Unplugged perils, lost hazards and failed mitigations
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Author(s)
Barton, N
Rae, AJ
Griffith University Author(s)
Year published
2012
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In this paper we investigate the phenomenon of unplugged perils - safety concerns which are known to some or all parties associated with the design and operation of a system, but which nevertheless result in an accident. In a small number of cases unplugged perils represent deliberate risk-taking - operation of a system despite (or because of) known dangers. Other unplugged perils result from `lost hazards' - hazards which are known to some parties associated with a system, but fatally unknown to others. A further group of unplugged perils are `failed mitigations' - hazards which are believed by all parties to have been ...
View more >In this paper we investigate the phenomenon of unplugged perils - safety concerns which are known to some or all parties associated with the design and operation of a system, but which nevertheless result in an accident. In a small number of cases unplugged perils represent deliberate risk-taking - operation of a system despite (or because of) known dangers. Other unplugged perils result from `lost hazards' - hazards which are known to some parties associated with a system, but fatally unknown to others. A further group of unplugged perils are `failed mitigations' - hazards which are believed by all parties to have been successfully treated, but which in fact present unacceptable risk. By systematically examining accident reports across a range of industries we draw conclusions about the extent to which the various types of unplugged perils are real issues, and discuss the impact this may have on our understanding of good safety practice.
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View more >In this paper we investigate the phenomenon of unplugged perils - safety concerns which are known to some or all parties associated with the design and operation of a system, but which nevertheless result in an accident. In a small number of cases unplugged perils represent deliberate risk-taking - operation of a system despite (or because of) known dangers. Other unplugged perils result from `lost hazards' - hazards which are known to some parties associated with a system, but fatally unknown to others. A further group of unplugged perils are `failed mitigations' - hazards which are believed by all parties to have been successfully treated, but which in fact present unacceptable risk. By systematically examining accident reports across a range of industries we draw conclusions about the extent to which the various types of unplugged perils are real issues, and discuss the impact this may have on our understanding of good safety practice.
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Conference Title
IET Conference Publications
Volume
2012
Issue
607 CP
Copyright Statement
© 2012 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.
Subject
Risk engineering
Occupational and workplace health and safety