There is probably insufficient data to make drawing up a triangle for your own organisation a worthwhile exercise, but looking at those that have access to larger data sets shows that the patterns are there, and it is worthwhile understanding your own incidents.

The report into the 1999 Ladbroke Grove train crash said the crash might have been avoided and 31 lives saved “if management had applied the lessons of past SPADs [signal passed at danger], and if signallers had been adequately instructed and trained in how to react to a SPAD”. Implementing ISO 45001 may help your organisation demonstrate compliance with health and safety law. But, in some respects, it goes beyond what the law requires, so consider carefully whether to adopt it. In their book Risk Led Safety, Evidence Driven Management Duncan Spencer and Chris Jerman of the John Lewis retail group are unequivocal: “The Heinrich ratios and associated work by others are misleading and scientifically disproved theories. Let’s stop using them!” HSG232: Sound solutions for the food and drink industries: Reducing noise in food and drink manufacturing If you follow the guidance, it will normally be doing enough to comply with the law. Health and safety inspectors seek to secure compliance with the law and may refer to this guidance. How We Can Help with HSG65As an employer, you are responsible for managing health and safety in your business. This includes managing risks and taking practical steps to protect workers and others from harm. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has recently announced the completion of online guidance that they believe will make it easier for larger organisations and business leaders to understand the actions they need to take to comply with health and safety regulations. The most trusted BIM Library in the UK, certified to the internationally-recognised NBS BIM Object Standard We can help you establish an effective occupational health and safety management system in line with HSG 65 requirements and tailor it to your own circumstances. Helping you to conduct a gap analysis of your existing Health and Safety Management arrangements against the HSG 65 requirements. Also, develop an effective action plan to close the gaps identified. Finally, Implement the plan and review the effectiveness In his criticisms, Manuele highlights how Heinrich changed his emphasis from 1932. He cites Heinrich saying in the first edition of Industrial Accident Prevention “for every mishap resulting in an injury there are many other accidents in industry which cause no injuries whatsoever,” but points out that by the second edition this has changed to “for every mishap resulting in an injury there are many other similar accidents…”

This may particularly be the case if you're adopting management standards to meet supply chain requirements of customers or contracting bodies. Manuele sees this change as a sign of Heinrich’s flakiness, but this refinement in how to apply the triangle could have been born out of experience in seeing how industry had misapplied the ratios in the intervening years. The word “similar” is important, as the BP Texas City example shows. Heinrich’s statements were definitive: “Analysis proves that … from data now available … it is estimated that in a unit group of 330 accidents, 300 result in no injuries, 29 in minor injuries and one in a major or lost time case.”

That the conditions leading to a given major process disaster do not relate to slips and trips or your workplace transport accidents does not mean there is nothing to learn from minor accidents and near misses. The certification body should be accredited by either the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) for ISO 45001 or an equivalent body Product standards This revised edition of one of HSE's most popular guides is mainly for leaders, owners and line managers. It will particularly help those who need to put in place or oversee their organisation's health and safety arrangements. whether it can be easily tailored to work effectively for for the size and complexity of your organisation in a way that's in proportion to the risks you must control

The measures you put in place should be part of your everyday processes for managing your business.

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In support of their dismissal of ratios, Spencer and Jerman cite the Baker report on the BP Texas City Oil Refinery explosion in 2005. The report finds there is little relationship between every­day near misses and the circumstances that result in a major process disaster. HSG166: Formula for health and safety: Guidance for small and medium-sized firms in the chemical industry Each step is vitally important; follow them all and you’ll be well on your way to health and safety compliance.