Validity and consistency assessment of accident analysis methods in the petroleum industry.

Background. Accident analysis is the main aspect of accident investigation. It includes the method of connecting different causes in a procedural way. Therefore, it is important to use valid and reliable methods for the investigation of different causal factors of accidents, especially the noteworthy ones. Objective. This study aimed to prominently assess the accuracy (sensitivity index [SI]) and consistency of the six most commonly used accident analysis methods in the petroleum industry. Methods. In order to evaluate the methods of accident analysis, two real case studies (process safety and personal accident) from the petroleum industry were analyzed by 10 assessors. The accuracy and consistency of these methods were then evaluated. The assessors were trained in the workshop of accident analysis methods. Results. The systematic cause analysis technique and bowtie methods gained the greatest SI scores for both personal and process safety accidents, respectively. The best average results of the consistency in a single method (based on 10 independent assessors) were in the region of 70%. Conclusion. This study confirmed that the application of methods with pre-defined causes and a logic tree could enhance the sensitivity and consistency of accident analysis.

An Interactive Model among Potential Human Risk Factors: 331 Cases of Coal Mine Roof Accidents in China.

In order to explore optimal strategies for managing potential human risk factors, this paper developed an interactive model among potential human risk factors based on the development processes of accidents. This model was divided into four stages, i.e., risk latency stage, risk accumulation stage, risk explosion stage and risk residue stage. Based on this model, this paper analyzed risk management procedures and relevant personal's responsibility in each stage, and then probed into the interactive mechanism among human risk factors in three aspects, i.e., knowledge, information and communication. The validity and feasibility of the model was validated by analyzing a coal mine roof accident in China. In addition, the contribution of different functional levels' personnel in risk evolution was discussed. It showed that this model can effectively reveal the interactive mechanism of potential human risk factors, and can thus give significant insights into the development of risk management theories and practices. It also proves that the contribution of different functional levels' personnel in the model is different. This can further help practitioners design enhanced Behavioral-Based Safety (BBS) intervention approaches which can have a more sustainable and persistent impact on corporate personnel's safety behavior. Specific recommendations and suggestions are provided fundamentally for future BBS practices in the coal mine industry.

What Occupational Health Needs Arise in Workplaces Following Disasters? A Joint Analysis of Eight Cases of Disaster in Japan.

OBJECTIVE: To identify occupational health needs arising after disasters. METHODS: Using semistructured interviews with expert informants, we jointly analyzed the needs arising in eight disaster cases that threatened the lives or health of workers in Japan. RESULTS: Various types of health issues occurred in a wide range of employees. In total, we identified 100 needs in six phases after disasters and classified them across nine categories of worker characteristics. The proportion of health needs on the list that were applicable in each case varied from 13% to 49%. More needs arose when the companies were responsible for the disaster and when employee lives were lost. We also assessed the list as fairly comprehensive. CONCLUSIONS: The list developed in this study is expected to be effective for anticipating occupational health needs after disasters.

Development of safety incident coding systems through improving coding reliability.

This paper reviews classification theory sources to develop five research questions concerning factors associated with incident coding system development and use and how these factors affect coding reliability. Firstly, a method was developed to enable the comparison of reliability results obtained using different methods. Second, a statistical and qualitative review of reliability studies was conducted to investigate the influence of the identified factors on the reliability of incident coding systems. As a result several factors were found to have a statistically significant effect on reliability. Four recommendations for system development and use are provided to assist researchers in improving the reliability of incident coding systems in high hazard industries.

