Rate Of Occupational Accidents Research Articles

Analysis of occupational accident rates based on the age of workers in forestry

Analysis of occupational accident rates based on the age of workers in forestry

Improving the medical training and qualification of seafarers with simulation technologies

Introduction: Unlike other occupations, maritime occupations are assessed as risky with a high rate of occupational accidents, morbidity and mortality. To reduce the risk and improve the quality of medical care in case of emergencies at sea, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) develops and proposes model courses with developed programs based on current medical problems and needs of seafarers. The Academic Center for Maritime Healthcare (ACMH) at the Medical University of Varna (MU-Varna) is an innovative structure for the country, which sets in its development strategy improvement of the quality of medical education in courses for special and additional training. Nowadays, based on IMO model courses, the perspectives for development in this direction are related to the use of simulation technologies. The high efficiency in the application of the programs and the perspectives in the development of the simulation technologies in the seafarers’ training are the basis for the recognition of ACMH as a national and regional leader in the improvement of the preparation for providing medical care at sea. Aim: The aim of the study is to evaluate the applicability of simulation technologies to increase the competence of seafarers during IMO model medical qualification courses. Materials and Methods: An anonymous survey was conducted among course attendees in the courses "Medical Care on Board" and "Medical Care on Board—Refresher" in ACMH in September 2021. Results: The results of the study fully satisfy the set goal and give a clear idea of the applicability of simulation technologies in qualifying medical courses. Conclusion: The use of simulation technologies in the medical courses at ACMH of MU–Varna increases the level of competence and provides qualitatively new opportunities for acquiring practical medical skills of seafarers.

Accident prediction in construction using hybrid wavelet-machine learning

Occupational accident rates in construction projects are usually higher than other industries in most countries, even though safety management systems are continuously improving. This study aims to contribute to the body of construction safety management by coupling discrete wavelet transform (DWT) and different machine learning (ML) methods to predict the number of occupational accidents using time series data. A dataset that consists of 393,160 occupational accidents recorded in Turkey between 2012 and 2020 was analyzed to predict the number of accidents for short-term, mid-term and long-term time periods, 1-day, 7-day and 30-day ahead, respectively. Model performances of stand-alone ML algorithms are improved with DWT, and hybrid wavelet-ANN showed the best performance. A dynamic utilization plan was proposed to the field of safety management by introducing a new theoretical and practical framework. This study also aims to fill the gap in the literature related to time series prediction models in construction safety management.

Incidence of Occupational Accidents and Contributing Factors among Male Workers in an Electrical Distribution Company in Istanbul, Turkey

Background: This study aimed to determine the incidence of occupational accidents among male workers in an electric power distribution company and to analyze the contributing factors.
 Methods: This prospective cohort study was conducted on 158 male workers from an electricity distribution company in Istanbul (Turkey) between October 2014 and June 2015 in two phases. In the first phase, the data were collected with the face-to-face interviews based on a questionnaire related to the occupational accidents and working conditions in the past year. Then, each worker was followed-up for four months for the occupational accident incidence. The data were analyzed using SPSS software. The degree and magnitude of association between dependent and independent variables were determined by Phi (Φ) and Cramer's V coefficient.
 Results: The incidence rate of self-reported occupational accidents was 47.5% in the past year. The incidence was found to be higher for those aged over 41 (51.7%, p=0.02), work in lighting and overhead line units (71.0% and 47.2%, p=0.04), have occupational disease (66.7%, p=0.01), and have witnessed any occupational accident in the electricity sector (66.1%, p<0.001). The incidence rate was moderately associated with the working unit (Cramer’sV=0.25), witnessing any occupational accident (Φ=0.29), and occupational disease (Φ=0.21). It was higher for those with shift work (52.0%; p=0.29) and with job insecurity (51.8%, p=0.11). The incidence rate of occupational accidents based on four-month follow-up was 0.53 person-year. The most frequent type of accident was explosion (14.3%), and the majority of the accidents resulted in injuries (78.6%).
 Conclusion: The incidence of occupational accidents among male workers in the electricity distribution company was higher than the national average. The accidents were significantly related to the working conditions.

