9990 · 4.4.3
Health and safety flashcards
Revision flashcards for Cambridge 9990 Health and safety (syllabus 4.4.3). Flip, recall, then mark a real past-paper question.
Card
Reason's Swiss cheese model?
Accidents occur when holes in multiple defence layers (training, equipment, supervision, culture) align at one moment.
Card
Safety culture?
Shared beliefs and practices about risk — strong culture prioritises reporting near-misses without blame.
Card
Active vs latent errors?
Active = immediate mistakes by front-line staff; latent = hidden organisational flaws (understaffing, poor design) waiting to combine.
Card
Human factors in accidents?
Fatigue, distraction, overload, poor interface design — not just 'careless worker'.
Card
Work-related stress as hazard?
Chronic demand without control (Karasek) links to cardiovascular illness, burnout, and absenteeism.
Card
Near-miss reporting?
Reporting close calls without punishment reveals latent conditions before a serious accident.
Card
What are the two main types of failures in Reason's (1990) Swiss Cheese Model?
Active failures (unsafe acts by front-line operators, e.g., a pilot error) and Latent failures (hidden organisational weaknesses, e.g., poor training, inadequate equipment, or flawed procedures).
Card
Define 'safety culture'.
The shared values, attitudes, perceptions, and patterns of behaviour of members of an organisation concerning safety. It reflects 'the way we do things around here' regarding health and safety.
Card
According to Karasek's (1979) Job Demands-Control model, which combination of factors leads to the highest level of workplace stress?
High job demands (e.g., heavy workload, time pressure) combined with low job control (e.g., little autonomy or decision-making authority).
Card
What is the core idea behind Heinrich's (1931) 'Domino Theory' of accident causation?
It proposes that accidents result from a linear sequence of events, like a line of falling dominoes. Preventing any single event in the chain (e.g., an unsafe act) can prevent the final injury.
Card
What is the primary criticism of the 'accident proneness' theory?
It encourages a 'blame the victim' mentality and distracts from analysing and fixing more significant systemic and situational causes of accidents within the work environment.