A study of the causes of occupational accidents in manufacturing companies

Authors

1 Department of Occupational Health and Safety at Work Engineering, School of Public Health, Urmia University of Medical Sciences; Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran

2 Department of Industrial Safety, Faculty of Health, Safety and Environment, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Background: Studies have found that several individual and organizational factors influence the occurrence of accidents. Researchers have also highlighted the need for the development of new accident models. The main aim of this study was to assess the contributing causes of occupational accidents using a questionnaire. Methods: A total of 365 managers and employees participated in the current study from 9 manufacturing companies located in the northwest of Iran. A questionnaire comprising 100 accident causes was used to gather the required data for this study. Results: Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) yielded 14 factors contributing to accidents, and confirmatory factor analysis found satisfactory fit indices for the EFA model. The participants reported unsafe acts as the most important factor for the occurrence of accidents. A t-test revealed that participants who received safety training experienced fewer occupational accidents than other respondents. The one-way analysis of variance showed that the companies significantly differed in the perception of accident causes. Structural equation modeling indicated that organizational-managerial factors had a larger effect on individual factors than external factors. Conclusion: The results indicate that providing safety training is necessary to control the employees' unsafe acts. Managers of the companies should pay special attention to the organizational factors affecting the occurrence of accidents. The findings of this study might help the managers to develop more targeted countermeasures for reducing occupational accidents.