Analysis of Occupational Accidents: A Data Mining Study

Introduction: Despite efforts exerted in various areas of the industry to reduce occupational accidents, the frequency of these accidents is reported to be catastrophically high. Therefore, this study was designed and conducted to analyze occupational accidents during a 3-year period.
 Methods: The current study was a retrospective and descriptive-analytical study carried out in four regions of Tehran between 2019-2020. The data collection instrument consisted of 818 reports of the occupational accident recorded in the Department of Labor in Tehran. Feature selection (IBM SPSS Modeler software) and binominal multiple logistic regression analysis (IBM SPSS software) were utilized in this study.
 Results: The means of age and experience of injured workers were found to be 34.55±11.55 and 14.12±9.87, respectively. The highest rate of occupational accidents belonged to construction workshops (52.4%), production (24.4 %) and other public and social services activities (11.1 %). Data mining and modeling of factors affecting these occupational accidents showed that the consequence of the accidents was affected by seven factors (p<0.05). The results showed that the work experience, type of activity, number of workers, accident time on the day, type of incidence and the causes of the accident remained in the final model and were significant with the consequence of the occupational accidents (p<0.05).
 Conclusion: The results indicated that different parameters can affect the occurrence of occupational accidents. Additionally, the consequences of these occupational accidents can be influenced by different parameters and factors.

Evaluation of occupational accidents in forestry in Europe and Turkey by k-means clustering analysis

The incidence rate of occupational accidents is an important indicator of occupational safety performance. The aim of this study was to classify the similarities and differences among 23 European Union (EU) countries along with Turkey in terms of various occupational accident evaluation criteria. This was achieved using the k-means clustering method on data from the forestry and logging sector between 2008 and 2017. The occupational accident assessment criteria used in the study include the nonfatal male accident incidence rate, the nonfatal female accident incidence rate, the total (male + female) nonfatal accident incidence rate, and the total (male + female) fatal accident incidence rate. According to the clustering analysis, three clusters were obtained, and Turkey was included in Cluster 2. By evaluating the final cluster center values and the descriptive statistical values in the clusters, it was found that the occupational accident incidence values of the countries in Cluster 2 were in all four categories below the averages of the other two other clusters as well as the 23 EU countries and Turkey considered together. Cluster 1 was above all of the other clusters as well as all the countries considered together in the total nonfatal occupational accident category, and Cluster 3 in the fatal occupational accident category. Studies similar to this one but on an intercontinental basis would provide a good foundation for improving work health and safety legislation in forestry and logging on a global scale.

선내안전보건 관련 선원의 법적지위 연구

The occupational accident rate of 9.49 percent for seafarer in 2020 according to the Korea Seafarer’s Statical Year Book is 19.4 times higher than the occupational accident rate of 0.49 percent for shore worker according the Analysis of the Status of Industrial Accident in 2020 issued by the Ministry of Employment and Labour. It means that the occupational accident rate of Seafarers is a very serious level. Korea's accident mortality rate(0.46‱) according to the Analysis of the Status of Industrial Accidents 2019 announced by the Ministry of Employment and Labor is also very high compared to developed countries(UK 0.04‱ and Japan 0.15‱). In order to improve the standard of the safety and health on board ship for the prevention of the occupational accident of seafarers, not only the improvement of relative regulations is important, but also the roles of shipowners and seafarers who implement them are important. In particular, in order to prevent the occupational accident of seafarers, it is essential to comply with the obligations of shipowners related to the safety and health on board a ship, as well as to cooperate with shipowners' actions. In the meantime the issue of the safety and health on board a ship has been discussed mainly by shipowners' performance obligations. As a result, seafarers have been recognized primarily as enjoying rights relating to the safety and health on board a ship. However, in respect of the safety and health aboard, seafarers are those who should primarily enjoy rights, but at the same time they are also parties subject to obligations. As a solution for preventing the occupational accident of seafarers, this study intends to study and propose amendments to redefine the seafarer’s legal position so that the seafarer can be independently and actively involved in preventing the occupational accident of seafarers through a comparative law review of crew rights and obligations of the safety and health aboard. The conclusions of this study are as follows. First, the Standards on the safety, health and accident prevention on board should be legislated and enforced in order to provide seafarers with rights of both public and private laws. Second, it is necessary to expand seafarers’ duties such as safe care for a third party, duty of reporting hazards, duty to take caution. Third, the duty of care for safety should be explicitly introduced in the Seafarers’ Act in order for seafarers to enable them to play positive and key roles in observing and implementing the safety and health standards and seafarer fulfillment claims should also be admitted for the case of breaching the duty of care for safety.

