Preventing Incidents & Fatalities

While general occupational injury rates have decreased in recent years, the levels of fatal and serious events have not declined at the same pace. Perhaps most puzzling is that these events continue to result largely from basic rather than exceptional causes. Significantly reducing the occurrence of these events depends on the organizational environment that leaders create. This article provides guidelines to help senior leadership maintain a sense of vulnerability even in the face of "favorable" lagging indicators. Actions that senior leaders should take if a fatality or catastrophic event occurs are suggested as well. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]