A Comprehensive Look at Serious Injuries or Fatalities (SIF) in the Workplace

For any workplace, there is nothing worse than a serious injury or fatality (SIF). Preventing them should be the top priority of every company, even above all business-related activities.

While it might sometimes feel like SIFs occur by accident, that is rarely the case. One thing we know for sure is that preventing SIFs is never an accident. It takes a lot of hard work and focus to keep employees safe from any type of serious injury or fatality. This is why we felt it made sense to take a comprehensive look at understanding SIFs from all possible angles with the hope of preventing them from ever happening.

Understanding SIF and PSIF

The first step in fully understanding SIFs is having a clear definition for them. Typically, a SIF can be considered any work-related injury or illness that is deemed to be life-threatening or life-altering. But since that description is rather vague, it’s up to individual businesses to come up with their own working definition of SIF that fits their unique environment. Of course, that can create some gray area with employers and workers not necessarily seeing eye to eye on things.

Typically, experienced safety managers and investigators are best to determine if something qualifies as having SIF potential. Just because an incident didn’t result in a life-threatening or life-altering injury doesn’t mean it didn’t have SIF potential. Luck and happenstance sometimes play a role in helping someone escape a more serious injury. For example, an incident could be considered a near miss that didn’t result in a significant injury but could still be considered to have SIF potential. With such gray areas, companies need to educate themselves as much as possible regarding the possibility of serious injuries or fatalities.

Potential Serious Injuries or Fatalities (PSIFs) are incidents that could have led to a serious injury or fatality if not for specific barriers or countermeasures in place. These high-risk situations often occur when control measures are lacking, ineffective, or not followed, posing a significant risk of fatality or serious injury if left unchecked. Recognized as a leading indicator, monitoring PSIFs is crucial, regardless of a company's low incident rate, as it signals potential uncontrolled hazards within the safety program that could escalate into major accidents. By proactively addressing and preventing PSIF incidents, you can safeguard your workers and ensure your organization is equipped to prevent disasters.

Possible SIFs in the Workplace

Part of the challenge of understanding SIFs is the fact that there are so many different kinds of potential SIFs. Not all of these possible SIFs will be present in every workplace. But it’s surprising how common they can be. Here is a closer look at some of the most likely SIFs.

Caught Between

Workers can sometimes be stuck between two objects like a large piece of machinery or a wall. They can be trapped or crushed in that position and unable to escape on their own.

Confined Space

Some employers are asked to perform work in a confined location that sometimes lacks ventilation. In those situations, they might be vulnerable to suffocating from toxins or fumes in the air. They can also become trapped without a way to escape if something goes wrong.

Fall

Falling down is the most common type of workplace injury. Employees might slip on a wet surface or be tripped by something on the ground. In some cases, falling won’t be considered a serious injury. But if it were to happen on stairs or from heights, falling can lead to a serious injury or fatality.

Electrical Accident

There is at least the possibility of an electrical accident at virtually every workplace. If an employee isn’t trained on handling electrical equipment during a problem, they can suffer serious burns or electrocution.

Fire

This is another universal SIF that can happen anywhere. A fire or an uncontrolled explosion could potentially put employees in a life-or-death situation.

Hazardous Substance

Many companies require employees to work with chemical or biological substances that can be considered hazardous. If there is a spill or these substances aren’t handled properly, injuries and illnesses are possible if they come in contact with someone’s skin or become inhaled or ingested.

Struck by Object

Falling objects and debris, especially if they fall unexpectedly or fall from a long distance can pose a significant threat to someone’s well-being if they are struck. 

Learning Heinrich’s Triangle

Another key to understanding SIFs is applying Heinrich’s Triangle. Most safety professionals should be familiar with Heinrich’s Triangle, which is a way to look at the frequency of accidents and injuries in the workplace. The triangle tells us that a majority of the accidents and injuries in the workplace will be near misses or rather minor occurrences that come with no serious injury. Such occurrences cover almost the entire bottom half of a triangle.

Moving up the triangle, some accidents are accompanied by minor injuries. These occurrences are less frequent than near misses with no injury, but they are obviously more serious and threaten the well-being of employees. At the top of the triangle in the small space right at the peak is where you find SIFs. Compared to the other types of safety incidents, these are rare. 

