Accidents cannot be prevented solely through regulatory requirements. Understanding the fundamental root causes, widely sharing the lessons learned, and integrating these lessons into safe operations are also required. Accidents are nearly always caused by someone doing something that is unsafe. These unsafe acts come in many forms, like: failing to follow a procedure, failing to wear the proper personal protection, failing to lockout equipment, etc. Accidents can be prevented by making individuals aware of these unsafe acts and taking steps to ensure they do not occur.

The Environmental Health and Safety Office can provide training and conduct job safety analyses to help make individuals aware of actions and conditions that may lead to an accident and injury. We can also assist with campus units that would like to participate in Dupont’s STOP program (Safety Training Observation Program). This is a program that trains individuals and supervisors to recognize and eliminate unsafe acts.