Why Do People Take Health And Safety Risks At Work?

When people take health and safety risks at work it's referred to as a "human failure". A failure to do the right thing, follow instructions, comply with the rules, or otherwise act safely.

These human failures could be slips or lapses in judgment, mistakes, or violations.

It might seem that if you have all the right procedures in place, and the right systems and controls, you have removed the risks. But can risk ever be zero? Even the most highly trained and skilled members of your team can make mistakes. You can too. Anyone can have an off day, have other things on their mind, or feel rushed and under pressure.

But health and safety these mistakes lead to dangerous situations and serious accidents.

Analysis of accidents and incidents shows that human failure contributes to almost all accidents and exposures to substances hazardous to health. Many major accidents e.g. Texas City, Piper Alpha, Chernobyl, were initiated by human failure.

These events are not caused by people being reckless or wanting to cause harm. Even when people break health and safety rules, there's often a logical reason.

Risks are usually taken by people trying to do the right thing, forgetting to do the right thing, or not knowing what the right thing is.

A human failure can be a lapse (like forgetting to press a button), a slip (like pressing the wrong button), a mistake (like pressing the wrong button but thinking it was the right button), or a violation (pressing the wrong button on purpose).

Of course, human failures don't always involve buttons, but the above examples should help you know the difference between:

• Slips*
• Lapses
• Mistakes
• Violations

These are all ways people can take risks at work, but to understand them, we need to know why they happen.

*ℹ️ A human error slip means a slip-up rather than a slip on a wet floor.

Slips

A slip is taking the wrong action. It's a bit like a mistake, but unlike a mistake, you are not mistaken, you know it's the wrong action to take, you just might not realise you are taking it. You've slipped up.

No one intends to slip, and the same goes for human failure slip. You might not be paying attention or be distracted, and pull the wrong lever, turn something up instead of down, or read the wrong display.

This type of health and safety risk is more likely to happen if a job is very repetitive or familiar. It's human nature to get complacent, particularly if you do the same thing often enough, you stop giving it your full attention.

People don't slip on purpose. And in fact, slips can happen to highly skilled and experienced people.

Human failure slips happen because a person is not paying full attention, or they are so used to doing something that it's second nature, and they stop double-checking their actions.

Stop slips (or catch them early) with:

• Additional checks
• Allow enough time for task or activity
• Checklists
• Reminders
• Warning systems
• Alarm systems
• Confirmation systems
• Remove distractions
• Remove interruptions
• Automated error detection
• Consider human error when risk-assessing
• Improve design for better distinction between actions
• Cross-checking of actions by another person

Lapses

A lapse is forgetting to take the right action. You're not doing the wrong thing, you might not be doing anything, but you are not doing the right thing.

Lapses are similar to slips in that the action taken is not intended. But where a slip is usually doing the wrong thing, a lapse is more, forgetting to do the right thing. Like missing a crucial step in a work procedure, forgetting to put a guard back on a machine before using it, or not checking your mirrors before reversing.

Like slips, lapses can happen to anyone, even those who are highly skilled and motivated.

Stop lapses (or catch them early) with:

• Additional checks
• Allow enough time for task or activity
• Checklists
• Reminders
• Warning systems
• Alarm systems
• Confirmation systems
• Remove distractions
• Remove interruptions
• Automated error detection
• Consider human error when risk-assessing
• Improve design for better distinction between actions
• Cross-checking of actions by another person

Mistakes

A mistake is doing the wrong thing, but believing it is the right thing to do. When you make a mistake, you are mistaken.

As the saying goes, anyone can make mistakes. You might have even categorised slips and lapses as mistakes, but they are different. A slip is taking the wrong action, and a lapse is forgetting to take the right action. With a mistake, you are doing the wrong thing, but believing it to be right.

You are mistaken.

So why do people make mistakes? Well, there are two types of mistakes, rule-based and knowledge-based. A rule-based mistake is when a rule is remembered or applied incorrectly. A knowledge-based mistake is when a mistake is made trying to handle a new or unusual situation where there are no rules or procedures to follow.

For example, operating a new and more powerful machine in the same way as the old one. Or using the same excavation techniques in different ground conditions. Or trying to fix a problem without being trained or experienced to do so.

With mistakes, the person isn't trying to take risks, they are trying to do the right thing.

Prevent mistakes by:

• Check procedures, manuals and method statements are up-to-date and clear
• Check competence
• Provide training
• Communicate
• Consider mistakes when risk assessing
• Plan for possible emergency and unusual situations
• Use diagnostic tools
• Provide decision-making helpers like flow charts

Violations

A violation is doing the wrong thing, and knowing that it is the wrong thing to do.

Violations are like mistakes in that you are doing the wrong thing, but unlike mistakes, you know you are doing the wrong thing. You are breaking the rules.

It might seem like this type of human error is an easy one to blame the person doing it, but there can be many reasons why violations occur, and usually with good intentions. Violations are often done to save time and effort, like taking a shortcut. But this might be because of pressures to meet a deadline or deal with an emergency, or because that's what everyone else is doing.

There are 3 types of violation:

1. Routine violations happen when the breaking of a rule is the normal way of working, and there is a lack of enforcement, e.g. no one is wearing PPE and nothing is done about it.
2. Situational violations happen because job pressure means rules have to be broken, for example, time pressures force work to be rushed or the wrong equipment is supplied and must be used to get the job done.
3. Exceptional violations happen in unusual circumstances, for example, a person may take a calculated risk when trying to fix something.

Prevent violations by:

• Enforcing rules
• Providing supervision
• Check if the equipment is difficult or slow to use correctly
• Simplify complex or difficult-to-understand procedures
• Fix unreliable controls or warning systems
• Resolve
• Strong leadership and management commitment
• Building a positive health and safety culture
• Remove reasons for cutting corners (e.g. unrealistic workloads, unrealistic procedures, unnecessary rules)
• Ensure sufficient staffing levels
• Increase team involvement and consultation
• Implement near-miss reporting
• Increase awareness and understanding of risks and procedures

---

Everyone is capable of human failure, and people don't often take health and safety risks at work with bad intentions. Through growing a positive health and safety culture and environment, human failure and its consequences can be reduced.

Download the free benefits of safety toolbox talk and get the behavioural safety toolbox talk to raise awareness in your workplace.