Accident Frequency Rate Research Articles

A Conceptual Framework for Analyzing Occupational Safety and Health Program Investment: Hierarchy of Controls-Based Approach

Introduction: The Frequency Rate (FR) of workplace accidents in 2019 was recorded at 3.4, meaning that for every million work hours, there were 3.4 cases of workplace accidents. In 2020, the FR increased to 3.6, and in 2021, it further rose to 3.8. Therefore, companies need to make improvements to reduce the number of work accidents by investing some resources in the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) investment program. This study aims to develop a conceptual framework for analyzing the OSH investment program by considering its benefits and costs. Methods: Hierarchy of controls was used in this study to classify and identify OSH programs, OSH investment items, and OSH implementation options. The in-depth interview was also conducted by involving several experts to formulate and justify the items in the conceptual framework. Result: This study resulted in 2 main aspects, namely carefully chosen OSH experts to ensure reliable and relevant information collected and involving a detailed analysis of different data levels (3, 2, and 1) along with a breakdown of costs for each level 1 data. Conclusion: The finding of this study is a conceptual framework to help and direct companies in order to analyze the selection of OSH programs, OSH investment items, and OSH implementation options by prioritizing the hierarchy of controls.

Effect of OHS Criteria on Selection of Concrete Additives in Mine Ore Construction Works

Construction, mining or tunneling projects in Türkiye are defined as workplaces in the very dangerous class due to their physical power needs. For this reason, metal ore mining, mining supporting service activities, sewage, external construction, special construction activities, construction and landscaping activities are the sectors where occupational accidents are most common. While determining the necessary materials or work equipment during the planning phase of the works in these sectors, making decisions by evaluating the effect of "occupational health and safety" will contribute to the reduction of accidents. This research consists of two parts. In the first part, accident frequency rates were calculated by using data related to metal ore mining, mining supporting service activities, sewerage, external structure, special construction activities, building and landscaping projects between 2012 and 2019. Thus, the relationship between occupational accidents experienced as of the adoption of the Occupational Health and Safety Law has been determined. In the second part, it is tried to gain a different perspective by adding occupational health and safety factor to the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), which is one of the multi-criteria decision-making methods. As a result of the research, it has been determined that "occupational health and safety" criteria are given priority according to cost and engineering advantages in alternative product/material comparisons in mines or construction works.

Risk analysis of inland waterways transportation on the Niger Delta Basin, Nigeria

This study aimed at analyzing accidents and risk on inland waterways transport operations in the Niger delta basin, Nigeria. Quantitative data obtained from the dada base of the National Inland waterways Authority (NIWA) were subjected to risk assessment methods. The results reveal an estimated average individual risk (AIR) value of 6.2x10-5, a fatal accident rate (FAR) of 975 fatalities per 8640 exposed hours; and accident frequency rate (AFR) value of 0.7% for the inland waterways of Niger delta. It concludes that waterways of Niger delta have high risk indices and potentials of accident occurrence due to poor maintenance dredging, enforcement of regulations; and thus recommends that NIWA should invest optimally in safety awareness and policy enforcement for sustainable waterways operations in Nigeria.

Locomotive engineer safety with single manning operation

ABSTRACT The paper is about practice, rather than research, and shows how a complex systems engineering project was done. The project was unique, involving a problem never before investigated, namely, to find the difference in occupational safety of a train driver between being alone in a locomotive cab and having an accompanying assistant. The project used a systems methodology discussed elsewhere. It required understanding the overall New Zealand Rail system and ensuring the objective was clear. A strategy was developed based on a set of system principles. Fault trees gave accident probabilities, from which relative values of Fatal Accident Frequency Rates were computed. As a practical simplification, detailed analysis was confined to a limited part of the overall rail system which could be taken as representative of the whole. Care was taken to treat input information as a whole rather than as separate unconnected items, emphasising information quality, which varied depending on type and source. Major points were the importance of (a) a clear and coherent strategy including careful system decomposition, (b) having a body of information of high and consistent quality, (c) fostering clarity and transparency in communication, and (d) having – and learning – good communication skills. This work is part of a Special Issue on Systems Perspectives: Clarity through Examples (see Dias 2023).

