Dear Friends,
This is a subject of debate since many years. There had been hundreds and hundreds of postings on forums to fill thousands of pages. Early days into the profession I was also getting confused over it.
I am reproducing two of the replies received from experts before. For those who need I may be able to provide hundreds of opinion from eminent safety people.
My Advice : you use either of the word with which you feel comfortable– it does not make any difference !
1. What Matters Is Not the Words but How We Communicate Them
The recent spirited debate over Accident vs. Incident has been educational, enlightening, amusing and entertaining. It also serves to illustrate the many differences among members of the same profession. But for me, it also illustrates how easily we get caught up in, or focus on, semantics and definitions and totally forget the key, which is effective communications! To me, neither term is effective on its own as demonstrated by this discussion.
I am a realist and as a trainer and safety consultant for more than 26 years, I have had ample time to make mistakes and learn from them. Words and terms used among safety professionals should convey specific information as clearly as possible based on a persons perception of he word rather than the text book definition. It is of little or no consequence what the book definition of a word is. What is important is the idea or image the word conveys; what the actual understanding and interpretation is to the person receiving and processing the language.
With this understanding of communication I would like to submit my two cents on this debate. Personally I use both terms to clearly identify what type of situation exists as communications in any situation using either of these two terms is important! I have never heard incident OR accident used in a casual conversation regarding safety! Both terms are normally used to convey a problem! Here are my feelings on the proper use of these powerful words:
Accident - Used to convey a situation in which there has been an injury involving a human. Reserving Accident to denote injuries helps save time! If I hear "Johnny has been involved in an accident" the word Accident triggers an immediate response plan involving first aid members, first aid equipment and immediate activation of the accident response team. This term supersedes the normal delay involved in evaluating the situation to determine what actually happened.
Incident - Used to convey damage to property. No threat to human life exists. Although the same elements of response mentioned above may still be required, there is not a threat to human life. Evaluation is normally my first response to an incident. I know immediately that although it may be serious and costly, anything involved in an incident is replaceable or manageable and does not involve Loss-of-Life.
As professionals, every word we use conveys a meaning to the person receiving the information. Whether they receive the correct meaning is up to us. In addition to the words already discussed, additional words also need to convey specific information. If their is an incident involving a chemical spill, the work SPILL should be used rather than trying to parse the meaning of Accident OR Incident. We do not have incidents involving fire, we have FIRE!
I would encourage everyone (myself included) to always consider not just the meaning of a word but their perception! A Rose by any other name may indeed still be a Rose, but you are going to spend a great deal of energy explaining to me why you refer to it as a visual and olfactory stimulation device! In an emergency the proper use and understanding of language can mean the difference between life or death. Choose your words carefully!
Bob Breslin, Director
OSHA Compliance & Education
Vanguard Environmental, Inc.
2. Get Over It!
WOW. The first thing I thought when I read the comments about the "debate" between the terminology of incident and accident was "Get over it". As safety professionals we have heard these debates before and if we have any experience we should know that most people outside of the profession are going to use these terms to describe their incident / accident. We should be focusing on causes, proper investigations and prevention not what we call it. If it drives us that crazy to hear the word accident you better bail out of the profession because you will hear that word for decades to come.
Use the words you want I know what you mean.
Name withheld.
Regards,
Kesava Pillai