The document discusses two approaches to occupational health and safety - the egocentric stream and the ergonomic stream. The egocentric stream focuses on unsafe acts and conditions, uses a failure model, and aims for zero harm. The ergonomic stream takes a broader view considering behaviors, equipment, the environment, and aims to reduce all types of damage. It uses concepts like metastability and "is" thinking rather than just cause-and-effect. The presentation examines the development of these two approaches over time and argues that elements of both may be needed for effective workplace safety practices and policies.

1. New Zealand OHSIG Conference –
26-28 October 2011
Two Streams _ Egocentric and Ergonomic –
In Which One Are You Swimming?
Roger Kahler
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2. Classes of Damage
Classes of Damage
Permanent - Multiple Fatalities
- Single Fatality
- Non-fatal Permanent Damage
Temporary - Temporary e.g. LTI
Minor - Minor e.g.MTI
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3. Vision
Zero Harm
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4. A Strategic Pathway to the Vision of
Zero Harm
• Elimination of Permanent Personal
Damage
• Systematic reduction of Temporary and
Minor Damage
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5. Cost & Size of Personal Damage
Australia 2005/2006
100 30,900
$40.2B
80 $1301k av.
227,000
60 33,100 $0.7B 231,897
164,000
$10.5B $4.3B $3k av. ≈$0
40 $317k av. $26k av.
2,603
$1.9B
20 $730k av.
0
Permanent Permanent >5 days, <5 days, Minor
Fatal no return to reduced full duties full duties
work income
% of all occurences % of all costs
Total Incidents = 689,500 Total Cost = $57.6 billion
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6. Class I Non-Fatal Damage
(Injury and Disease – All Industries)
Percentage Percentage
Number of Number of
Change in Change in
Class I People in
Numbers Workforce
Year cases – No Workforce –
from Size from
Return to Full and Part
Previous Previous
Work* Time (million)
Period Period
1991-92 19290 - 7.5 -
2000-01 26900 28% 9.9 32%
2005-06 30900 15% 10.16 2.6%
* Excludes Permanently Reduced Income
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7. Likelihood of Class I Non-Fatal Damage
(Injury and Disease – All Australian Industries)
Likelihood (1 case per
Number of Class I
Year ‘x’ person years of
Cases*
exposure)
1992-93 50,000 1:150
2000-01 48,900 1:202
2005-06 64,000 1:158
* No Return to Work and Permanently Reduced Income
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8. New Zealand – 2007-2008
• Work-related Fatalities: 119
• Work-related Injuries (> 1 week): 37,700
• Workforce Numbers: 2.26 million
• 91.6% returned to work within year
• 82.3% returned to work within 6 months
• Does the 18% cost the most?
Source: ACC Facts Sheet
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9. New Zealand – 2007-2008
• Fatality Likelihood: 1:18,700 worker years
• Injury Likelihood: 1:60 worker years
Permanent Impairment Likelihood ?
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10. GOAL
Organisational
Psychology
≈ 80 years ≈ 60 years
1930 1950
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11. Preamble
• 1500 Industrialisation of Britain
• 1833 British Factory Inspectorate
• 1867 Massachusetts Factory Inspection
• 1874 France – Inspection of workshops
• 1885 Germany – Workers’ Compensation Act
• 1921 ILO – Geneva
• 1929 Egocentric Stream emerges
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12. “Egocentric” Stream
1. 1:29:300
2. Unsafe acts, unsafe conditions
3. 88:10:2
4. Lapse, Error, Mistake, Violation
5. A goal of “Accident Prevention”
6. Zero harm
7. “Cause-Effect” thinking
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13. Foundation of a major injury (Heinrich) - 1929
1
MAJOR INJURIES
29
MINOR INJURIES
300
NO-INJURY ACCIDENTS
UNSAFE ?000 - - - 000? UNSAFE
PRACTICES CONDITIONS
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14. Heinrich’s Domino Model
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15. Swiss Cheese Model
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16. Egocentric Stream
• Failure model
• Unsafe acts model
These models are useful if fixing the point
of failure / unsafe act is an effective
solution
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17. The Bird accident ratio study - 1969
1 Serious or Disabling ANSI Z16.1
10 Minor Injuries
30 Property Damage Accidents
600 Incidents with No Visible Injury or Damage
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18. The Ergonomic Stream Attributes
(compared with Egocentric Stream)
1. Behaviour, Knowledge and Skills present/absent (versus
unsafe acts)
2. Equipment and Environment aspects (present/absent)
(versus unsafe conditions)
3. 100:100:100 (versus 88:10:2)
4. Damage Reduction (versus Accident Prevention)
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19. The Ergonomic Stream Attributes
(compared with Egocentric Stream) cont.
5. “Is” thinking (versus cause-effect)
6. Damage as a consequence of an Energy Exchange
7. Energy Management Strategies (versus Hierarchy of
Control)
8. Pareto Focus (versus Zero Harm)
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20. Incident Prevention Extended to
Damage Reduction
Stability / Metastability / Instability
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21. Key Dates / People / Concepts
– prior to 1970’s
• 1949 – Gordon and Gibson
– Injuries can be researched same as
infectious disease
• 1961 – Gibson and Haddon
– Injury as a consequence of an
energy exchange
• 1960s – Haddon – Pre Event / Event / Post Event
– 2D Matrix formed when he added
Human, Vehicle and Environment
• 1962 – Haddon – 10 Energy Management Strategies (“Escape of
Tigers”)
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22. McDonald’s Contribution
(1960’s and 1970’s)
1. Haddon’s 5 physical energies→ 13 describers
2. Event phase of Haddon’s Pre-event / event / post-
event → Stable, Metastable, Unstable, Damage
3. Pareto Focus (80-20 Rule)
4. “Is” thinking versus cause/effect
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23. McDonald’s Contribution
(1960’s and 1970’s) cont
5. Essential and Contributory Factors
6. Classifying Damaging Energies → Class I, Class II, Class
III
7. Accidents / Incidents → Damaging and Non-
Damaging Occurrences
8. The Taxonomic Process
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24. Pre-event Event Post Event
Stable Metastable Unstable Damage
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25. Metastability
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26. Metastability
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27. Metastability
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28. Metastability
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29. Metastability
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30. Metastability
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31. “Is” Thinking
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32. Summary & Conclusion
• Fatality rates decreasing
• Non-fatal permanent rates increasing/static?
• Describe your stream
• To enter Ergonomic stream requires “faith”
• Damaged people pay the price of leaders’ “high level”
thought/activity
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33. Egocentric Stream -v- Ergonomic Stream
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34. Egocentric Stream -v- Ergonomic Stream
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35. Egocentric Stream -v- Ergonomic Stream
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36. •Which stream are you in?
•Do we need elements of “both”
streams?
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37. The End
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