Health, Safety and Ergonomics

Dr Andrew DJ Pinder [rtf version]

Abstract of a presentation to the 2003 Christians in Science Sheffield Conference.

The purpose of this paper is to give an overview of how health and safety professionals deal with risk, to look at how this relates to public perceptions of risk, to give examples from a specific priority area, and to comment on the relationship between the biblical worldview and this view of risk.

Risk is a concept that means different things to different people. The Health and Safety Executive uses the slogan "Reducing Risks - Protecting People". In this context, 'risk' is defined as the probability that someone will be harmed by a hazard. Less precisely, it is often used to mean both the hazard and the harm. In principle, risk can be quantified but, in practice, it is often almost impossible to do so. However, hazards can often be ranked in order of severity of the consequent harm.

The levels of risks that we accept are variable and depend on perceptions of the nature of the hazards and the magnitude and nature of the consequences. In some circumstances we will accept only negligible risk (nuclear power, trains, fairgrounds). Broadly acceptable risks are those which are generally not questioned (e.g., low back pain). Tolerable risks are accepted because the perceived benefits outweigh the perceived costs (e.g., road transport). Other risks are deemed unacceptable (e.g., variant CJD from beef on the bone).

Ergonomics is the study of the relationship between people and the working environment. One aspect deals with issues of health and safety and therefore of risk. One current priority is the area of musculoskeletal disorders. These account for approximately one third of the over 3 day accidents reported to HSE and are a major economic cost. In particular, industrial manual handling is associated with an increased incidence of low back pain. However, 60 - 80% of the population will suffer from an episode of low back pain at some point in their life. Fortunately, it is low severity since most cases get better within a few weeks but it is often recurrent. (It is a curious fact that there are no cases recorded of Jesus healing anyone with simple mechanical low back pain.) Most of the current methods of assessing the risks of manual handling are subjective. The more objective models either estimate risk relative to a standard task or sum absolute risk scores derived from the intensity of particular risk factors.

The Bible does not deal with risk in the way that it is currently understood. However, there are important themes such as dealing with danger and the hazards and costs of being one of God's people. Unfortunately, there is considerable scope for confusion due to misapprehensions that faith is risky, ranging from the popular cliché "faith is spelt R I S K" to the philosophical arguments of Pascal's wager and Kierkegaard's "leap of faith".

Disclaimer: The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of the Health and Safety Executive.