Human errors in fatal and serious occupational accidents in Finland

Abstract

The aim of this study is to examine the effect of human error on industrial accidents. One hundred and seventy-eight fatalities and 99 serious accidents were classified according to Rasmussen's SRK model. Of accidents, 84-94% were due mainly to human error. Most of the errors were skill-based, next came rule-based errors and then knowledge-based errors. The type of error was analyzed by age, work experience and work tasks of the victims. The results showed that the SRK model is suitable for analyzing accidents in industrial work using rather simple technology.