Organizational Safety Climate Factor Model in the Urban Rail Transport Industry through CFA Analysis

Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) issues in the urban rail transport industry need to be given full attention due to the factors of the instability of declining occupational accident rate, increasing number of passengers each year, and the pressure of technological development; in addition, the day-to-day operations also involve the public and various interested communities. Organization is one of the factors that influence worker safety and health status. This study aimed to propose a factor model of the organizational safety climate towards a better safety and health status for Malaysian urban rail industry. This quantitative study used a questionnaire randomly distributed to Malaysian rail system workers. A total of 441 workers in the operation and maintenance division were involved in this study. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) using IBM SEM-AMOS was conducted to determine the reliability and validity of the observed variables and the latent variables. This study proved that all four dimensions identified as safety communication, safety training, safety support system, and safety value represents the organizational safety climate. Following the analysis, an organizational safety climate model is successfully developed. This factor model aims to be used in the context of rail management studies to measure the safety climate of their organization, thereby improving the safety level of the workers within the organization.

Survey on Agricultural Accidents or Injuries in Taiwan

ABSTRACT The agricultural industry has been identified as one of the most hazardous industries in developed countries. The main purpose of this paper was to conduct a comprehensive analysis of agricultural accidents (or injuries) in Taiwan during the period of 2009 to 2018. The occupational accident rates (per 1,000 farmers employed) in Taiwan’s agricultural industry showed a decreasing trend over the past decade from 1,486 in 2009 to 1,053 in 2018. This trend could be attributed to the joint-cooperation efforts of the industrial, official, academic, and non-profit parties under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) revised in 2013. Although the occupational accident, disability, and other injury rates in all non-agriculture industries were higher than those in the agricultural industry during this period, the fatality rates in the agricultural industry were higher than those in all industries. Finally, some inter-ministerial measures on occupational safety and health issues in the agricultural industry for preventing agricultural accidents or injuries were recommended in the paper.

Temporal trends in occupational accidents involving exposure to biological material in Brazil, 2010 to 2016.

Introduction:Accidents involving biological material are the main cause of occupational exposure among health care professionals.Objectives:To analyze trends in the number of accidents involving exposure to biological material among health care workers in Brazil, in the period of 2010 to 2016.Methods:This was an ecological study based on secondary data on occupational accidents involving biological material reported to the Information System for Notifiable Diseases (Sistema Nacional de Agravos de Notificação). The data were analyzed using descriptive methods, followed by a calculation of incidence rates per 1,000 workers per year. Lastly, trend analysis was performed using Prais-Winsten regression.Results:A total of 243,621 accidents involving exposure to biological materials were reported among health professionals in the study period. The highest incidence rate (16.74 accidents per 1,000 workers per year) was observed in 2014. Regional analyses showed that Midwestern, South and Southeast Brazil had higher incidence rates than other regions of the country. At the state level, the highest rates were observed in Roraima, Rio Grande do Norte, Alagoas, Goiás, Minas Gerais, São Paulo, Paraná, and Santa Catarina. National incidence rates of occupational accidents with exposure to biological material in health care workers had a stable trend over the study period.Conclusions:In Brazil, health care workers are disproportionately affected by occupational accidents with exposure to biological material. The present findings, together with other indicators, cast doubt on the stability of these figures over time.

The importance of preventive training actions for the reduction of workplace accidents within the Spanish construction sector

The degree of compliance with occupational risk-prevention legislation among Construction Sector firms within Spain, most of which are micro-SMEs and SMEs, is studied in this research. Likewise, a meticulous analysis is completed of all aspects that are related with the training of workers within the Construction Sector. Information is collected through a survey administered to an accumulated sample of 250 workers, referring to the indicators that are directly related to the principal causes of accident rates in construction. Numerous firms participated in this study, led by High-level Risk-Prevention Technicians. The results highlighted the serious shortcomings existing within the field of preventive actions and worker training, motivated in large part by the severe crisis of the Construction Sector in Spain that began in 2008, some important consequences of which live on, reflecting high occupational accident rates. The investigation concludes with proposals to overcome these contingencies, referring especially to the need to strengthen professionalization within the Construction Sector, to improve training actions in prevention matters, and to encourage firms to work towards efficient compliance with the safety regulations.

