Affiliation:
1. North Carolina State University Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
Abstract
How do accidents happen? A question that plagued scientific research for years, but remains the main concern for research and practitioners in safety and health. No one theory seems to be adequate to explain all accidents. Epidemiology offers some insight into the accident investigation by analyzing the interaction of host, agent, and environment. Only the modeling approach offers the flexibility needed to study all the factors involved in the accident phenomenon. This study used a computer algorithm, the Graphical Evaluation and Review Technique (Q-GERT), to model the accident process. Five simulation examples were presented to illustrate the basic concepts and flexibility of the proposed approach. Discussion focused on the usefulness of this simulation technique as an aid for the accident investigator in the discovery of potential hazards in the occupational system.