"Dual causation accident": a third type of work-related accident and its importance for occupational health surveillance / "Acidente de dupla espécie": uma terceira espécie de acidente do trabalho e sua importância para a vigilância em saúde do trabalhador / "Acidente de dupla espécie": uma terceira espécie de acidente do trabalho e sua importância para a vigilância em saúde do trabalhador

The scope of this study is to contribute to the improvement of Occupational Health Surveillance in the Unified Health System (UHS), through the recognition and inclusion of a third type of work-related accident in the current Brazilian legislation classification: the dual causation accident. This classification aims at facilitating the establishment of a causal connection, thus broadening the understanding of the relationship between work process and the production of diseases. It also aims at improving legal rules to protect the health of workers. This approach, besides enabling the identification of sentinel events (starting point of surveillance activities), might contribute not only to a decrease in underreporting of work-related accidents, but also to the uniformity of concepts and the implementation of integrated actions of the National Social Security Institute (NISS), the UHS, the Ministry of Labor (MLE) and the Judiciary for the protection of workers. To propose a third type of occupational accident, a study of occupational accidents and causes of underreporting was conducted, with reference to the Brazilian labor legislation in the context of the National Policy on Occupational Health and the UHS.

O propósito deste trabalho é contribuir com o aprimoramento da Vigilância em Saúde do Trabalhador no SUS, através do reconhecimento e da introdução na atual classificação da legislação brasileira de um terceiro tipo de acidente do trabalho - o acidente de dupla espécie. Esta classificação visa a facilitar o estabelecimento do nexo causal, ampliando, assim, a compreensão das relações entre processo de trabalho e a produção de doenças, bem como o aprimoramento das normas legais em defesa da saúde dos trabalhadores. Essa abordagem, além de possibilitar a identificação de eventos sentinelas - ponto de partida das ações de vigilância -, poderá contribuir não só para diminuição da subnotificação dos acidentes de trabalho, como também, para a uniformização de conceitos e a implantação de ações integradas entre o INSS, o SUS, o MTE e o Judiciário que busquem a proteção dos trabalhadores. Para essa proposição de uma nova classificação, foi realizado um estudo da legislação que trata dos acidentes de trabalho e das causas de subnotificação, tendo como pano de fundo a Política Nacional de Saúde do Trabalhador no contexto do SUS.

"Dual causation accident": a third type of work-related accident and its importance for occupational health surveillance.

The scope of this study is to contribute to the improvement of Occupational Health Surveillance in the Unified Health System (UHS), through the recognition and inclusion of a third type of work-related accident in the current Brazilian legislation classification: the dual causation accident. This classification aims at facilitating the establishment of a causal connection, thus broadening the understanding of the relationship between work process and the production of diseases. It also aims at improving legal rules to protect the health of workers. This approach, besides enabling the identification of sentinel events (starting point of surveillance activities), might contribute not only to a decrease in underreporting of work-related accidents, but also to the uniformity of concepts and the implementation of integrated actions of the National Social Security Institute (NISS), the UHS, the Ministry of Labor (MLE) and the Judiciary for the protection of workers. To propose a third type of occupational accident, a study of occupational accidents and causes of underreporting was conducted, with reference to the Brazilian labor legislation in the context of the National Policy on Occupational Health and the UHS.

The scope and specific criteria of compensation for occupational diseases in Korea.

The range of diseases covered by workers' compensation is constantly expanding. However, new regulations are required for the recognition of occupational diseases (ODs) because OD types evolve with changes in industrial structures and working conditions. OD criteria are usually based on medical relevance, but they vary depending on the social security system and laws of each country. In addition, the proposed range and extent of work-relatedness vary depending on the socio-economic conditions of each country. The Labor Standards Act (LSA) and the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act (IACIA) of Korea employ lists based on their requirements without listing causes and diseases separately. Despite a considerable reshuffle in 2003, the basic framework has been maintained for 50 yr, and many cases do not fit into the international disease classification system. Since July 1, 2013, Korea has expanded the range of occupational accidents to include occupational cancers and has implemented revised LSA and IACIA enforcement decrees. There have been improvements to OD recognition standards with the inclusion of additional or modified criteria, a revised and improved classification scheme for risk factors and ODs, and so on.

Fatal occupational injuries among non-governmental employees in Malaysia.