The Effects of Daylight Saving Time (DST) Transition Cancelation on Work Accidents of Turkey

Objectives. Turkey canceled the daylight saving time (DST) transition and started permanent clock application. Considering the effect of this new regulation on working hours, this study examines whether there is a relationship with the increase in the number of work accidents in shifts. Methods. Data on work accidents were obtained from the Republic of Turkey Social Security Institution (SSI), filed between 2011 and 2020. We estimate accident rates using Poisson regression and log-linear models as a function of a variety of date-based factors. Results. The results show that DST transition is effective (ineffective in terms of gender) on changes in the number of work accidents. With statistical analyses, the hourly distribution of work accidents was determined, indicating at which hour the most work accidents occurred, using the work accident frequency rate. The number of prevented work accidents was calculated as 286,793 for Turkey. Conclusion. The findings from these studies suggest that cancellation of the DST transition does not have a negative effect on the incidence of work accidents in Turkey; on the contrary, this practice also serves the purpose of preventing work accidents.

Assessing the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the performance indicators of safety management using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) in an electricity industry

IntroductionThe importance of evaluating the performance of different management systems in industries necessitates examining the performance of the Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE) management system along with other management systems. Particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a greater need than ever to assess the impact of the COVID-19 spread on the performance of the HSE management system compared to before this pandemic. This research aims to investigate safety performance indicators (SPIs) on the performance of the HSE management system and the impact of the COVID-19 spread on these indicators. MethodsThis cross-sectional, descriptive-analytical study was conducted to evaluate the influence of the COVID-19 outbreak on the safety performance to revise the industry safety index in an electricity distribution company using the multi-criteria decision-making method before and after the disease epidemic in three stages. In the first part, the safety indicators were identified according to the comprehensive safety indicators available in the industries and experts' opinions. In the second part, safety indicators were ranked, weighted, and prioritized using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). In the third part, these indicators were calculated and compared in the periods before and after the outbreak of COVID-19. ResultsTwo main criteria, namely the “effectiveness criterion” and the “applicability/calculation criterion”, were identified for the evaluation and pairwise comparisons of performance indicators. Among these two criteria, the applicability/calculation criterion had higher priority and importance for the evaluation of indicators. Pairwise comparisons of the indicators indicated that the “accident frequency rate” and “safe T-factor” indicators (with weights of 0.238 and 0.023 respectively) had the highest and lowest priorities, respectively, for the assessment of organizational safety performance among the SPIs. ConclusionBased on the calculations of the indicators and their analyses before and after the outbreak of COVID-19, the current status of the safety performance of the HSE unit was not significantly affected by this pandemic. However, the investigations carried out while collecting the data needed to calculate the indicators and evaluate the performance of this unit demonstrated that some indicators were not considered sufficiently in the studied electricity industry. Since conducting regular performance evaluations greatly impacts the achievement of continuous improvement, more attention should be paid to compiled indicators, which should be periodically assessed in the organization to achieve continuous improvement.

Cloud Based Workplace Safety Inspection for Food Industry

Abstract: The proposed conceptual framework for the design and use of a cloud based audiovisual recording and surveillance system for safety in the workplace. a video surveillance system has been put in place. The aim is to gain some insights into the benefits as well as the drawbacks connected to the use of video technology as a means to improve safety management in manufacturing companies. Demonstrate the effectiveness of video technology at supporting the identification of the risks connected to unsafe behaviours of the workforce and critical conditions of the working environment. Video surveillance provides several benefits as opposed to in person observations, such as non-biased and accurate accident data; in-depth analysis; observations possible not in real-time; observer not exposed to risks; undisturbed work activity; possibility of longer observation periods. The recorded videos can facilitate the identification of safe practices and the best risk management approaches as well as be used to improve training sessions. The accident frequency rate is higher in the food industry than other manufacturing industry. Hence, there is a need to implement further actions to prevent occupational accidents and improve health and safety at work in the food industry. To guide these actions, up-to-date information on accidents at work is needed. This study descriptively analyzed the circumstances, causes, and consequences of accidents at work in the food industry. The data were retrieved from the accident database. The results reveal that most of the injuries were minor, such as wounds and superficial injuries, resulting in 3 days of incapacity for work. The most accident-prone activities were handling objects, movement, and carrying loads by hand. Hands were the most exposed body parts. The most common causes of injury were related to movement and slipping, stumbling, and falling. Focusing on these factors to may support the food industry in preventing and reducing the number of accidents at work.

