What Causes Unsafe Conditions?

Unsafe conditions are a main cause of accidents. The main purpose of OSHA standards is to address such mechanical and physical accident-causing conditions. The employer’s safety department and its managers should have responsibility for identifying unsafe conditions. While accidents can happen anywhere, the worst ones occur around metal and woodworking machines and saws, transmission machinery (like gears), cutting machines, and conveyors.

Work schedules and fatigue also affect accident rates. Accident rates usually don’t increase too noticeably during the first 5 or 6 hours of the workday. But after that, the accident rate increases faster. This is due partly to fatigue and partly to the fact that accidents occur more often during night shifts. Many employers therefore take steps to reduce employee fatigue, such as banning mandatory overtime.

A strong pressure to complete the work as quickly as possible, employees who are under stress, and a poor safety climate are some of the psychological conditions leading to accidents. Accidents occur more frequently in plants with high seasonal layoff rates.