Human factors in cost-effective engineering

Accidents / Engineering

Accidents in the workplace or the home are the result of a variety of factors. Only thorough investigation can help the process of future prevention and mitigation measures. Professor M.W. Thring's statement, that all accidents are the result of cheap engineering, holds a certain truth, although other factors also need to be taken into account.

Human factors may for example include the fact that a starting business owner is under considerable financial strain, and hence does not wish to invest too much in engineering. Electrical wiring is for example notoriously expensive. The danger of using cheap engineering, however, is that the materials used is often of a lower grade than those used by companies charging a larger fee. Electrical faults may then lead to life-threatening electrical failures, blackouts at crucial moments, and short circuits that may lead to fires. This kind of failure is especially dangerous when the company stores explosive substances on the premises. In this, a manager's urge to save funding becomes an expensive mistake.

Cheap engineering could also pertain to the building materials used when erecting the business premises. A less experienced building company may for example charge less for its services. Once again, cheaper building materials are used, or unnoticed design flaws may occur. This combination can lead to material breakdown or fatal flaws that may cause the premises to collapse or crumble, in turn leading to accidents in the workplace. This is also a case where cheap engineering is directly responsible for workplace accidents. The problem is again that the drive to save money can become very expensive in terms of insurance fees or compensation to workers and their families.

The same is true in the home, and indeed perhaps more so than in the workplace. A prospective home owner, just after spending an amount of money on his or her new premises, would wish to save as much money as possible on building and engineering costs. This however results in the same hazards as in the workplace. The homeowner and his family are thus in danger of injury or death as a result of using cheap rather than quality engineering. Another human factor related to this is the fact that engineering tends to be a very specialized field. In general, home and business owners do not have the expertise to discern between quality and lack thereof in engineering.

Indeed, while the quality of cheap engineering may be lower, this is not necessarily to say that expensive work entails higher quality. Some inscrutable engineers may for example use cheap materials for the sake of greater financial gain. The home or business owner is therefore safest when he or she thoroughly investigates the services being used. An engineer with both a good reputation and a price that is not too low should for example provide the best service.

Other factors that play a role in workplace or home accidents are related not as much to engineering as to the specific actions and neglect perpetrated by the users of the material. The human factor for example may entail such neglectful actions as not using safety glasses, ignoring "wet floor" signs, or not thoroughly inspecting rifles to ensure that they are not loaded on a hunting expedition (Elsberry). Accidents can also happen as a result of deliberately unsafe practices such as using a cell phone while driving in rush hour traffic.