Analiza udesa i ozbiljnih nezgoda u vazdušnom saobraćaju primenom Microsoft Power BI alata

Safety is a priority in aviation and for all aviation entities, including civil aviation authorities, operators, air traffic control service providers and airports. With the air traffic volume increase, there is a growth in the aviation system efficiency and therefore it is necessary to maintain a high level of safety. Practical processing of the operational data includes the representation and analysis of accidents and incidents in aviation over the certain period. The data presented in the paper are based on the location of the safety event, flight phase, aircraft type, accident frequency rate and other possible factors that can affect aviation safety. The main goal of analyzing the operational data is to raise safety awareness, as well as to maintaining safety risks on satisfactory level including safety risks mitigation measures.

Analysis of Factors Affecting Safety Outcomes in Construction Projects: A Field Study in One of the Large Construction Projects in Iran

Background: In addition to detrimental effects on economy and people, safety consequences could negatively affect the efficiency and productivity of construction projects. This study aims to analyze the factors affecting safety consequences in construction projects.
 Method: This was a descriptive-analytical and cross-sectional study conducted in 2020 in a large construction project (a sewage treatment plant) in Tehran. The 250 people working in this construction project participated in this study. Data for this study were collected based on a safety parameter assessment checklist. Independent variables in this study were age and work experience, education, daily working hours, harmful physical and ergonomic factors, and unsafe practices. Analytical variables included Accident Frequency Rate (AFR) and Safe-T score. A multiple linear regression model and SPSS version 22.0 were used for data analysis.
 Results: Age and working experience of the participants were 35.8± 9.8 and 3.4± 1.7, respectively, and nearly half of them had high school diploma (47.6%). AFR for two consecutive years of 2019 and 2020, were 5.16 and 4.43 accidents, respectively. Safe-T-Score was calculated as – 0.011. The results of regression analysis revealed a significant relation (p<0.05) between Safe-T-score and working experience, daily working hours, unsafe practices, noise and thermal stress exposure, carrying and moving loads, and safety risk factors variables.
 Conclusion: Results of this study indicated that although safety performance at the studied construction site was relatively favorable, several variables had an impact on the safety consequences of the project. Hence, the safety consequences of construction projects might benefit from the results of this study. 

Bir lojistik işletmesinde tesis depo performansının Copras ve Topsis yöntemleriyle değerlendirilmesi

Logistics processes are one of the most important elements among the cost items in companies. The operational treatment of logistics companies directly influences the efficiency of the business. Performance evaluation in the logistics companies is important in terms of sustainability of the operation and measuring the sustainability trend. In this study, facility performance that depending on years, in a logistics company has analyzed comparatively with COPRAS (Complex Proportional Assessment) and TOPSIS (Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution) methods, which are among the Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) techniques. The criteria have determined as operational error, customer complaints, accident frequency rate, absence, turnover rate, training rate, overtime, staff productivity, input productivity, output productivity and on-time dispatch performance. The weights of these criteria have calculated with the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), which is also a MCDM method. Thus, we have compared five years consisting of nine periods and have made various evaluations.

МОДЕЛЬ ПРОФЕССИОНАЛЬНОЙ КОМПЕТЕНЦИИ ДЛЯ ОЦЕНКИ ПРОФЕССИОНАЛЬНЫХ РИСКОВ

Nowadays, the decision making based on the preliminary risk assessment became a frequent practice almost in all spheres of human activity. As a result of late changes in the legislation relating to labour safety, occupational risks assessment became an employer obligation. To organize this process, the additional training of specialists is necessary. The formation of a system for training such specialists is a topical issue both for employers and educational institutions. At the initial stage of formation of the professional competence model of a specialist for occupational risk assessment, the author selected from the occupational standard of a labour protection specialist the job functions related to the occupational risk management. The paper considers a competence model of a specialist in the sphere of industrial safety and health developed by the experts of British Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH). To identify professional competences necessary for occupational risks assessment, the author suggests carrying out test assessment of occupational risks and forming a professional competence model using the technique of analysis and observation over actions necessary for risk assessment. To obtain more objective results, the author proposes carrying out such assessment within a group of three people – a labour protection specialist, a department manager, and an employee representative. The Lost Time Accident Frequency Rate and the Work Accident Severity Rate are accepted as the performance criteria of occupational risk assessment. The author suggests using the developed professional competence model in the future when training technosphere safety specialists.

