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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Frances Perkins, Secretary BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS Isador Lukin, Commissioner (on leave) A F. H inrichs, A cting Commissioner + Accident^Record Manual for Industrial Plants + Prepared by DIVISION OF INDUSTRIAL HAZARDS Max D. Kossoris, Chief Bulletin 7^o. 772 Letter o f Transmittal U n ited S t ates D e par tm e n t B u reau of of L abor, L abor S t a t is t ic s , W ashington, D . 0 .9 March 1 0 ,1 9 4 4 . T h e Secretary of L abor : I have the honor to transm it herewith an accident-record manual for indus trial plants. This m anual w as prepared in the D ivision o f Industrial H azards by M ax D . Kossoris. The Bureau o f Labor Statistics gratefully acknowledges the criticism s and suggestions of the follow ing safety engineers: H . W . Heinrich, Assistant Super intendent, Engineering and Inspection D ivision, The Travellers; Col. E . R . Granniss, Chief, Safety and H ealth Branch, Internal Security Division, W ar Depart m en t; and R . P. Blake, Senior Safety Engineer, D ivision o f Labor Standards, United States Department o f Labor. A . F . H in r ic h s , Acting Commissioner. Hon. F rances P e r k in s , Secretary of Labor. UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: WASHINGTON : 1944 For sale by the Superintendent o f Documents, U . S. Governm ent Printing Office Washington, D . C. Price 10 cents P urpose o f T his B u lletin During the last year the Bureau of Labor Statistics received many requests for information on the methods of computing industrialinjury rates, and how accident facts generally might be used to best advantage for accident prevention. The occupational-accident toll for the war year 1943 has been estimated at about 2,400,000, and the consequent economic time loss at about 274 million days—the equivalent of a year’s work for over 900,000 workers. Strong efforts to reduce this impediment to our production program were made by the Committee for the Conservation of Manpower in War Industries of the United States Department of Labor, the Safety and Health Branch of the Office o f the Provost Marshal General of the Army Service Forces, the National Safety Council, and many other Federal, State, and private organizations. Through their efforts the message that most of these accidents could be prevented simply and practically was carried to literally thousands of plants, many of which had not been familiar with scientific acci dent prevention until then. Such plants generally knew little or nothing about the analysis and recording of accident facts and the uses o f such data for accident prevention. The purpose of this bulletin is to assist such plants to set up and use effective accident records. It is not a primer on methods of pre venting accidents. Its function is to suggest simple and useful meth ods o f accident recording and the uses of such data for accident pre vention. It is also hoped that plants having good accident records may find useful suggestions in this manual to expand and utilize more fully the data they already have. i 683660°—44 Contents Page Purpose of this bulletin_________________________________________________ Industrial accidents are preventable____________________________________ How to evaluate the accident problem__________________________________ Example of use of formula_________________________________________ What injuries to count_____________________________________________ How to obtain exposure data_______________________________________ How the frequency rate can be used________________________________ How to measure injury severity____________________________________ Scale of time charges__________________________________________ Example of use of formula_____________________________________ What causes accidents?_________________________________________________ Accident cause summary_____________________________________________ The accident report summary_________________________________ - — The accident cause analysis summary-------------------------------------------------Other types of summaries or detailed analyses---------------------------------Forms: 1.— Monthly industrial-injury frequency summary--------------------------2. — Supervisor’s report of accident investigation--------------------------State (Arkansas).