The idea behind Heinrich’s Triangle is that by addressing all of the minor accidents or near misses that have little consequences, a workplace will be better able to avoid the SIFs at the top of the triangle. To some extent, this rings true because relatively minor mishaps and close calls can sometimes be viewed as a warning that something more serious could happen the next time if the issue isn’t addressed. 

However, this has been somewhat disputed because there is evidence that the volume of SIFs in the workplace has remained steady while minor incidents have declined. This is because the type of accidents or mistakes that result in near misses or no injuries are not the same type of accidents that can result in SIFs. For example, lifting something improperly can lead to a relatively minor muscle strain. But there is virtually no circumstance in which lifting something improperly can lead to a SIF. Therefore, correcting this mistake doesn’t help to prevent a more serious injury at a later time.

On the other hand, a normal slip and fall likely won’t result in an injury. However, if that slip and fall were to happen while someone was working 10 feet above the floor, the result could easily be different. This points to the relevance of every mishap and close call. Even if the outcome wasn’t serious, that doesn’t mean the event shouldn’t be taken seriously.

Investigate and Measure

The biggest lesson from Heinrich’s Triangle is that all safety accidents – serious or not – should be recorded because they all have a place on the pyramid. All safety incidents deserve to be measured because it’s not always possible to quantify the role that luck played in each one. Even with a simple slip and fall, an employee may have been lucky not to have landed from a different angle or on a harder surface. 

Therefore, the underlying cause or mistake that led to an accident should be explored so that even minor incidents aren’t replicated in the future. In the best-case scenario, a root cause analysis can be conducted for every accident or injury. This is the best way to learn from possible mistakes and create a safer work environment moving forward. In fact, companies practicing this are likely why data suggest that minor accidents have declined.

At the same time, Heinrich’s Triangle also teaches us that not all accidents are created equal. This means that safety managers need to measure and prioritize when it comes to investigating workplace accidents. It’s critical to measure safety accidents and rank them based on their SIF potential. As mentioned, a pulled muscle from lifting something heavy is unlikely to lead to a SIF but a slip and fall could. This is the key to using minor safety mishaps to prevent potential SIFs in the future.

Hierarchy of Controls

The hierarchy of controls is another tool that’s useful in the prevention of serious injuries and fatalities. It provides safety managers with a simple method of looking at what can be done to create a safer workplace and prevent SIFs. The first thing the hierarchy of controls asks is if a hazard can be eliminated completely. If not, the next step is trying to replace a specific hazard with something that will be less dangerous. 

The hierarchy of controls also considers engineering and administrative controls that can perhaps reduce the amount of risk and the seriousness of a potential accident. The last step in the hierarchy of controls is providing employees with the proper protective equipment. Even if nothing else can be done, employees will still be presented with protective gear that could minimize the seriousness of a potential injury. With the hierarchy of control, safety managers are able to consider every possibility of preventing the type of accident that could result in a SIF.

Using Technology

One of the best ways in today’s work environment to protect against potential SIFs is to utilize modern technology. For starters, safety equipment is improving, as is wearable technology that can be useful in protecting employees who work dangerous jobs. However, there is also EHS software that can help track workplace hazards, schedule safety inspections, log data from accidents, organize safety training, identify potential SIFs, and manage all aspects of workplace safety.

There is so much information and so many tasks that contribute to a safe work environment that it would be a mistake not to consolidate all of that data in the same place. These types of software programs can make it easier to manage workplace safety and make informed decisions that will ultimately help to prevent serious injuries and fatalities as much as possible.

EHS Insight's latest AI SIF Precursor Detection is the ultimate assistant in identifying potential SIF's before they occur. This innovative tool is designed to efficiently identify potential issues and proactively prevent Serious Injury and Fatality incidents. By analyzing audits, work observations, incidents, and CAPAs, our AI SIF Precursor Detection uncovers hidden SIF indicators that may have otherwise gone unnoticed. By automatically analyzing submitted forms and assigning SIF precursor ratings, our tool has the ability to generate comprehensive SIF Precursor Analysis Reports, allowing users to easily identify potential SIF incidents and take proactive measures to address them. Embrace the power of technology in enhancing safety practices and stay ahead of potential risks by utilizing AI-assisted SIF Precursor detection. Dive deeper into the data and take action to ensure a safer work environment for all.