Türkiye balıkçılık ve su ürünleri yetiştiriciliği sektöründeki iş kazalarının istatistikleri üzerine bir analiz; 2013-2019 dönemi

This study was carried out to make a holistic evaluation on the occupational health and safety (OHS) of fisheries and aquaculture sector with its subsectors and to reveal the actual situation of fisheries and aquaculture sector by comparing relevant OHS statistics reported in Turkey. Annual average of accidents in the fisheries and aquaculture sector was found to be 312 (± 147.6), of which 2.14 (± 1.57) resulted in permanent incapacity and 1.57 (± 1.51) of them with fatality. While general incidence rate, fatal incidence rate, permanent incapacity incidence rate and work accident frequency rate were calculated as 2211.8 (±574) 103.6 (±13.4), 5.88 (±2.41) ve 8.36 (±1.93), these values for fisheries and aquaculture sector were determined to be 3579.1 (±1549.3) 175.65 (±152.34), 240.67 (154.62) ve 13.65 (±5.84), respectively. In 2019, the fatal accident rate in Turkey was found to be 0.27% in general, 0.34% in the mining sector, 0.77% in construction and 0.80% in transportation. This ratio was calculated as 1% in the fisheries and aquaculture sector. It was determined that there were more work accidents and fatal incidents in fisheries and aquaculture activities in the seas than in fresh water. Difference between number of work accidents and the duration of temporary incapacity as a result of work accidents in fisheries and aquaculture activities in marine and fresh waters were also significant (p<0.05). Number of fatal accidents in aquaculture sector was found to be more than 4 times than in fisheries. It was determined that the all types of incident rates, work accident frequency rates and fatality rates per work accident in fisheries and aquaculture sector were higher than that of Turkey in general. Evaluation of occupational accidents in the fisheries and aquaculture activity was found to be riskier than expected. Although some evaluations and suggestions are put forward to reduce the number of accidents and the severity of these accidents, a systematic and legislative approach will be more effective. Therefore, it would be a suitable approach to raise the hazard classes of fisheries and aquaculture economic activity to the “very dangerous” class. In this way, the training period of the sector employees on occupational risks and the titles and numbers of OHS professionals working in the sector will be increased, a more qualified specialization will be realized, and control and audit activities will be more frequent.

Review and analysis of roadway crash prediction studies on urban roads under heterogeneous traffic conditions

In recent decades, pre-predicting the roadway accidents is essential for real time traffic incident management that effectively minimizes the environmental pollution, traffic congestion and secondary incidents. Currently, the traffic data are available in thousands of public and private datasets and also generates terabytes of data each year. Though, it is infeasible to manage the huge datasets by utilizing traditional software and hardware. It is therefore essential that an automated system to predict road accidents is developed. The present review paper investigates the researches done on road accident prediction, particularly for urban roads under heterogeneous traffic conditions. It also explores the problems faced in existing works by researchers. This review paper helps researchers achieve a better solution for the current problems faced by heterogeneous traffic conditions when it comes to urban road accident prediction. The findings demonstrate that the operating speed and the disparities between the speed restrictions and the operating speed are the key factors influencing the accident frequency rate.

