Adel Mazloum - Department of Occupational Health, School of Public Health and Institute of Public Health Research, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran
Masaharu Kumashiro - Department of Ergonomics, Institute of Industrial Ecological Sciences, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan

Japanese employees and managers are taught to seek out inefficiencies--including accidents that can be prevented--then eradicate them to increase productivity and quality. This system forces employees and managers to immediately correct problems that do occur. Also, considering natural restrictions of human attention and consciousness, it is needed to adopt an approach which may control these limitations. In Japan on-the-spot risk assessment called KYT (Kiken Yochi Training in Japanese- Hazards Prediction Training) is widely practiced at workplace nationwide. It consists of four steps: (1) Identification of hazards, (2) Assessing risks, (3) Planning countermeasure, (4) Making action plan by the workers. Increasing sensitivity of workers, improving worker concentration, and motivating workers are some of the advantages of applying this program. This approach might be an effective and efficient countermeasure in Iranian workplaces too. Although some of these methods are specific to Japanese culture, many could effectively be adapted to the work environment in Iranian worksites like Southeast Asian countries.

KYT, attention, human error, consciousness, accident Prevention