The Essential Factors model is an incident investigation model based on determining the essential and contributory factors that lead to an incident. An incident is viewed in terms of an interaction of essential and contributing factors that results in damage to people, property or production. An essential factor is one which when removed from, or added to, an incident sequence will interrupt that sequence. A contributing factor is one which increases the likelihood that the sequence of factors will continue but is not essential to the damage.
Every incident has essential factors associated with people, equipment and environment giving the 100% paradigm:
100% / 100% / 100% paradigm –
- 100% of incidents include “people” factors
- 100% of incidents include “equipment” factors
- 100% of incidents include “environment” factors
It is the purpose of the Essential Factors model to attempt to use value-neutral language to give maximum “meaning” and minimum “affect”. This will not always be the case but it is suggested that the use of the word “cause” and “human error” by an accident investigator during data collection and interview phases, will have a potentially greater negative response than the use of alternative words.
All essential factors differ in controllability. Each essential factor, once identified is able to be reviewed for potential points of control. That is potential ways in which to reduce the risk of that incident re-occurring.
Famous quotes containing the words essential, factors and/or model:
“There are of course people who are more important than others in that they have more importance in the world but this is not essential and it ceases to be. I have no sense of difference in this respect because every human being comprises the combination form.”
—Gertrude Stein (1874–1946)
“Language makes it possible for a child to incorporate his parents’ verbal prohibitions, to make them part of himself....We don’t speak of a conscience yet in the child who is just acquiring language, but we can see very clearly how language plays an indispensable role in the formation of conscience. In fact, the moral achievement of man, the whole complex of factors that go into the organization of conscience is very largely based upon language.”
—Selma H. Fraiberg (20th century)
“AIDS occupies such a large part in our awareness because of what it has been taken to represent. It seems the very model of all the catastrophes privileged populations feel await them.”
—Susan Sontag (b. 1933)