Safety Climate Survey Among Employees in a Feminine Care Products Manufacturing Company

Manufacturing and construction companies are significant contributors to most accidents in Indonesia. Accident frequency rate (AFR) can be reduced by adopting an appropriate management system, technical approach, and safety culture at the workplace. Employees' perception of Work Safety culture is the key to success in minimizing AFR. A survey of employees' perception of safety can identify their reality concerning the Safety Climate at their workplace. The study aimed to observe Safety Climate through a survey of employees' perception on the dimensions of management commitment, safety communication, safety rules and procedures, supportive environment, personal safety involvement and needs, and safety training. The study discusses possible ways to improve the safety climate in their organization and provides feedback to maintain and improve it. A mixed-methods descriptive design was used for this study. The sample size was determined using the Slovin formula and the sample selection using the Proportionate Stratified Random Sampling method. The survey was conducted on 156 employees using a questionnaire model with a personal approach to all levels of employees in a feminine care products manufacturing company. The survey result was analyzed quantitatively through assessments on questionnaires and qualitatively through employees' comments. The study found employees' perception of safety climate to be at a reasonable level. The management commitment dimension in this study has the best assessment result. The analysis results showed that the active role of the leadership, strong safety values to build employee interaction, employee involvement and investment in training programs for employees were critical keys to the successful implementation of Occupational Safety.

Impacts of accidents and hazards on the Ghanaian construction industry

This paper explored the impacts of accidents and hazards on the Ghanaian construction industry (GCI). The qualitative research strategy was adopted, using in-depth face to face interviews. Participants were seven each of Contractors and Consultants using data saturation to limit the number, through purposive sampling technique. Data were analyzed using content analysis technique. The most critical impacts of accidents and hazards on the GCI were identified as slow-down of work, increase in cost of project and poor performance of work. The findings of the study provide knowledge on impacts of accidents and hazards to stakeholders of the GCI and the government in general. Serious steps should be taken by stakeholders to enforce construction health and safety (CHS) practices on construction sites to reduce the high frequency rate of accidents and injuries and the high incidence rate in the GCI. The courts should be encouraged to impose fair and adequate compensation on employers and occasionally punitive or exemplary damages to deter and prevent occurrence of accidents and hazards at construction sites. CHS-related issues have to be given the needed research and academic attention in order to reduce accidents and hazards on sites.

Modeling causal factors of occupational accidents in chemical industries: A 10-year field study in Iran

Analyzing and modeling causal factors of occupational accidents play an important role in planning prevention programs. The study aimed to explore the causal factors of occupational accidents in chemical industries in Iran. The reports of 1322 accidents from 2007 to 2016 were gathered from 22 chemical industries. First, the Accident Frequency Rate (AFR) was calculated and all the effective factors were reviewed and labeled as “dependent” and “independent” factors. Second, feature selection was conducted to find the important causal factors. Then, multiple linear regression analysis was employed to model the most frequent causal factors in accident occurrence. The average accident frequency rate (AFR) was 87.75±74.82. A total of 30 independent casual factors were identified to be eligible for further analysis. Results of multiple linear regression analysis showed that 21 out of 30 important casual factors had the most important role in occupational accidents which are categorized into personal factors, organizational factors, HSE training, risk management, unsafe acts, and conditions as well as the type of accident occurrence. This study revealed that any preventive program should consider the importance of each casual factor in occurring occupational accidents. The higher level of importance needs the higher level of attention. © 2021, Iranian Institute of Research and Development in Chemical Industries. All rights reserved.

Analysis of Occupational Accidents in the Manufacturing Sector in Semnan Province during 2013-2015

Introduction: Occupational accidents have been regarded as the third cause of mortality around the world. This study examined the rates, types, and causes of occupational accidents in industrial sites. Methods: In a cross-sectional design, 721 accident reports were examined in the manufacturing sites in Semnan which is located in the central part of Iran from 2013 to 2015. This study used the Social Security Organization database on workplace accident investigation reports. Frequency and percentage were used for the prevalence, whereas correlation analyses were used to identify the predictors of occupational accidents. SPSS version 21 was used for data analysis and a p-value less than 0.05 was considered as the significant level. Results: Accident Frequency Rates were 1.46, 1.54, and 1.40 in 2013, 2014, and 2015, respectively. Also, the Safe T-score was calculated between +3 and -3. The majority of accidents occurred in males in the age group 24-45, having the educational level of high school diploma or lower. Furthermore, most accidents occurred during the morning shift. Unsafe actions were determined as the major cause of accidents. The maximum reported statistics related to the type of accidents, injuries, and injured organs of the body were hitting sharp edges or obstacles (25%), bruising (30%), and upper limbs (44%). The results indicated a statistically significant relationship between shift work and occupational accidents (P-value <0.05). Conclusion: This study revealed that workers’ behavior as a main contribution to accidents and injuries in the industry. Health and safety training should be designed according to worker duties.

