Better use of accident data

Abstract

The aims of accident investigation are to identify and locate all factors relevant to the accident sequence, examine and determine their impact and to give a good basis for safety improvements at workplaces. An investigation has been carried out based on Finnish occupational accident registers in the Occupational Safety Engineering Laboratory of the Technical Research Centre of Finland in order to discover the emphasis on occupational safety research. The progress of occupational accidents was clarified on the basis of the reports of an occupational accident register. This register contains information of serious occupational accidents. The results of this analysis were presented in an accident progress scheme developed during the study. Based on the material, i.e. by cranes, saws, conveyors, fork lifts, pressing machines, paper machines and food processing machines. The scheme shows the mutual dependence of the technical and human factors in the accident progress sequence and typical way of progress that indicates the most common causal factors of an accident. The goals of the accident progress scheme were 1. — to clarify the progress of occupational accidents at a specific field, plant, machine or equipment 2. — to identify the hazards related to occupational accidents 3. — to define a typical progress of a certain type of occupational accident The progress scheme drawn during the analysis 1. — gives an opportunity to study accident causes deductively 2. — shows the defects in the technical system studied 3. — gives a good view of factors related to a worker and a technical system.?