The Concept of Safety

Concept of Safety

In order to understand the accident causation, it is necessary to consider what is meant by "safety".
Depending on one's perspective, the concept of safety may have different connotations, such as:
 zero accidents (or serious incidents);
 the freedom from danger or risks, i.e. those factors which cause or are likely to cause harm;
 the attitude towards unsafe acts and conditions by employees (reflecting a "safe" corporate culture);
 the degree to which the inherent risks in industry are "acceptable";
 the process of hazard identification and risk management; and
 the control of accidental loss (of persons and property, and damage to the environment).
Safety is the state in which the risk of harm by accident to persons or of property damage is reduced
to, and maintained at or below, an acceptable level through a continuing process of hazard
identification and risk management.

Definition of the concept of safety

Safety is a state in which hazards and conditions leading to physical, psychological or material harm are
controlled in order to preserve the health and well-being of individuals and the community. It is an essential
resource for everyday life, needed by individuals and communities to realise their aspirations.

Attaining an optimum level of safety requires individuals, communities, governments and others to create and
maintain the following conditions, whichever setting is considered :

 a climate of social cohesion and peace as well as of equity protecting human rights and freedoms, at the
family, local, national or international level;

 the prevention and control of injuries and other consequences or harm caused by accidents;

 the respect of the values and the physical, material and psychological integrity of individuals; and

 the provision of effective preventive, control and rehabilitation measures to ensure the presence of the
three previous conditions.

These conditions can be assured by initiatives that focus on the environment (physical, social, technological,
political, economic and organizational) and on behaviour.

Source : Québec WHO Collaborating Centre for Safety Promotion and Injury Prevention, WHO Collaborating
Centre on Community Safety Promotion, Karolinska Institutet, World Health Organisation, 1998. Safety and
Safety Promotion: Conceptual and Operational Aspects, Québec.

https://www.inspq.qc.ca/en/collaborating-centre-safety-promotion-injury-prevention/definition-of-the-
concept-of-safety
The Concept of Safety

Some may assume that "safety" is a concrete concept, whilst "risk" is a vague, hypothetical
concept. In fact, its the other way around. Risks always exist. But true safety never
exists, except in hypothetical situations. So, risk is reality, safety is a fantasy.

Thus, the concept of safety is a very problematic one. It is often falsely assumed that it is
really possible to "be safe". Think of "safe sex" for example. But, there is no such thing as
safe sex -- all one can do is minimize the risk of pregnancy or sexually transmitted disease
through so-called "safe sex" practices. Even if one gets sterilised and wears 3 condoms,
there is the risk of heart-attack and many other morbid possibilities during sex.

Likewise, there are no completely safe outdoor and adventure activities. There is always
the risk of freak events occurring -- and occasionally they do. Programs and instructors
should closely scrutinize their written and verbal language, taking particular notice of the
way the word "safety" is used. Some instructors and organizations explicitly avoid the term
"safety" because it can foster false assumptions and expectations. To claim an activity is
safe, when it is clearly can't be, is asking for trouble because sooner or later you'll be
wrong. That's why it is important to play it straight -- share with clients what the nature of
the main risks are, don't apologize for the risks (celebrate them!), and allow the person to
make an informed choice about participating.

The idea behind "safety practices" is that by

adopting certain standard ways of operating,
"acceptable" levels of risk can be
created. "Acceptable" risk is of course subjective,
and changes over time and across cultures, and
varies widely for individuals. Good safety
practices evolve via constant reviewing, based on
actual experience and the experiences of others,
including research evidence and courtroom
decisions.

Despite safety being an illusion, it has become

increasingly attractive, especially when people
feel vulnerable or threatened. To strive for safety
in an adventure program has become an
increasingly valued objective from a societal
perspective over the last 2 decades. The focus
on safety, however, has taken on a mantle above
and beyond the bigger picture. "Safety" is one aspect of participant's experience. We must
not over obsess about the holy grail of safety, however. It is at least as equally, if not more
important, to embrace the positive potentials of risk-taking. Go to "Is Outward Bound
Becoming Too Safe?"

One example of how we've become more aware of the lack

of safety is that "life jackets" were renamed during the last
10 to 15 years as "personal flotation devices". The term
"life jackets" was seen to falsely imply that they would "save
your life" by preventing drowning. But many people have
drowned whilst wearing "life jackets". The new term,
"personal flotation device" (PFD) is rather vague and
euphemistic. It just means "floatie".
The Concept of Safety

It is also important to note and be aware that many practices assumed to be safe are
actually quite unsafe in some circumstances. For example, wearing a PFD can be
disadvantageous if it doesn't fit properly or if one is caught in a powerful stopper where the
best route of escape would be dive under.

Thus, "true safety", to the extent that it is achievable, can never be achieved by following
static rules; it could only ever be achieved by adopting "live", in situ, decision making,
based on the dynamic elements in the system. In other words, "judgement" is required to
successfully manage risk.

http://www.wilderdom.com/risk/SafetyConceptHypotheticalIdeal.html