High Accident Frequency Research Articles

Safety risk assessment for vertical concrete formwork activities in civil engineering construction

The construction sector has one of the worst occupational health and safety records in Europe. Of all construction tasks, formwork activities are associated with a high frequency of accidents and injuries. This paper presents an investigation of the activities and related safety risks present in vertical formwork for in-situ concrete construction in the civil engineering sector. Using the methodology of staticized groups, twelve activities and ten safety risks were identified and validated by experts. Every safety risk identified in this manner was quantified for each activity using binary methodology according to the frequency and severity scales developed in prior research. A panel of experts was selected according to the relevant literature on staticized groups. The results obtained show that the activities with the highest risk in vertical formwork tasks are: Plumbing and leveling of forms, cutting of material, handling materials with cranes, and climbing or descending ladders. The most dangerous health and safety risks detected were falls from height, cutting and overexertion. The research findings provide construction practitioners with further evidence of the hazardous activities associated with concrete formwork construction and a starting point for targeting worker health and safety programmes.

Research on fall prevention and protection from heights in Japan.

The high frequency of fall accidents is a serious problem in Japan. Thus, more stringent countermeasures for preventing falls from scaffolds were developed and incorporated into institutional guidelines. These countermeasures aim to decrease deaths caused by falls from scaffolds. Despite the improvements in such measures, however, the rate of accidental fall deaths remains high in Japan’s construction industries. To improve the rigor of the countermeasures, a committee was established in our institute by the Japan Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare. This committee investigated the regulations applied in other countries and evaluated construction industry compliance with existing fall prevention guidelines. After considerable research and discussion, the Occupational Safety and Health Regulations and Guidelines were amended in 2009. The effects of the amended regulations have recently been investigated on the basis of accident reports. This paper describes the investigation and its results. The paper also discusses other research and workplace safety countermeasures for preventing falls and ensuring fall protection from heights.

Data Mining and Complex Network Algorithms for Traffic Accident Analysis

The field of traffic accident analysis has long been dominated by traditional statistical analysis. With the recent advances in data collection, storage, and archival methods, the size of accident data sets has grown significantly. This result in turn has motivated research on applying data mining and complex network analysis algorithms to traffic accident analysis; the data mining and complex network analysis algorithms are designed specifically to handle data sets with large dimensions. This paper explores the potential for using two such methods–-namely, a modularity-optimizing community detection algorithm and the association rule learning algorithm–-to identify important accident characteristics. As a case study, the algorithms were applied to an accident data set compiled for Interstate 190 in the Buffalo–Niagara, New York, metropolitan area. Specifically, the community detection algorithm was used to cluster the data to reduce the inherent heterogeneity, and then the association rule learning algorithm was applied to each cluster to discern meaningful patterns within each, related particularly to high accident frequency locations (hot spots) and incident clearance time. To demonstrate the benefits of clustering, the association rule algorithm was also applied to the whole data set (before clustering) and the results were compared with those discovered from the clusters. The study results indicated that ( a) the community detection algorithm was quite effective in identifying clusters with discernible characteristics, ( b) clustering helped unveil relationships and accident causative factors that remained hidden when the analysis was performed on the whole data set, and ( c) the association rule learning algorithm yielded useful insight into accident hot spots and incident clearance time along I-190.

Traumatic brain injuries in children: A hospital-based study in Nigeria

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Our previous studies showed a high frequency of motor vehicle accidents among neurosurgical patients. However, there is a dearth of data on head injuries in children in Nigeria. To determine the epidemiology of paediatric traumatic brain injuries. This is a prospective analysis of paediatric head trauma at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, a major referral centre for all traumatic brain injuries in Nigeria between October 2006 and September 2011. We studied the demographic, clinical and radiological data and treatment outcomes. Data was analysed using statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) 16.0. We managed 127 cases of paediatric head injuries, 65 boys and 62 girls representing 13% of all head injuries managed over the 5-year period. They were aged 3 months to 17 years. The mean age was 7.4 years (median 7 years) with peak incidence occurring at 6-8 years i.e. 31 (24.4%) cases. Motor vehicle accidents resulted in 67.7%, falls 14% and violence 7%. The most frequent computed tomography finding was intracerebral haemorrhage. Mean duration of hospitalization was 18 days (median 11 days). Eleven patients died, mortality correlating well with severity and the presence of intracerebral haematoma. Head injuries in children are due to motor vehicle and motor vehicle-related accidents. Hence, rational priorities for prevention of head injuries in children should include prevention of vehicular, especially pedestrian, accidents in developing countries.