BACKGROUND: In Malaysia, surveillance of fatal occupational injuries is fragmented. We therefore analyzed an alternative data source from Malaysia's Social Security organization, the Pertubuhan Keselamatan Sosial (PERKESO). METHODS: We conducted a secondary data analysis of the PERKESO database comprised of 7 million employees from 2002 to 2006. RESULTS: Overall, the average annual incidence was 9.2 fatal occupational injuries per 100,000 workers. During the 5-year period, there was a decrease in the absolute number of fatal injuries by 16% and the incidence by 34%. The transportation sector reported the highest incidence of fatal injuries (35.1/100,000), followed by agriculture (30.5/100,000) and construction (19.3/100,000) sectors. Persons of Indian ethnicity were more likely to sustain fatal injuries compared to other ethnic groups. CONCLUSIONS: Government and industry should develop rigorous strategies to detect hazards in the workplace, especially in sectors that continuously record high injury rates. Targeted interventions emphasizing worker empowerment coupled with systematic monitoring and evaluation is critical to ensure success in prevention and control measures.

Previdência Social e Seguro Público contra Acidentes e Doenças do Trabalho: estudo metodológico da definição das alíquotas para contribuição patronal nas dimensões coletiva e individual / Social Security and Public Insurance against accidents and diseases of work: study on methodological for definition of employer contribution aliquots on individual and collective dimensions

Este estudo faz um relato breve sobre a formação do sistema brasileiro de previdência social e sobre a evolução do seguro público de acidentes e doenças do trabalho neste sistema, contextualizando-a no âmbito das políticas públicas de atenção à saúde do trabalhador e segurança nos ambientes laborais, com enfoque especial nas ações e programas adotados pela política previdenciária. Considerando a expressiva evolução dos sistemas de informação acerca da acidentalidade, tanto no tocante aos registros de acidentes como nos respectivos desdobramentos, e a formação da agenda de Governo que conferiu relevância ao tema Saúde e Segurança no Trabalho – SST, a Previdência social promoveu a revisão do enquadramento dos graus de risco segundo as atividades econômicas, atualizando esta correlação de acordo com o cenário real dos padrões de acidentalidade. Em seguida, a implementação da individualização da tarifação para a formação do custeio para o pagamento dos benefícios de natureza acidentária e das aposentadorias especiais, para cada empresa, surge como um instrumento com forte potencial para estimular a adoção ou o aperfeiçoamento dos sistemas de gerenciamento de riscos laborais, pelos empregadores. Observando que alguns aspectos necessitam de atenção especial, tais como o estabelecimento de uma metodologia própria para os enquadramentos dos graus de risco, a definição de temporalidade e a extensão da cobertura do seguro aos trabalhadores de todas as categorias profissionais, propostas para tratamento e solução destas questões são apresentadas nesta dissertação.

This study is a brief account about the formation of the Brazilian social security system and the evolution of public insurance against accidents and occupational diseases in this system, contextualizing it within the public policy for worker health and safety, with special focus on actions and programs adopted by Social Security. Due to significant evolution of information systems about accidentality, and the relevance the topic Health and Safety at Work - OSH had achieved in the Government agenda, the Social Security had promoted the revision of degrees of risk according to economic activities using real scenarios patterns accidentality. The implementation of individual fare for contribution to financing the benefits related to workplaces risks appears as an instrument with strong potential to stimulate the adoption of better management systems workplace risks, by employers. Some aspects need special attention, such as the establishment of a proper methodology for framing degrees of risk, the definition of temporality and extent of insurance coverage to workers of all professional categories, and some proposals are presented for them in this dissertation.

Prioritizing prevention opportunities in the Washington State construction industry, 2003-2007.

