrical panel, does this incident warrant more training on the employee’s part on how to properly use a ladder or does it call into question larger organizational issues that should be addressed?
In an article in the February issue of the American Society of Safety Engineers' (ASSE) Professional Safety titled, “Problem Solving, Are Higher-Order Controls Ignored?,” authors Michael Behm and Demetria Powell reviewed 249 valid investigation reports from seven organizations. They found a majority of occupational health and safety (OHS) professionals and their companies focus solely on the incident without looking at factors like why a ladder is needed to reach a panel in the report.