Improving Electrical Safety : Risk Perception and Decision Making in Hazard Analysis

摘要

Electricity is unique among energy sources in that its use is virtually ubiquitous in everyday life, yet it also has the potential to be instantly fatal when contacted. Due to its familiarity and commonplace use, people are often complacent about electrical hazards and underestimate the risks associated with exposure to electricity. Many veterans in the electrical industry came of age in an era when best practices for electrical work had not yet been established, and as a result they experienced firsthand the consequences of electrical incidents. Over the past several decades, there has been a movement in the industry to improve safe work practices based on these experiences. This has resulted in great improvements to electrical safety, making electrical incidents not as common. The challenge today is to transfer the knowledge gained from past experience to workers who may not have witnessed serious electrical incidents and, as a result, may fail to recognize the potential for injury associated with electrical work. This article explores how perception of risk affects a worker's decision-making process for recognizing electrical hazards and assessing the likelihood and severity of the associated risks.