Preliminary Study on Safety Performance Evaluation of Petrochemical Plant Layout

Abstract Due to the gathering of hazard materials, petrochemical plant always has extrusive fire and explosion risk. Unreasonable plant layout could bring high accident frequency, secondary accident possibility, and immense financial loss. The expected characters of a safe layout were analysed at first in this work, and then four key metrics were proposed to evaluate the safety performance of the layout. These four metrics are accident triggered likelihood degree, improper degree of domino risk , improper degree of facility damage risk/human injury risk and evacuation difficulty degree . Based on the character analysis, the mathematical representations of the four metrics were also preliminarily analyzed.

Design and Performance Evaluation of Fine-Graded Permeable Friction Course

Permeable friction courses (PFCs) are popular in Texas, where the current specification for PFC (Item 342) has a maximum aggregate size of 1/2 in. and is typically placed in layer thicknesses of 1.5 to 2 in. In this study fine-graded PFCs composed of a single aggregate fraction are proposed for placement at a nominal thickness of 1 in. Initial laboratory testing found that the target air void content for volumetric design would be around 26% air voids, substantially higher than the current PFC designs, which are between 18% and 22% air voids. To minimize the likelihood of failure, extensive laboratory testing was performed to arrive at the proposed design. Tests included Hamburg wheel-track testing, overlay tester cracking, and Cantabro, draindown, and water flow tests. The proposed fine PFC mix was first placed on a test track in Pecos, Texas. Two designs were placed and subjected to limited traffic loadings, field water flow, noise, and skid measurements. These test sections performed well. The next section was placed on a Texas Department of Transportation project in May 2011 and subjected to extremely intense traffic loading conditions on an exit ramp on US-59 in Lufkin. This ramp has a high frequency of wet-weather accidents. In addition to extreme traffic loads, the surface experienced extreme heat (air temperatures approaching 105°F) and heavy localized rain (a 6-in. rain event within a 24-h period). After 3 months the fine PFC is holding up well.

차선재료의 내구성 향상을 위한 내마모성 시험 적용 연구

There is the uncertain period of the construction in case of the products meeting the quality standard of KS M 6080, the quality is degraded because of the abrasive loss of the paint caused by vehicle tires as the traffic amount increases and of the loss and detachment of the glass beads providing the retroreflective function. The abrupt degradation of visibility causes the high frequency of traffic accidents at night and increases the traffic accident rate. Additional supplementary construction induces the direct material and construction costs. As the more cost induction effect than the direct cost, the traffic jam caused by the additional construction increases the indirect social costs such as time cost and vehicle cost. Hence, the study is concerned with performing the abrasion resistance test based on the EN 1436 standard to check and improve the quality of various road marking materials resulting in improving the durability of road marking materials. However, even though the difference in the durability lifetime of resins(binders) is bibliographically or theoretically clear, there was no difference in the durability lifetime (retroreflectivity aspect) of the road marking paint using these binders. The reason is that the bonding of beads was very insufficient or that the cross density caused by crack or freshness was low. Moreover, the measured wet retroreflectivity was distributed as the Rw3 or higher class in average on the basis of EN 1436 but was very insufficient on the basis of the minimum wet threshold retroreflectivity with 100mcd/() managed overseas.

Basic Characteristics of Work Safety in China

This paper describes current work safety status in China and analyzes main features of it from socioeconomic viewpoint. Rapid economic speed has certain negative effect on work safety, much high proportion of industry such as mining, manufacturing and construction in national economy reflects high social risks, and low level of industrial workers, especially peasant workers increases human error risks and make it urgent and necessary to build a scientific and suitable education system to enhance work safety training. Different regions show obvious difference both in work safety and socioeconomic development, regional fatality rate in industrial accidents would decline with rise of regional economic income. Forceful work safety policies and measures made by the Government since 2002 have put the tendency toward higher frequency of accidents under effective control.

