Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Has.there.been.a.sudden.increase.in.accidents?.If.so,.in.order.to.ind.out.which.
group.accounts.for.that.increase,.you.will.have.to.analyze.the.accidents.before.the.
increase.to.ind.out.what.types.were.happening.previously,.analyze.those.happening.
after.the.increase,.and.then.compare.the.two.results.to.see.how.they.differ..You.must.
study.as.many.accidents.as.resources.permit.over.the.time.period.that.you.think.will.
yield.the.most.useful.insight..When.putting.the.puzzle.together,.the.pieces.can.be.put.
together.to.make.something.out.of.them,.but.irst.ind.them.and.develop.a.workable.
system..PBA.yields.the.irst.piece.
Before. any. program. of. this. nature. is. taken. to. an. industrial. setting,. something.
or. someone. must. initiate. it.. Sometimes. people. learning. PBA. and. HBA. become.
overwhelmed. at. the. time. it. takes. to. learn. the. techniques.. From. that,. they. assume.
a.lot.of.time.and.human.resources.are.required..When.someone.has.learned.to.use.
HBA.and.PBA,.and.is.comfortable.with.it,.it.is.very.easy.for.one.person.to.analyze.
100 accidents.in.a.couple.of.hours.
InterPretAtIon oF PBA And hBA
If.our.wish.is.to.use.PBA.and.HBA.data.to.direct.us.in.carrying.out.a.systematic.
investigation.at.the.industrial.site.and.resources.are.limited,.the.fast.screen.provided.
by.PBA.and.HBA.will.allow.us.to.direct.resources.better.at.the.site..PBA.and.HBA.
will.lead.us.to.the.things.we.want.to.look.at.and.the.questions.we.want.to.ask.when.
we.arrive.at.the.operation.
For.example,.from.analysis.of.accidents.there.may.appear.to.be.a.good.propor-
tion.of.accidents.that.resulted.from.physical.barriers.not.being.provided..It.is.very.
likely.at.such.an.operation.that.supervisors.are.not.providing.those.barriers.or.taking.
action.to.ensure.that.barriers.are.provided..Remember.that.the.purpose.of.PBA.and.
HBA.is.to.create.a.statement.to.guide.your.planning.of.on-site.activities..If.we.sus-
pect.a.supervisory.problem,.then.we.can.start.by.concentrating.on.that.assumption.
rather.than.using.resources.elsewhere..Then.come.back.and.analyze.other.potential.
causes.later.
Using. past. experience. in. industry. and. knowledge. of. the. particular. industrial.
operations.and.procedures,.ask:.“What.could.be.going.on?”.Maybe.management's.
support. of. safety. is. not. getting. down. to. the. supervisors.. Maybe. the. supervisors.
know. management's. safety. posture. but. are. being. rewarded. for. cutting. corners. to.
increase.production..Could.it.be.that.safety.procedures.simply.are.not.clear?.Maybe.
the.worker.is.being.rewarded.for.cutting.corners,.or.discouraged.or.punished.when.
work.is.done.safely?
While.we.do.not.know.exactly.why.the.incentive.and.communications.systems.
are.inadequate,.we.may.suspect.they.are.potential.causes.for.many.accidents..This.
offers.guidance.in.our.planning..For.example,.it.is.unlikely.we.would.look.at.worker.
training.if.an.inadequate.reward.system.is.suspected..We.may.also.have.a.few.acci-
dents. in. our. HBA. that. indicated. a. knowledge. and. capacity. barrier;. then. we. may.
choose.to.not.use.those.accidents.to.determine.potential.causes..We.more.likely.will.
decide.to.use.the.limited.resources.the.best.way.possible..In.this.case,.HBA.indicates.
that.the.most.mileage.can.be.gained.by.looking.at.information.and.incentives.