SAĞLIK ÇALIŞANLARININ YAŞADIĞI İŞ KAZALARI VE İLİŞKİLİ FAKTÖRLER

This study is a cross-sectional study conducted to determine the occupational accidents experienced by healthcare workers and their relationship factors. 610 healthcare professionals working in Aydın Adnan Menderes Application and Research Hospital constituted the sample of the study. A 40-question questionnaire and the Occupational Safety Scale in Hospitals developed by Öztürk and Babacan (2012) were used as data collection tools in the study. Pearson Chi-Square and Fisher's Exact tests were used to evaluate the data. As a result of the research, the average age of healthcare workers was determined as 29.11±6.11 and the number of occupational accidents was found to be 2.51±1.84. Healthcare workers received an average of 131.48±36.18 points from the Hospital Occupational Safety Scale. Health workers had a higher rate of accidents than those who worked in shifts and those who worked overtime compared to those who did not. The rate of occupational accidents is observed to be high among healthcare workers working in operating rooms and emergency departments. The rate of having an occupational accident was found to be lower for healthcare workers who received Occupational Health and Safety Training than those who did not. Evaluation of occupational accidents and related factors in different sample groups in line with these results; It is recommended to include training activities for risk groups.

Use of personal protective equipment: approach to effectiveness in preventing infectious diseases

Introduction: Communicable infectious diseases are caused by micro-organisms that need a reservoir, being the main cause of death in the 1930s, accounting for 45.7% of deaths in Brazil. However, this index decreased due to changes in the health sector, epidemiological surveillannce and research institutes. Health professionals are responsible for diagnosis and treatment, thus, susceptible to developing these infections, seuch as occupational accidents, being able to prevent them through the use of personal protective equipment (PPE). Objective: To investigate through a literature review the use of PPE and the importance of PPE by health professionals in the face of communicable infectious diseases. Methods: This is na integrative review carried out on the SciELO and VHL electronic databases. Result: 54 qualitative, quantitative and mixed articles were selected based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, which served as a basis for collecting relevant information, in addition to being tabulated and exposed. Final considerations: The use of PPE by health workers is not yet a reality, due to the rates of occupational accidents abserved, especially among nursing professionals and technicians. In addtion, hygiene measures, such as hand washing, are often not adopted, even though they are na important measure for the elimination of biological fluids after exposure. Thus, it is necessary to adopt continuing education by the institutions to maintain the practice of using PPE in daily life, as well as providing resources and adequate infrastructure for the adoption of these measures.

Validating measurement structure of materials and equipment factors model in the MRT construction industry using Confirmatory Factor Analysis

Occupational accident rates in the construction industry are among the highest compared to other industrial sectors. The materials and equipment factor is one of the contributing factors to occupational accidents in this industry. The objective of this study is to develop the materials and equipment factor model in contributing to occupational accidents in the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) construction industry in Malaysia. This research was conducted by distributing survey questionnaire randomly to obtain data from the MRT construction project around Klang Valley. A total of 180 responses were received from respondents. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed by using IBM SPSS-AMOS to validate the proposed model by examining the relationships between the observed variables and the latent variables. The results indicate that all four aspects namely suitability of the materials/equipment; conditions of the material/equipment; safety protection design; and knowledge of the materials/equipment used have a significant relationship with the materials and equipment factor. Moreover, occupational safety and health (OSH) improvement can be achieved by focusing on the knowledge aspect with three important safety practices: to provide a complete manual on how to use the equipment/machinery correctly; good implementation and maintenance of construction materials/equipment; and provide a proper risk assessment. Finally, the materials and equipment factor model in contributing to occupational accidents has been successfully developed. The model provides an in-depth understanding of safety improvement among rail construction industry stakeholders pertaining to the materials and equipment factor and it can be used for identifying the appropriate aspects to prevent accidents from occurring in the future.

Is Training Contractors in Safety Issues Effective in Minimizing Occupational Accident Rates? A Retrospective Cohort Study

Is Training Contractors in Safety Issues Effective in Minimizing Occupational Accident Rates? A Retrospective Cohort Study

The relationship between workplace justice and self-reported occupational accidents in construction employees of Taiwan.

This study investigated the correlation between workplace justice and self-reported occupational accidents among employees of construction industry in Taiwan, and data from a national survey of employees in 2013 was analyzed. This study sampled a total of 1,543 employees age 25 to 65 in the construction industry, among whom 1,379 were men and 164 were women. Information regarding the experience of work-related accidents occurring over the previous 12 months prior to the survey was obtained by a standardized questionnaire. Also obtained were participants’ employment conditions, self-reported health, job demands as well as workplace justice. The prevalence rates of occupational accidents in man and women were 22.84% and 13.41%, respectively. Under controlling participants’ employment conditions, self-reported health and job demands there was higher rate of occupational accidents among male construction employees with lower workplace justice. This study provides directions for occupational safety and health interventions.

