Over the years, thousands of articles have been written by managers and leaders about the complicated causes of workplace accidents and incidents. Most people agree that accidents and incidents are not usually caused by one cause. In most cases, a variety of factors contribute to an incident. They all combine under the right conditions to create an incident. The idea that accidents simply “happen” is no longer accepted by management. It has been replaced, however, by a blame culture. It appears that the problem of accident prevention and causation is extremely complex. Nevertheless, certain industries have shown beyond doubt that the causes of accidents can be controlled or prevented. It doesn’t take a huge amount of resources for most industries to successfully prevent accidents and incidents.

In order to better understand what causes accidents on the job, it is wise to look at the four main elements. The first factor is people. Everyone from the workers up is included. It’s well-established that a large number of incidents are caused by people. It is usually the staff member who is directly involved in an unwelcome incident. It is often the staff member’s actions or inactions that are blamed for an undesirable incident.

The second component is equipment. It includes machinery and tools. We have identified tools and machines as a leading cause of incidents and injuries since we started using them. As a result, legislation has included provisions for machine guarding as well as training. In many cases, the design of control systems on equipment and machinery is to blame for incidents that affect safety and quality.

The third element is materials. The third element is material. Material can be heavy, toxic, or hot. Contamination with substances such as dusts, solvents, explosives or chemicals can lead to serious accidents.

The fourth component is the environment. It includes everything in the physical environment, such as lighting, temperature, humidity, fumes, and moisture. Environmental factors are increasingly identified as a cause of a wide range of health problems and diseases. The environment is also linked with low quality work and absenteeism. These four factors, in varying degrees, are responsible for causing an unwanted incident. In order to determine the exact cause of the accident or incident, it is important that the investigation includes a thorough examination of all or some of these elements.