Heinrich wrote this in 1941. So many want to decry his belief that unsafe acts play a significant role in accidents. In my earlier posts, I shared his position that unsafe acts are a reflection on management and not so much on the worker who carried out the unsafe act. In this quote from his book, we can see that he was a believer in engineering controls as a major means to prevent accidents.
“The most ardent supporters of the belief that man-failure accident causes are predominant are, nevertheless, firmly convinced that mechanical guarding and correction of mechanical and physical hazards is a fundamental and a first requirement of a complete safety program. They believe, and act on the belief, that safety begins with safe tools, safe machines, safe processes, and safe environment. This attitude is not at all inconsistent with the emphasis placed herein on the importance of man failure as a causative factor and is more readily visualized when one considers “corrective action.” In the same breath it can be truthfully said that although man failure causes the most accidents, mechanical guarding, and engineering revision are nevertheless important factors in preventing the most accidents.”
Industrial Accident Prevention – A Scientific Approach, H. W. Heinrich, Assistant Superintendent Engineering and Inspection Division, The Travelers Insurance Company, 1941