Socio-demographic characteristics, health behaviour, co-morbidity and accidents in snorers: a population survey

We assessed the socio-demographic correlates of snoring and also the patterns of health behaviour and co-morbidity associated with different types of snoring in the Hungarian population. We wanted to study whether different types of snoring are associated with high-risk health behaviour, chronic illnesses, daytime consequences of poor sleep, and with frequent accidents compared with non-snoring individuals. This is a cross-sectional study. Interviews were carried out in the homes of 12,643 people. This was the largest nationally representative study in Central Europe about health behaviour. In the Athens Insomnia Scale, questions about snoring and sleep behaviour, life-style factors and health behaviour, as well as questions on their history and current medical treatment were included in the questionnaire. Thirty-seven percent of males and 21% of females reported loud snoring with breathing pauses. We found a significant increasing trend for the consumption of alcohol and coffee as well as smoking among non-snorers, habitual snorers and loud snorers, respectively. In an ordinal regression model male gender, the presence of smoking, the presence of three or more co-morbid conditions and alcohol consumption were independent predictors of snoring (OR [95% CI], 1.99 [1.85-2.1], 1.76 [1.60-1.92], 1.45 [1.30-1.62] and 1.22 [1.04-1.43], respectively, P < 0.001) after controlling for multiple socio-demographic and clinical variables. The frequency of accidents was higher in the loud snoring group than among non-snoring individuals (24% vs 17%, P < 0.0001). Snoring is common in the Hungarian adult population. Snoring, especially loud snoring with breathing pauses, is strongly associated with high-risk health behaviour, higher co-morbidity and a higher frequency of accidents.

Parental stress affects the emotions and behaviour of children up to adolescence: A Greek prospective, longitudinal study

Systematic research about the continuity of mental health problems from childhood to adolescence is limited, but necessary to design effective prevention and intervention strategies. We used a population-based representative sample of Greek adolescents, followed-up from birth to the age of 18 years, to assess early influences on and the persistence of mental health problems in youth. We examined the role of peripartum, early development and parental characteristics in predicting mental health problems in childhood and adolescence. Results suggest a strong relationship between behavioural problems in childhood and adolescence for both genders, while emotional problems were more likely to persist in boys. Age and sex-specific models revealed significant positive associations between higher scores on the behavioural and emotional problems scales and higher frequency of accidents in preschool years, physical punishment in early childhood, lack of parental interest in child's school and activities, and perceived maternal stress in all children. Perceived paternal stress was associated with higher scores on the Total and Internalizing problems scales in the total population. Our results suggest that early interventions are necessary as mental health problems strongly persist from childhood to late adolescence. The adverse effects of parental stress and poor care-giving practices on child's psychopathology need to be recognised and improved.

Come prevenire gli incidenti nell’adolescente spericolato

Background Mortality rates that are consequent to accidental injury reach their highest peak during adolescence when compared to any other age group. Such worrying figures can be explained by several aspects, such as the attainment of independence, the need for social interaction and confrontation with peers and new interests in different activities. All these factors prompt the adolescent to try new experiences, often characterized by a certain degree of risk. For many adolescents, choosing to experiment a somewhat dangerous situation can be felt as a privileged way to prove to themselves, as well as to others, their ability to be. The frequent decision of risk taking, combined with the ongoing search for new dangerous situations, explains the high frequency of fatal accidents and severe sequelae observed in this population. Conclusions The urgent need to gain control over this trend entails a careful and thorough analysis. Key points include: psychology of adolescents, their motivations, attitudes and special needs, as well as the social environment they act and live in. Interventions should rely mainly on a preventative approach. It has been demonstrated that age appropriate educational plans, as well as actively involving the adolescents themselves, may give the best results.

Supportive perceptions and accident frequency: an exploratory study

Relevant research in the accident and safety literature has demonstrated the impact of organisational climate on industrial accidents and safety related behaviours. There is a paucity regarding the examination of the relationship between perceived organisational support (POS) and accident frequency. Thus, this study empirically investigated this relationship and also examined the relationship between accident frequency and job satisfaction, and between accident frequency and compliance with safe work practices. In order to achieve the intended examination, participants were divided into two categories, i.e. low and high accident frequency groups. Differences of statistical significance regarding their assessments on POS, job satisfaction and safe work practices were identified by a one-tailed t-test analysis. Workers in the low accident category indicated higher POS than their counterparts in the high accident category. Correspondingly, they expressed more job satisfaction and were more committed to safe work practices. The findings thus have implications for safety management policies which will be discussed. Language: en

Safety Effects of Targeted Program to Improve Skid Resistance

The safety impacts of improving pavement skid resistance were examined in this study by using data from New York State. The New York Department of Transportation runs a skid-accident reduction program that identifies sections of pavement with a high proportion of wet-road accidents, friction-tests these locations, and treats those with both a high proportion of wet-road accidents and low friction numbers. An empirical Bayes before–after study was conducted of locations that were treated under this program. The results indicate that this can be a highly cost-effective safety treatment for both intersections and road segments that warrant skid resistance improvement because of a high frequency of wet road accidents and low friction numbers.

