The measurement of accident-proneness

Abstract

This paper deals with the measurement of accident-proneness. Accidents seem easy to observe, however accident-proneness is difficult to measure. In this paper I first define the concept of accident-proneness, and I develop an instrument to measure it. The research is mainly executed within chemical industry, and the organizations are pictured summarily. The instrument is validated in different ways with different outcomes. On the basis of these outcomes I conclude that the accident-proneness scale has only a limited validity, and each branch of industry probably requires another accident subscale. However for a comparison within chemical industry the instrument seems admissible.