A comparison has been made between 11 Swedish authorities involved in accident prevention. The authorities' fields of responsibility were in industry, transportation, the environment, and medical care. The aim of the investigation has been to examine approaches to and methods for the prevention of accidents. Representatives from the authorities participated in three seminars and responded to a questionnaire. There are several issues and problems which are of common concern to the authorities. A majority state that one of their greatest problems is to get the "object" of their surveillance to take responsibility, act in a committed manner and work systematically. Also, nearly all state that there are safety problems with computer-controlled equipment and with demands imposed on individuals, e.g., skills demands. At a majority of the authorities, development is in progress of methodologies to be utilised in safety matters. This applies, for example, to the investigation of accidents, surveillance and inspection, and the scrutiny of results from safety analyses. There did not seem to be any appreciable collaboration between authorities across sectoral boundaries with regard to development aimed at safety issues. However, a need for such collaboration appeared to have advantages. Only a few of the authorities gave prominence to contacts with the international scientific community as a means for improving their approaches and working methods in relation to safety. (Author/publisher)
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