Snakebites in southwestern Goiás State, Brazil

The present study evaluated snakebite cases recorded by the Southwest II Regional Health Bureau [Regional de Saude Sudoeste II], Goias State, Brazil. The following data were analyzed: accident period; patient's age and gender; bite site; envenomation severity; and time elapsed between the bite and medical treatment. We evaluated 211 cases recorded between January 2002 and December 2005, which resulted in an incidence coefficient of 32.4/100,000 inhabitants. Most accidents were due to the bite of snakes from the Bothrops genus (78.2%). The months between January and April had a larger number of accidents (93%-44.1%), although no significant differences were observed. Only one death occurred, resulting in a mortality rate of 0.5%. The lower limbs were the most frequently affected (66.3%). The majority of the victims were male (75.1%). The age group of most of the patients was from 21 to 30 years (20.8%). The accidents were classified as mild, moderate and severe, representing 44.9%, 47.6% and 7.5% of the cases, respectively. The time elapsed between the accident and medical treatment was less than 3h in most of the cases (80.7%), reflecting the high frequency of mild and moderate accidents (92.5%) as well as the large number of healed patients.

Troubles respiratoires pendant le sommeil et accidents du travail ou de la vie courante

Obstructive sleep apnoeas affect a significant proportion of the middle-aged population. They are due to the closure of upper airways during sleep and cause fragmented sleep, which leads to excessive daily drowsiness. Sleepiness due to apnoea is acknowledged by 10 to 30% of subjects in epidemiological surveys. It impairs vigilance, and therefore represents a risk factor for traffic, domestic and work-related accidents. In the case of domestic accidents, a study shows an increased number of accidents have been reported by subjects with apnoeas; a second study reports the reduction in the frequency of such accidents after receiving appropriate treatment. Subjects suffering from sleep apnoeas also have a higher frequency of accidents at work. Workers with persistent daily drowsiness were also found to have a higher rate of absenteeism as well.

Empirical Observations of Dynamic Dilemma Zones at Signalized Intersections

The results are presented from an empirical study on the distribution of dilemma zones for different groups of drivers at signalized intersections. With a specially designed video-based system, this study conducted extensive field observations of the responses of 1,123 drivers to a yellow phase at six intersections with high accident frequency, including all critical data such as the speed evolution during the yellow phase, the acceleration and deceleration rates, and the approximate reaction time to an encountered yellow phase. These empirical results revealed that the dilemma zone is dynamic in nature, with its location varying with the driving population, and that the recommended and commonly used practice of extending the yellow phase duration may not eliminate all the dilemma zones. Two types of strategies that can effectively eliminate the dynamic dilemma zones are also designed to improve intersection safety.

Exploring the organisational preconditions for occupational accidents in food industry: A qualitative approach

The continuing high frequency of occupational accidents in the Swedish food industry calls for new approaches to better understand the underlying factors. In the present study, 54 accidents involving hand injuries were investigated from the operators’ perspective, to explore the organisational preconditions. In-depth interviews were conducted with operators and their supervisors, and 24 of these interviews were analysed using the grounded theory method. The core category ‘safety as a process’ was identified encompassing the perception of the process of the accident at operative level and organisational preconditions that increased the risk of occupational accidents. These preconditions were open factors: deficiencies in technical/physical environment and work organisation; and concealed factors: insufficient communication and learning, a high level of responsibility in combination with low control, conflicting goals and a gap between procedures and practice. These preconditions lead to risk acceptance, resignation towards improved safety and normalisation of risk. Through the analysis a five-step hypothesis was empirically generated.