Multi-organisational approach to safety training: the case of a Finnish Safety Training Park

Studies across trades suggest that occupational accident and injury rates and costs are higher than average in the construction industry. There is a need for innovative and cost-effective occupational safety approaches. The Finnish construction industry and its key stakeholders have introduced a new safety training concept, called the Safety Training Park (STP). The STP consists of full-scale training points that use new training methods to stimulate individual safe behaviour and to improve safety climate within workgroups and companies. The Safety Training Park in Northern Finland (STPNF) was designed, constructed, and financed through a collaborative process that included over 80 organizations. A realistic evaluation approach was applied to document the effectiveness of STPNF training from individual and organizational perspectives. Results indicate that the dialogical STP approach with several information sharing channels fits the target groups. Evidence regarding effectiveness at the organizational level is also discussed. Cost-benefit calculations show that the multi-organizational coalition model enables efficient occupational safety and health training with reasonable costs.

The effects of part-time employment and employment in rotating periods on occupational accidents. The case of Greece

During the last few years new forms of employment have been developed. Part-time employment and employment in rotating periods are on a rise especially in cases of economic slowdown and high unemployment rates, as part of the what is called precarious work. For the case of Greece, that was recently hit by resection and a number fiscal consolidation programs, the number of occupational accidents increased despite high unemployment rates. This paper attempts to investigate the effects that those new flexible employment forms may have on occupational safety and health for cases that when they are forced and violently introduced into the labour market. Analysis of data revealed that the rate of occupational accidents for the case of Greece did not follow the respective reduction of GDP but instead increased according to the significant increase of part-time and work in rotating periods contracts. Both organizational and social factors, such as lack of training, ineffective safety management systems, psychosocial factors and loose community properties that weakens collective bargaining could contribute to that.

Occupational Health Problems and Safety Conditions among Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises: A Cross-sectional Study in Shiraz, Iran.

Background:Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) include a large part of manufacturing jobs and play an important role in developing national economics and employment.Objectives:The present study aimed to investigate occupational health problems and safety conditions among SMEs in Shiraz, Iran.Methods:This cross-sectional study was carried out on 711 SMEs, including 371 small enterprises (fewer than 25 workers) and 340 medium enterprises (25–99 workers), in Shiraz, Iran. The participants were selected randomly among the workplaces under the coverage of social security insurance. The researcher-made questionnaire, which consisted of demographic characteristics, the frequency rate of occupational accidents, and exposure to workplace harmful agents, were distributed among participants.Findings:The results showed there were significantly more physical and chemical harmful agents in medium enterprises compared to small ones (P < 0.001). However, the frequency rate of accidents in small enterprises was significantly higher than in medium enterprises (P < 0.001). Also, there was no significant difference between the studied enterprises in ergonomic hazards, except for awkward posture, whose frequency rate was significantly higher in small enterprises (P < 0.05). Finally, among the reported symptoms, the prevalence of eye, skin, ear, and respiratory symptoms was significantly higher in medium enterprises compared to small enterprises (P < 0.05).Conclusions:Occupational health and safety (OHS) regulations in medium enterprises have led to improved OHS conditions compared to small enterprises. Therefore, small enterprises should be included in OHS regulations.

Occupational health and safety management in the context of an ageing workforce

During the last decades, humanity experiences an increasing demographic change. The relative percentage of older people is growing, while fewer young employees are entering the labour force. This phenomenon is directly connected with ageing of the workforce. Older workers constitute a special group with characteristics that require special attention from the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) point of view.The aim of this paper is to address what changes occur in ageing workers as a result of physical and psychological processes and the possible impacts of these at work in relation to OHS and the concept of sustainable work and workplaces. In addition, this paper discusses factors affecting work ability and worker’s performance in relation to the ageing phenomenon.Finally, based on the literature, the paper proposes measures to minimize age-related risks and increase awareness. These measures should be designed and adopted at the early stages of working life and continue until retirement. By reducing risk factors of employees, the rate of occupational accidents and occupational diseases may be decreased, thus saving costs for employers, health system and insurance costs, while simultaneously facilitating a healthier retirement for the working-age population.