Developing Concentration Index of Industrial and Occupational Accidents: The Case of European Countries.

BackgroundFrom only frequency rate of industrial accidents, it is difficult to define the industry composition of accident statistics in a nation. This study aims to propose and develop a new index for measuring the degree of concentration of industrial accidents using the concept of the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index in the case of European countries.MethodsUsing the concept of the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index, the concentration index of accidents in the country is developed, and the conditions of European countries are compared using indexes of frequency rate and concentration ratio.ResultsThe frequency rate and concentration ratio of fatal and nonfatal accidents in European countries are compared. According to the economic condition and geographical position, different patterns of accidents concentration are presented in terms of frequency rate and concentration ratio.ConclusionWe develop the concentration index of industrial and occupational accidents that identifies the industrial ratio of accident occurrence, and the differentiated strategy can be formulated such as approaches to reducing frequency and prioritizing target industries.

Evaluating the Effect of Roadway and Development Factors on the Rural Road Safety Risk Index

As roadway and development factors are identified as the most effective factors contributing to road traffic accidents, investigating these factors could lead to reducing the accident frequency rate. However, previous works focused on investigating the effect of roadway factors on the accident frequency rate using statistical analysis. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of roadway and development factors on the accident frequency rate using ANOVA and Chi‐square tests on a rural road. Secondly, it aimed to develop a rural road safety risk index based on K‐means clustering and Gaussian models. The findings indicated that the operating speed and the differences between posted speed limits and the operating speed are the pivotal influencing factors on the accident frequency rate. Moreover, clustering analysis of the roadway and development factors on the two‐lane, two‐way road of Borujerd‐Khorramabad indicated six clusters which were identified as highly, relatively highly, moderately, relatively lowly, lowly risky, and not risky (safe) clusters. Regarding clusters, the accident frequency rate increased by decreasing the difference between the posted speed limits and the operating speed from the safe cluster. In addition, the risky index model based on the Gaussian model showed that the average reducing factor of accident frequency rate reached 0.99 by increasing per km/hr in the difference between the posted speed limits and the operating speed among low risky and safe clusters, while it was equal to 1.17 in risky and unsafe clusters. The comparison of the clusters revealed that accident occurrence probability in risky clusters was more than the ones in low risky or safe clusters. Therefore, the maximum and minimum values of the safety risk index were observed in the sixth and the third clusters, respectively.

Analysis of the recent occupational accidents occurred at Western Lignite Corporation (Turkey) by data envelopment analysis

Developments of countries are interpreted through many parameters. One of the most important parameters according to the order of importance is perhaps the occupational accidents. Especially in recent years, work related (or occupational) accidents occurred at different sectors did not decrease; they even increased despite the developments in the technology and emphasis made on the regulations. This situation can be interpreted as an open debate in which the employees still do not internalize the work they do. Often, enterprises do not choose the right personnel for the job or the personnel chosen are not oriented to the work with the through proper methods. When the mining sector is taken into account, this problem becomes even clearer. Among the many reasons for this problem, it can firstly be mentioned about the difficulty of employing qualified and well-educated personnel. Since the enterprises do not have many options in the solution of this problem, their approach to work accidents should be institutionally a highest priority. During this process they must also use proactive approaches. For example, all accidents and occupational diseases should be recorded, possible causes of them should be put forth, and statistical analysis should be conducted to guide the future of the institution.
 In this study, the work accidents took place in both underground and surface facilities at Western Lignite Corporation (WLC) which is one of the most important lignite producers in Turkey between the years 2014 and 2018 were analyzed by Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). The types of accidents were also examined and interpreted using the information obtained from the calculation of accident frequency, accident weight and accident probability rates. With the sensitivity analysis realized, it was tried to draw attention to the occupational safety measures to be made in the future.