Murphy's Law is a useful scapegoat for human error: "If something can go wrong, it will."

A new study by Franz Knoll of engineers Nicolet Chartrand Knoll Ltd. in Montreal hopes to put paid to this unscientific excuse for errors by showing that introducing verification and checking procedures can improve structural safety and performance and send Murphy packing.

Science Daily explains that Knoll "explains that faults and flaws in any industrial product almost always originate from human error, through lack of attention, communication, or competence." The problem is that while we may like to point out flaws in others' work, we definitely do not like to admit it for ourselves.

"As Knoll says, in the construction industry, and elsewhere, management would like the company to deliver the 'Rolls Royce' for the low price of a 'Volkswagen Beetle,' " Science Daily reports.

The problem is that human errors trickle down through any project to the final product "as workers endeavor to comply with strict budgets under pressure to perform well."

Medicine has faced the same problem, and efforts in recent years to root out mistakes there have included allowing nurses to stop an operation if they suspect a error and checking-and-rechecking that the right procedure is being done on the right person. Even a simple blood draw can have a phlebotomist asking a patient to verify their name and date of birth just to be sure.

Knoll's article is available for purchase from the journal's website.