Conducting an Accident Investigation
Course 102
Safety Certified Supervisor Series

MODULE 6: DEVELOPING RECOMMENDATIONS

The Hierarchy of Controls

Management controls

Safety managers employ these control strategies to eliminate or reduce the frequency and duration of exposure to hazards. This is accomplished through:

• Manage work practices. Effective design and implementation of safe work procedures and practices.
• Manage work schedules. These strategies include job rotation, breaks, shift work, etc.

As you might have guessed, these control strategies are less effective in the long term than engineering controls because they do not remove the hazards, themselves. Rather, they attempt to reduce exposure to hazards by controlling human behavior - attempting to change "things we do or don't do." As long as employees "behave" or comply with the changed procedures or schedules, management controls work. However, it's "normal" for us to want to work in the most efficient manner. Sometimes safe work procedures are not perceived as most efficient...so we may not use them. Managers must diligently oversee and maintain management control strategies or those controls may become ineffective.

"Any system that depends on human reliability is inherently unreliable."

A. Block, Murphy's Law - Book Two