— Employer’s first report of industrial injury--------3. — Accident report summary____________________________________ 4. — Accident cause summary_______________________________________ ii I 1 2 4 4 5 6 7 7 8 8 12 13 15 18 3 10 11 14 17 Bulletin 7\£o. 772 o f the U nited States Bureau o f Labor Statistics Accident-Record Manual for Industrial Plants Industrial Accidents Are Preventable The time loss because of industrial accidents during 1943 is con servatively estimated at nearly 57 million man-days. This figure con tains no allowance for the economic losses extending beyond the year and attributable to fatalities and permanent impairments. I f allow ances are made for these items, the total time-loss figure rises to 274 million man-days. But even this figure, which represents a year’s work for 914,000 workers, does not take into account the millions of days lost because of time taken out for first-aid treatments and the decreased efficiency on the job after the injured’s return to work. Nor does it include the time required by supervisors to investigate the accident, to provide care for the injured, and, frequently, to break in new men to replace those injured or killed. Further, the figure does not reflect the time necessary to replace or repair equipment or materials which frequently are damaged in industrial accidents. Large as the estimates are, they tell but a fraction of the total story. Disabling injuries during 1943 have been estimated at 2,400,000. In manufacturing alone about 63,000 persons are disabled each month, or about 2,000 per day. Most of these accidents could have been prevented. Competent safety engineers agree that at least 50 percent of all industrial acci dents are preventable practically and cheaply, provided attention is directed to two factors—unsafe working conditions and unsafe acts. Prevention of these accidents not only would have been tremendously helpful to the war effort, but would have benefited individual plants greatly by insuring a smoother production flow, greater attention to production by supervisors, less labor turnover, less waste, and lowrer workmen’s compensation costs. In the process of accident prevention, accident reports and records are extremely useful tools. The determination of the proper preven tive measures, in each instance can be made only after an accurate and adequate analysis of the conditions or practices which resulted in the accident. Similarly, the safety man w7ants certain information to guide his policies, information which can best be obtained from records. Specifically, he wants to know: 1. How serious is the accident problem? 2. Where do the accidents occur ? 3. What are the causes of these accidents ? 1 2 ACCIDENT-RECORD MANUAL FOR INDUSTRIAL PLANTS 4. What remedial action is necessary to prevent recurrences of such accidents? 5. How effective are the remedial measures? Accident records can provide specific answers to all of these ques tions. The only question which records may not answer directly is item 4—the remedial action necessary. But, if the analysis is accurate and adequate, the statement of why the accident occurred frequently will point directly to the remedy, or, at least, will be very helpful in the determination of the remedy. How To Evaluate the Accident Problem Form 1 is suggested for recording the frequency rates for each month as well as the cumulative rates throughout tne year. It pro vides for the entry of the data necessary for the computation of these rates for each department as well as for the plant as a whole. The severity-rate computation is suggested on an annual basis only. The frequency rate is the most important single measure of both the accident trend and the size of the accident problem—whether in an industry, plant, or department of a plant. A mere knowledge o f the number o f work injuries is not enough. Is the accident ex perience bad because a plant had 25 disabling injuries last month? Is the situation getting worse because there were only 15 disabling injuries the month before, and only 10 the month before that? Ob viously it is necessary to know not only the number of injuries, but also the number of workers and the total time during which they were exposed to the hazard of being injured through work accidents. An increase in the number of injuries may, nevertheless, represent an improvement if employee-hours increased more sharply than did in juries. Conversely, a smaller number of injuries represents an im provement only if the decrease in injuries is not matched by a com parable or larger decrease in total employee-hours worked. The accepted standard for measuring the frequency of industrial injury occurrence is the frequency rate. It is defined as the number o f disabling injuries per million em ployee-hows o f exposure. It may easily be computed by the following formula: Frequency r a te = Number of disabling injuries X 1,000,000 Total number of employee-hours worked By adding injuries and by totaling employee-hours worked (usually referred to by the single term “ exposure” ) cumulative totals can be computed. For instance, the cumulative rate for January through June can be obtained by adding all disabling injuries for this 6-month period, multiplying the sum by 1,000,000, and dividing this result by the total employee-hours worked during the period. The form pro vides for the entry of the cumulative totals which are obtained simply by adding the figures for the last month to the sum of the preceding months. By using the million employee-hour yardstick, the measurement of disabling work injuries is reduced to a uniform base, a base which is not affected by either the number of workers or the daily or weekly hours they work. F orm 1 Month o f ____________ , 19_Name of Plant: Compiled by Employee-hours worked Department All departments: Department A.............................................. B_. ________________ C.............................................. D .