Learning from Accidents

After a risk has manifested itself and has led to an accident, valuable lessons can be learned to reduce the risk of a similar accident occurring again. This calls for accident analysis methods. In the past 20 years, a large number of accident analysis methods have been proposed and it is difficult to find the right method to apply in a specific circumstance. The authors conducted a review of the state of the art of accident analysis methods and models across domains. They classify the models using the well-known categorization into sequential, epidemiological, and systemic methods. The authors find that these classes have their own characteristics in terms of speed of application versus pay-off. For optimum risk reduction, methods that take organizational issues into account can add valuable information to the risk management process in an organization.