Keywords

References

1. Ergör OA, Demiral Y, Piyal YB. A significant outcome of work life: occupational accidents in a developing country, Turkey. J Occup Health 2003;45:74‑80.
2. Hovden J, Albrechtsen E, Herrera IA. Is there a need for new theories, models and approaches to occupational accident prevention? Saf Sci 2010;48:950‑6.
3. Hollnagel E, editor. Understanding Accidents‑From Root Causes to Performance Variability. New Century, New Trends: Proceedings of the 7th IEEE Conference on Human Factors and Power Plants, Intitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers; 2002.
4. Hollnagel E, Woods DD, Leveson N. Resilience engineering: Concepts and precepts. Burlington: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.; 2006.
5. Khanzode VV, Maiti J, Ray PK. Occupational injury and accident research: A comprehensive review. Saf Sci 2012;50:1355‑67.
6. Attwood D, Khan F, Veitch B. Can we predict occupational accident frequency? Process Saf Environ Prot 2006;84:208‑21.
7. Rasmussen J, Suedung I. Proactive Risk Management in a Dynamic Society. Kalstad: Swedish Rescue Services Agency; 2000.
8. McCauley‑Bell P, Badiru AB. Fuzzy modeling and analytic hierarchy processing to quantify risk levels associated with occupational injuries. I. The development of fuzzy‑linguistic risk levels. IEEE Tran Fuzzy Syst 1996;4:124‑31.
9. McCauley‑Bell P, Badiru AB. Fuzzy modeling and analytic hierarchy processing‑means to quantify risk levels associated with occupational injuries. II. The development of a fuzzy rule‑based model for the prediction of injury. IEEE Trans Fuzzy Syst 1996;4:132‑8.
10. Embrey DE. Incorporating management and organisational factors into probabilistic safety assessment. Reliab Eng Syst Saf 1992;38:199‑208.
11. Kjellén U, Hovden J. Reducing risks by deviation control – A retrospection into a research strategy. Saf Sci 1993;16:417‑38.
12. Brown KA, Willis PG, Prussia GE. Predicting safe employee behavior in the steel industry: Development and test of a sociotechnical model. J Oper Manage 2000;18:445‑65.
13. Sklet S. Comparison of some selected methods for accident investigation. J Hazard Mater 2004;111:29‑37.
14. Huang YH, Ljung M, Sandin J, Hollnagel E, editors. Accident Models for Modern Road Traffic: Changing Times Creates New Demands. 2004 IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man and Cybernetics (IEEE Cat No 04CH37583), IEEE; 2004.
15. Mullai A, Paulsson U. A grounded theory model for analysis of marine accidents. Accid Anal Prev 2011;43:1590‑603.
16. Harrald JR, Mazzuchi TA, Spahn J, Van Dorp R, Merrick J, Shrestha S, et al. Using system simulation to model the impact of human error in a maritime system. Saf Sci 1998;30:235‑47.
17. Attwood D, Khan F, Veitch B. Occupational accident models – Where have we been and where are we going? J Loss Prev Process 2006;19:664‑82.
18. Bonafede M, Corfiati M, Gagliardi D, Boccuni F, Ronchetti M, ValentiA, et al. OHS management and employers’ perception: Differences by firm size in a large Italian company survey. Saf Sci 2016;89:11‑8.
19. Dźwiarek M. An analysis of accidents caused by improper functioning of machine control systems. Int J Occup Saf Ergon 2004;10:129‑36.
20. Hale AR, Guldenmund FW, Van Loenhout P, Oh J. Evaluating safety management and culture interventions to improve safety: Effective intervention strategies. Saf Sci 2010;48:1026‑35.
21. Hendrick HW, Kleiner BM. Macroergonomics: Theory, Methods, and Applications. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers; 2002.
22. Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Department of Consumer Business Services. Accident and Incident Investigation. Available from: https://osha.oregon.gov/edu/courses/Pages/default.aspx. [Last accessed on 2021 Apr 16].
23. Niza C, Silva S, Lima ML. Occupational accident experience: Association with workers’ accident explanation and definition. Saf Sci 2008;46:959‑71.
24. Garson GD. Structural Equation Modeling. Asheboro: Statistical Associates Publishers. 2015.
25. Tabachnick BG, Fidell LS, Ullman JB. Using Multivariate Statistics. Boston, MA: Pearson; 2007.
26. Health and Safety Executive. Reducing Error and Influencing Behavior. 1999.
27. Attwood D, Crowl DA. Human Factors Methods for Improving Performance in the Process Industries. New Jersey: Wiley Online Library; 2007.
28. Prati G, Pietrantoni L. Predictors of safety behaviour among emergency responders on the highways. J Risk Res 2012;15:405‑15.
29. Fernández‑Muñiz B, Montes‑Peón JM, Vázquez‑Ordás CJ. Safety culture: Analysis of the causal relationships between its key dimensions. J Saf Res 2007;38:627‑41.
30. Seo DC. An explicative model of unsafe work behavior. Saf Sci 2005;43:187‑211.
31. Ghahramani A. Permit to Work System Conformity Analysis based on the System Standard Criteria in an Oil and Gas Extraction Company. Iran Occup Health 2007;4:10‑4.
32. Ghahramani A. An investigation of safety climate in OHSAS 18001‑certified and non‑certified organizations. Int J Occup Saf Ergon 2016;22:414‑21.
33. Ghahramani A, Abbasi A. Assessment of the Relationship between occupational accident experience and personal and job factors in tar paper manufacturing companies. Iran Occup Health 2016;12:48‑57.
34. Ghahramani A, Fazli B. An investigation of safety attitude in a number of manufacturing companies in Urmia. J Health Saf Work 2016;6:41‑50.
35. Benavides FG, Benach J, Muntaner C, Delclos GL, Catot N, Amable M. Associations between temporary employment and occupational injury: what are the mechanisms? Occup Environ Med 2006;63:416‑21.
36. Foley M. Factors underlying observed injury rate differences between temporary workers and permanent peers. Am J Ind Med 2017;60:841‑51.
37. Julià M, Catalina‑Romero C, Calvo‑Bonacho E, Benavides FG. Exposure to psychosocial risk factors at work and the incidence of occupational injuries: A cohort study in Spain. J Occup Environ Med 2016;58:282‑6.
38. Picchio M, Van Ours JC. Temporary jobs and the severity of workplace accidents. J Saf Res 2017;61:41‑51.
39. RoquelaureY, LeManachAP, Ha C, Poisnel C, Bodin J, DescathaA, et al.Working in temporary employment and exposure to musculoskeletal constraints. Occup Med 2012;62:514‑8.
40. Probst TM, Barbaranelli C, Petitta L. The relationship between job insecurity and accident under‑reporting: A test in two countries. Work Stress 2013;27:383‑402.
41. Robson LS, Clarke JA, Cullen K, Bielecky A, Severin C, Bigelow PL, et al. The effectiveness of occupational health and safety management system interventions: A systematic review. Saf Sci 2007;45:329‑53.
42. Bottani E, Monica L, Vignali G. Safety management systems: Performance differences between adopters and non‑adopters. Saf Sci 2009;47:155‑62.
43. Fernández‑Muñiz B, Montes‑Peón JM, Vázquez‑Ordás CJ. Relation between occupational safety management and firm performance. Saf Sci 2009;47:980‑91.
44. Ghahramani A, Summala H. A study of the effect of OHSAS 18001 on the occupational injury rate in Iran. Int J Inj Contr Saf Promot 2017;24:78‑83.
45. Johnston JJ, Cattledge G, Collins JW. The efficacy of training for occupational injury control. Occup Med 1994;9:147‑58.
46. Shannon HS, Mayr J, Haines T. Overview of the relationship between organizational and workplace factors and injury rates. Saf Sci 1997;26:201‑17.
47. Breslin FC, Tompa E, Zhao R, Pole JD, Amick Iii BC, Smith PM, et al. The relationship between job tenure and work disability absence among adults: A prospective study. Accid Anal Prev 2008;40:368‑75.
48. Dong X, Entzel P, Men Y, Chowdhury R, Schneider S. Effects of safety and health training on work‑related injury among construction laborers. J Occup Environ Med 2004;46:1222‑8.
49. British Standard Institute. Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems-Requirements. 2007.
50. StuartA. Ablended learning approach to safety training: Student experiences of safe work practices and safety culture. Saf Sci 2014;62:409‑17.
51. Breslin FC, Smith P. Trial by fire: A multivariate examination of the relation between job tenure and work injuries. Occup Environ Med 2006;63:27‑32.
52. Reason J. Achieving a safe culture: Theory and practice. Work Stress 1998;12:293‑306.
53. Reason J. Managing the Risks of Organizational Accidents. New York: Routledge; 2016.
54. Smith GS, Huang YH, Ho M, Chen PY. The relationship between safety climate and injury rates across industries: The need to adjust for injury hazards. Accid Anal Prev 2006;38:556‑62.
55. Harms‑Ringdahl L. Safety Analysis: Principles and Practice in Occupational Safety. New York: CRC Press; 2001.
Archives of Trauma Research
Volume 10, Issue 2
April 2021
Pages 64-72

Files

History

  • Receive Date: 14 September 2022
  • Accept Date: 14 September 2022

Share

How to cite

Statistics