Accidents are usually the results of a combination of factors each one of which may very from situation. An accident does no have a single cause but multiplicity of causes which are often are often closely reacted. According to safety experts there are three basic causes of factors contributes to accidents in organizations.
1. Unsafe Conditions: Unsafe conditions are work related causes and are the most frequent causes of accidents. Such causes are associated with defective plants equipments tools materials buildings and other technical factors. Since these causes are related to the technical aspects of the work these are known as technical causes. Various work related factors which cause accidents to occur are as follows:
1. Nature of job: Nature of a job itself is a source of accidents. Some jobs are more prone to accidents as compared to others e, g, job of a crane operator as compared to a foreman. Generally those jobs are more accident prone in which the workers come into direct contact with machinery in motion or hazardous materials like differently types of chemicals explosives etc.
2. Nature or Machinery and Equipment: Since machinery and equipments have high danger zones as compared to others . for example about one third of accidents occur around hand lift trucks. Wheel borrows, and other handling and lifting equipments. The most serious accidents usually occur near saws or transmission machinery like gears pulleys and flywheels stairs ladders walkways scaffolds and handrails. Similarly hand tools chisels and screwdrivers and electrical equipments extension cords electric droplights etc are also major sources of accidents. Chemical tanks boilers gas storages devices etc, causes serious industrial industrial accidents.
3. Poor Physical Conditions: While nature of jobs and machinery and equipment affect every organization uniform ally, these become causes of accidents when these are not properly laid down or maintained. Poor physical conditions prevailing at the workplace causing accidents are of the followings types:
a. Hazardous layout of plant and machinery.
b. Defective machinery and equipments.
c. Defective work procedure in and around machinery and equipments.
d. Unsafe storage congestion and overloading.
e. Inadequate and faulty safety devices.
f. Improper illumination glare or insufficient light.
g. Improper ventilation causing insufficient air charge and impure air source.
4. Psychological Climate at the Workplace: Apart from physical conditions psychological conditions prevailing at the workplace also cause accident. Psychological factors are in the form of mental fatigue anxiety monotony boredom frustration, and other emotion arousing factors. All these factors cause inattention in the workers and they become prone to the accidents. However all workers may not be equally affected by these factors but their personal characteristics play important role in this respect.
5. Work Schedules: Work schedules are also responsible to some extent for the accidents. Work schedules involving long hours of continuous working generate fatigue which maybe cause of accident. Similarly night shifts generate more accidents as people are not accustomed to working in night which is considered to be the rest period. It has been observed that more accidents occur during the late hours as compared to early hours of work schedules.