OBJECTIVE: This study compares construction industry groups in Washington State by injury severity and cost, and ranks industry groups according to potential for prevention. METHODS: All Washington State workers' compensation compensable claims with date of injury between 2003 and 2007 were classified into North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) industry groups. Claims were then aggregated by injury type and industry groups were ranked according to a prevention index (PI). The PI is the average of the rank orders of the claim count and the claim incidence rate. A lower PI indicates a higher need for prevention activities. The severity rate was calculated as the number of days of time loss per 10,000 full-time equivalents (FTEs). RESULTS: For all injury types, construction industry groups occupy 7 of the top 15 PI ranks in Washington State. The severity rate among construction industry groups was twice that for non-construction groups for all injury types. Foundation, structure, and building exterior contractors (NAICS 2381) ranked highest in prevention potential and severity among construction industry groups for most common injury types including falls from elevation, fall on same level, struck by/against, and musculo-skeletal disorders of the neck, back, and upper extremity (WMSDs). Median claim costs by injury type were generally higher among construction industry groups. CONCLUSIONS: The construction industry in Washington State has a high severity rate and potential for prevention. The methods used for characterizing these industry groups can be adapted for comparison within and between other industries and states. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: These data can be used by industry groups and employers to identify higher cost and higher severity injury types. Knowledge about the relative frequencies and costs associated with different injury types will help employers and construction industry associations make better informed decisions about where prevention efforts are most needed and may have the greatest impact. The results of this study can also be used by industry stakeholders to cooperatively focus on high cost and high severity injuries and explore best practices, interventions, and solutions as demonstrated by efforts to prevent musculoskeletal disorders in masonry (Entzel, Albers, & Welch, 2007). Initiating construction industry groups to focus on high cost and high severity injuries may also help prevent other types of injuries.

Bayesian methods: a useful tool for classifying injury narratives into cause groups.

To compare two Bayesian methods (Fuzzy and Naïve) for classifying injury narratives in large administrative databases into event cause groups, a dataset of 14 000 narratives was randomly extracted from claims filed with a worker's compensation insurance provider. Two expert coders assigned one-digit and two-digit Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Injury and Illness Classification event codes to each narrative. The narratives were separated into a training set of 11 000 cases and a prediction set of 3000 cases. The training set was used to develop two Bayesian classifiers that assigned BLS codes to narratives. Each model was then evaluated for the prediction set. Both models performed well and tended to predict one-digit BLS codes more accurately than two-digit codes. The overall sensitivity of the Fuzzy method was, respectively, 78% and 64% for one-digit and two-digit codes, specificity was 93% and 95%, and positive predictive value (PPV) was 78% and 65%. The Naïve method showed similar accuracy: a sensitivity of 80% and 70%, specificity of 96% and 97%, and PPV of 80% and 70%. For large administrative databases, Bayesian methods show significant promise as a means of classifying injury narratives into cause groups. Overall, Naïve Bayes provided slightly more accurate predictions than Fuzzy Bayes.

The Seveso II experience in the application of generic substance criteria to identify major hazard sites.

Europe is currently in the process of finalising legislation to align its criteria for classifying and labelling dangerous substances with the new Globally Harmonised System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS), replacing the criteria that have been in place within the European Union since the establishment in 1967 of Directive 67/548/EC on the Classification and Labelling of Dangerous Substances. The Seveso II Directive is potentially the piece of EU legislation most affected by this re-classification because coverage of sites under the Directive is determined to a large extent on the basis of the presence of certain generic categories of substances on site as defined by 67/548/EC. The European Commission in concert with the Member States has launched an initiative to review the current Seveso generic classifications with the view to adjusting these provisions as appropriate in light of the pending GHS-EU harmonisation. In doing so, it must foresee and take into account the inevitable inequalities that may result when the general conditions of a generalised approach are altered. This paper gives an overview of the Seveso qualifying criteria and corrective measures that have been used in the past to address its limitations in relation to specific substances and categories of substances. Adaptation of the criteria to the GHS classification is not likely to alter these limitations, but could generate new cases where they are again in evidence. Therefore, this analysis offers insight on what types of potential unforeseen and unintended consequences that changes to the current generic criteria (i.e., certain sites are inappropriately covered or not covered, as the case may be) may entail, while also highlighting how well different structural and administrative elements may function to address these situations.