Towards improved labour standards for construction of minor works in low income countries

PurposeThe construction industry is one of the largest employment providers in the developing world. It is also one of the least safe industries, with a high frequency of accidents resulting in financial losses, injuries, disabilities and deaths. Decent working conditions and resulting improved worker satisfaction are key to sustainable productivity in the industry. International standards safeguarding construction workers are abundant and ratified by most low‐income countries. This paper aims to examine if these standards are adequately reflected in contracts for construction works; and if they not, how contract clauses can be improved and put into operation.Design/methodology/approachBased on research undertaken in Ghana, India and Zambia from 2000 to 2003, this paper explores the aforementioned points. The paper comprises analysis of contract clauses from the International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC) and developing country contracts, along with case study findings.FindingsThis paper finds that more legislation is not the urgent issue; incorporating existing legislation into construction contracts and making clauses operational is a priority. This paper identifies practical and cost‐effective procedures for bringing stakeholders together to implement and monitor labour standards, with the aim of contributing to the overall goal of providing “decent work” for all workers in the construction industry.Originality/valueThis paper explores issues around implementing labour standards in construction of minor infrastructure works in low income countries and concludes with suggestions on how best to put contract clauses into operation through a process approach.

Paediatric Trauma in Spain: A Report from the HUGM Trauma Registry

To analyse the characteristics of the infant population suffering trauma in our setting. To evaluate the importance of the different aetiological mechanisms. To study the pre- and intra-hospital management of these children. To describe the relative significance of the different lesions. To establish the magnitude of paediatric trauma as a social problem in terms of morbidity and mortality. From January 1995 to April 2002, a total of 2633 children admitted to our Centre (Hospital Universitario Gregorio Maranon) after suffering some type of injury were included in our Trauma Register. 108 variables have been analysed, including the identification of the patient, type, site and mechanism of the accident, pre-hospital care, transport, complete evaluation on admission, indices of injury severity, diagnostic tests, lesions, treatments performed and morbidity and mortality. The accidents were more frequent in boys than in girls (68.5 % versus 31.5 %). The predominant age group was the 12 - 15 year old group (36.8 %). There was a higher frequency of accidents in the street (37.2 %) than at home (19.4 %) or at school (13.8 %). The most frequent mechanism was a fall (35.6 %), followed by road traffic accidents (23.7 %). On admission, 14.7 % of the children had a Paediatric Trauma Score (P.T.S.) < or = 8 (n = 388). 3.8 % were considered severe multiple trauma patients, presenting an Injury Severity Score (I.S.S.) > or = 15 (n = 101). 4.2 % of the children required intensive care. The most frequent lesions were those of the locomotor system (58.1 %) and head injuries (34.9 %). Some type of surgical or orthopaedic procedure was performed under general anaesthesia in 1522 patients (57.8 %). The mean length of stay was 4.4 days (range 1 - 214 days). Sequelae of some form were detected in 36.4 % of the patients over 3 years of age. The total mortality was 0.5 % (n = 13), being 12.8 % in the group of patients with an I.S.S. > or = 15. Analysis of the data in our Registry has helped us to define the characteristics of the paediatric trauma population in our setting, to monitor the management of trauma in the different care levels and to develop prevention programmes. It has also enabled us to compare the results with those of other centres in terms of morbidity and mortality with the aim of identifying and correcting any possible deficiencies in the care system.

Analyse des pratiques et connaissances du personnel soignant sur les accidents d'exposition au sang à Abidjan (Côte d'Ivoire)

Objective – The authors wanted to assess the knowledge of health care workers on management procedures, and infection control measures for accidental exposure to blood (AEB), in the 3 Abidjan teaching hospital. Methods – A cross-sectional study was made from February to April 1999. Physicians, nurses and medical students were requested to answer anonymously a questionnaire on their demographic profile and past percutaneous and mucocutaneous exposure to blood. Results – Nine hundred and thirty six people were solicited but only 707 (75.5%) answered. Four hundred and six (57.4%) were nurses, 184 (26%) were physicians, and 117 (16.6%) were medical students. Overall, 60% of them reported AEB. Needlestick injuries accounted for 44% of reported accidents. The highest frequency of accidents was observed among nurses (22.5%), and physicians (18%). 86.5% of workers having reported an incident claimed to have disinfected the lesion and only 15% reported the accident after injury. 16% had HIV testing performed before the incident. 84.6% agreed with the reporting procedure for occupational exposures and 70% knew about the universal measures of hygiene. 298 of them suggested antiretroviral prophylaxis after exposure to HIV infected blood (HAART 28%), 2 NRTI (16%), and Zidovudine in monotherapy (44%). Conclusion – The risk of AEB is high among health care workers in Abidjan but most accidents were not reported. The importance of compliance with universal precautions, of an occupational exposure reporting procedure, of knowing about source patients' HIV status and prophylactic antiretroviral drugs need to be emphasized.