____ __________________ etc.............................................. Average number of employees This month Year to date Disabling injuries Death Permanent impair ment Tempo rary total Frequency rate T otal This month Year to date This month Year to date Severity rate For entire year ACCIDENT-RECORD M A N U A L FOR IN D U STRIAL P L A N T S M onthly Industrial-Injury Frequency Summary 00 4 ACCIDENT-RECORD MANUAL FOR INDUSTRIAL PLANTS Example of Use of Formula Monthly rate.—Plant “ A ” had 500 employees during July. Employee-liours worked during the month totaled 108,000. There were 5 disabling injuries. What is the frequency rate ? To compute the frequency rate, the formula is applied as follow s: Frequency rate= 5X1,000,000 108,000 5,000,000 —46.3 108,000 Cumulative rate.—Plant UB " worked 108,000 employee-hours during January, 95,000 during February, and 131,000 during March. Dis abling injuries totaled 7 for January, 4 for February, and 5 for March. What is the cumulative rate for the 3 months ? By application of the formula, the cumulative rate would be: ( 7 + 4 + 5 ) X I ,000,000 _1 6 X 1 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0 16,000,000 103,000+95,000+131,000 329,000 ' 329,000 The individual rates for January, February, and March in this example are 69.9,42.1, and 38.2. It should be noted that the cumulative rate is not computed by averaging the 3 frequency rates, which would result in an average of 50.1. What Injuries to Count The frequency rate is based on a consideration of disabling injuries. A disabling injury is defined briefly as one which results in some per manent bodily impairment or prevents a worker from resuming work at the beginning of the next day or shift or at some later date. The first part of the definition includes fatalities and all permanent impair ments, whether major or minor. The second includes all temporary disabilities. Permanent impairments may be of two kinds: (1) Those resulting in the complete loss of a member, such as by amputation, or (2) those which, without amputation, impair the usual function of the body or any part of it. Thus, a permanent impairment of an arm may result either from an amputation above the elbow, or from a limitation of the motion of the arm. Temporary total disabilities include all disabling injuries which do not involve death or permanent impairment. They7 do not include first-aid cases. For example, if a worker loses 1 or more days because o f an injury but returns to his job thereafter without any7 permanent impairment, his case is counted as a temporary total disability. Unless indicated to the contrary, the disabling injuries included in the computation of the frequency rate consist of the following four types: 1. Fatalities. 2. Permanent total disabilities Permanent impairments. 3. Permanent partial disabilities 4. Temporary total disabilities. In the procedure proposed here, permanent total disabilities are combined with permanent partial disabilities into the single group of permanent impairments. As the names suggest, the difference is one o f degree. Under permanent total disabilities are classed all impair- ACCIDENT-RECORD M ANUAL FOR INDUSTRIAL PLANTS 5 merits which render a worker totally unfit for industrial employment. By definition, this group also includes all injuries resulting in the loss or total loss o f use of both arms or hands, both legs or feet, both eyes, or any combination of these, such as one hand and one foot. The permanent partial disability group includes all lesser permanent impairments.1 Although first-aid cases are not included in the frequency rate, they are well worth recording and analyzing, especially in small establishments where the number of disabling injuries often is too small to provide a comprehensive picture of accident causes. Attention to these injuries will reveal accident-causation factors which frequently lead to more serious disabling injuries. Often the difference between a minor injury and a major one is merely a fraction o f a second or a fraction o f an inch. A falling box can crush a skull as easily as it bruises knuckles, and a fall can result in a broken neck or leg as easily as in a bruised shin. I f it can be managed to record and analyze minor injuries, it is recommended that this be done. I f the volume of such injuries is so large as to make a regular analysis too burdensome, it may be advantageous to analyze a cross section, or to make only an occasional analysis. I f a