Etiology of work-related electrical injuries: a narrative analysis of workers' compensation claims.

The purpose of this study was to provide new insight into the etiology of primarily nonfatal, work-related electrical injuries. We developed a multistage, case-selection algorithm to identify electrical-related injuries from workers' compensation claims and a customized coding taxonomy to identify pre-injury circumstances. Workers' compensation claims routinely collected over a 1-year period from a large U.S. insurance provider were used to identify electrical-related injuries using an algorithm that evaluated: coded injury cause information, nature of injury, "accident" description, and injury description narratives. Concurrently, a customized coding taxonomy for these narratives was developed to abstract the activity, source, initiating process, mechanism, vector, and voltage. Among the 586,567 reported claims during 2002, electrical-related injuries accounted for 1283 (0.22%) of nonfatal claims and 15 fatalities (1.2% of electrical). Most (72.3%) were male, average age of 36, working in services (33.4%), manufacturing (24.7%), retail trade (17.3%), and construction (7.2%). Body part(s) injured most often were the hands, fingers, or wrist (34.9%); multiple body parts/systems (25.0%); lower/upper arm; elbow; shoulder, and upper extremities (19.2%). The leading activities were conducting manual tasks (55.1%); working with machinery, appliances, or equipment; working with electrical wire; and operating powered or nonpowered hand tools. Primary injury sources were appliances and office equipment (24.4%); wires, cables/cords (18.0%); machines and other equipment (11.8%); fixtures, bulbs, and switches (10.4%); and lightning (4.3%). No vector was identified in 85% of cases. and the work process was initiated by others in less than 1% of cases. Injury narratives provide valuable information to overcome some of the limitations of precoded data, more specially for identifying additional injury cases and in supplementing traditional epidemiologic data for further understanding the etiology of work-related electrical injuries that may lead to further prevention opportunities.

[Comparison of non-fatal occupational injuries by autonomous communities in Spain (1994-2004)]. / Comparación de las lesiones no mortales por accidente de trabajo por Comunidades Autónomas en España (1994-2004).

OBJECTIVES: Given the differences observed in previous studies with respect to occupational injury rates in Spain's autonomous communities, this study tested the homogeneity hypothesis of occupational injury for specific accident types and economic activity between 1994 and 2004. METHODS: We analyzed non-fatal injuries of a mechanical nature or those due to overexertion taking place in manufacturing or construction companies during the workday and requiring sick leave. The relative risk was adjusted for sex, age and contract type in each autonomous community using standardized injury causes for occupational injury, employing Spanish rates as a reference and stratifying by duration of leave (less than 16 days and more than 15 days). RESULTS: For the different types of accidents analyzed, the adjusted relative risk of occupational injury was heterogeneously distributed across the autonomous communities. Murcia, Navarre, the Balearic Islands and the Basque Country were generally found to be amongst the communities with the most elevated risks, while Castilla-León and Extremadura were those with the lowest risks of occupational injury. CONCLUSIONS: The heterogeneity of occupational injury rates across autonomous communities persisted after selecting a series of specific accident types and adjusting for sex, age and contract type. Therefore, in addition to continued analysis of work conditions to explain this variation, other socioeconomic factors should be taken into account when comparing occupational injury rates among autonomous communities.

Prevalence of lost-time claims for mild traumatic brain injury in the working population: improving estimates using workers compensation databases.

