The Unwanted Event leading to Loss

The event in the cause - consequence sequence could  almost be anything:

• fire, explosion
• flooding, landslides, windstorm, earthquake
• theft, mysterious disappearance
• loss of customer or market share
• not being able to enter new markets (product, geographical)
• accidents leading to loss: human, property, environment, business
• unplanned production interruption 
• riot, civil commotion
• loss of key personnel
• loss of information
• industrial espionage
• loss of suppliers
• loss of resources, energy, water
• quality problems
• inefficiency, waste
• etcetera

In relation to injury, environmental and material damage one of the concepts is the energy trace / barrier concept. The concept assume a contact between a source of energy and a body or object and energy exchange between those at the time of the event. If the energy exchange is above the threshold limit value of body or object and no adequate barriers are present then the result will be (visible) harm (injury or damage). If the energy exchange is below the threshold value or when adequate barriers are present there may not be any (visible) loss. However, the event may still have to be taken seriously. Under the different circumstances the event results could be quite different.

Within the safety area, the types of event considered include:

• Struck against (running or bumping into)
• Struck by (hit by moving object)
• Fall to lower level
• Fall on same level
• Caught in (pinch or nip points)
• Caught on (snagged, hung)
• Caught between or under (crushed or amputated)
• Contact with (electricity, heat, cold, radiation, caustics, toxic, noise)
• Overstress, overexertion, overload

Barriers preventing the event to produce actual loss would include:

• Physical barriers, walls, shields, personal protective equipment, etc.
• Administrative barriers, procedures, work instructions
• Time related barriers, separating energy source and body or object in time
• Place related barriers, separating energy source and body or object in place    

Reporting the unwanted event

The unwanted event can produce visible loss or not and the loss could be minimal of catastrophic. To learn from the minor losses, use risk classification and figure out if the loss could be significantly worse under different circumstances.

Minor or no-loss events may not get reported but they should as they could have been very different if the circumstances would be different. The accident- or unwanted event protocol should indicate what shall be reported, investigated etc. to come up with remedial actions so they same would not happen again in the future.