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: To test the usefulness of a method to improve the measurement of prevalent mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) among injured workers with a workers compensation claim. METHODS: Database codes were selected to identify MTBI cases in the Ontario workers compensation lost-time claims database. A random sample of 210 claims was selected, classified as MTBI or not, and used to calculate proportions with MTBI among code groups. The annual prevalence of MTBI in 1997 and 1998 was calculated by weighting the numerators with the appropriate proportions of MTBI within each code group. RESULTS: Four code groups were created: the head region, cranial region, concussion code group and the brain region. The proportion of MTBI in each group was 29%, 19%, 92% and 32%, respectively. The 1997 prevalence depended on the codes used, from 39/10,000 (95% confidence interval (CI): 35-44) for a weighted version of the 'concussion' code to 58/10,000 (95% CI: 50-65) for inclusion of all identified MTBI codes. CONCLUSIONS: Restricting the enumeration of MTBI to specific 'concussion' codes can lead to under-estimation of the prevalence of MTBI in epidemiological studies using workers compensation data. Approximately six out of every 1000 lost-time claims are associated with MTBI. Given lost-time estimates of disability under-estimate the prevalence of this mild injury, MTBI, is an important workplace injury.

The nontechnical causes of diving accidents: can U.S. Navy divers learn from other industries?

Although U.S. Navy diving is remarkably safe, because of the high-risk environment in which military divers work, accidents and mishaps do occur. Failures in leadership and situation awareness (particularly in risk and time assessment) were found to be the two most common causes of fatal and nonfatal U.S. Navy diving accidents and near misses. Responses to an attitude survey showed that junior divers want to ask questions, but senior divers do not desire to be questioned. In other high reliability industries (e.g. aviation, medicine) methods have been developed to identify, analyze and mitigate human error. The relevance of these techniques for U.S. Navy diving are discussed.

Assessment of physical exposures and comparison of exposure definitions in a repetitive sawmill occupation: trim-saw operator.

This paper describes the physical exposures required to perform a sawmill job associated with a high incidence of upper extremity musculoskeletal injury. Exposure variables are described by multiple posture, exertion and frequency definitions and the comparability of those definitions are examined. Effective industrial prevention efforts require an accurate assessment of risk. Surface electromyography and electrogoniometry were used to quantify the physical exposures of 29 trim-saw operators in four sawmill facilities. Average wrist ranges of motion of 32, 57 and 58 degrees in wrist radial/ulnar deviation, flexion/extension and pronation/supination respectively were required to perform the job. Defining wrist range of motion by the peak postures observed versus those required to perform the primary task resulted in significantly different ranges of motion (p<0.05). Job performance required an average of 33% of maximum voluntary contraction. Repetitions per day ranged from 3,549 to 14,460. Percentage of maximum voluntary contraction was not associated with psychophysical measures of exertion.

Prioritizing occupational injury prevention in the construction industry: injury severity or absence?

PROBLEM: National occupational injury prevention goals often prioritize the reduction of serious injuries. This study analyzed whether this prioritization is credible in respect to lost-time injuries and short and long term work absence, and the implications this has for injury severity-based versus injury absence-based prevention approaches. METHOD: The data consisted of national and work-site specific injury and absence data from construction workers in Denmark, including workers from the Copenhagen Metro construction sites, during the period 2000-2001. RESULTS AND IMPACT ON INDUSTRY AND GOVERNMENT: Absence length was significantly dependent on the type of injury. Sprains and strains were most prevalent and accounted for approximately one third of injuries and absence. Fractures accounted for one sixth of injuries and the greatest proportion of long-term absence. The results give credibility to the need for targeting sprains and strains in injury and absence prevention initiatives.

Use of a national reporting system for occupational injuries in Costa Rica.

Occupational injury surveillance in developing countries may be hindered by the lack of health data infrastructure as well the large numbers of informal-sector workers. The goal of this study was to elucidate the scope of occupational injury in the Monteverde district of Costa Rica using data collected through the national workers social security system. A list of occupational injuries occurring in the district reported to the National Insurance Institute (INS) central office between 1998 and 2002 was taken to the regional INS office, and the original injury reports for the cases were pulled. Specific data on the injuries were collected. There were 184 injuries reported during the five year period. Occupations with the highest number of injuries included production, building and grounds maintenance, and agricultural/forestry/fishing. Descriptive data showed that prevention efforts in this rural region should target food manufacturing, hotels, and construction.