count o f these cases is wanted, the proposed form can be modified easily to accommodate this additional item. It is suggested, however, that the total of these cases be excluded from the total for disabling injuries, which is to be used in the computation of the frequency rate. The principal reason for keeping a separate count of first-aid cases is that the frequency rate based on disabling injuries is the measure used for comparison with other plants or industries. There is no rea son, however, why a frequency rate should not be computed separately for first-aid cases. Many industrial establishments do that because o f the conviction that the elimination of the causes of first-aid cases also means the prevention o f disabling injuries. H ow to Obtain Exposure Data Obtaining employee-hour data present no great problem for the small plant, as it can simply add together the hours shown on the time cards. It is not often difficult for the medium-sized or the large plant to obtain such data; either the plant computes departmental totals which in turn can be added together to give the exposure for the entire plant, or it has the information on tabulating cards which may be totaled by tabulating machines. Plants which have no time cards, or in which the accounting or pay-roll department cannot readily furnish the exposure data when wanted for the computation o f the frequency rate, can come very close to the actual rate by esti mating the employee-hours worked. For instance, if 500 employees worked an average of 9 hours a day, and there are 25 working days in the month, the estimated employee-hours worked would be 500X9X25=112,500. I f there were 5 disabling injuries during the month, the frequency rate would be — ^ =44.4. If absentee 1 For detailed definitions see either of the follow ing: (a) American Standards Association, Code Z16.1: American Standard Method of Compiling Industrial Injury Rates, 1937; or (b) U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bulletin No. 667: Manual on Industrial Injury Statistics, 1940. 583660°— 44------ 1 6 ACCIDENT-RECORD M ANUAL FOR INDUSTRIAL PLANTS ism records are available, a correction can be introduced by deducting the employee-days lost. Suppose 20 employees lost a total of 95 days during the month. The time lost would be 95X9=855 employeehours. Deducting this from the total estimate of 112,500, leaves 111,645 hours worked. The corrected frequency rate would then be ^ ^ ^ — ^ = 4 4 .8 . I f it were possible to count the number of hours 111,645 r worked, the total might actually be somewhat below 111,645 because o f absences o f less than a full day. The correct frequency rate may actually be about 45.0. It will be noted, however, that these corrections do not affect the level or the trend o f the rate to any appreciable extent. The differ ence between the rough estimate of the total employee-hours exposure and the refined method of allowing for all absences in this illustration changes the frequency rate from 44.4 to 44.8 or 45.0, or less than 1 percent. Such an error is negligible, and wpuld remain negligible for practical purposes even i f it were several times 1 percent. For practical purposes, therefore, the estimated total of the em ployee-hours worked is sufficiently accurate in the computation o f the frequency rate. Obviously, if a frequency rate remains high or con sistently increases, urgent attention is called for. The frequency rate may be considered as the fever thermometer reading for disabling industrial injuries. H ow the Frequency Rate Can B e Used The frequency rate can be used (1) to determine where accidents are occurring within the plant (if records are kept by departments) and (2) to determine how the experience of a department or of a plant compares with similar departments or plants. I f the frequency rate for a plant is 45 while the average rate for the industry is 29, obviously there is something wrong with the plant situation.2 That is not to say, however, that the rate of 29 indicates a good safety performance. It does not. But it does afford some measure of the relative standing o f the plant. On the other hand, if the plant rate is 5 against an industry average of 29, the plant may justly be proud of its safety record. A third use of the rate is to indicate whether the safety program is keeping step with the changes in the plant, whether in type of activity or changing character of the composition o f the employee force. With the present activities in war production and the em ployment of greater proportions of women and older and younger per sons, the established safety procedures may require revision. The trend o f the frequency rate is a good gauge for this purpose. Fourth, the frequency rate is a measure of the effectiveness of the corrective methods used. I f certain corrective methods are followed by a decreasing frequency rate, the conclusion is permissible that they are accomplishing this result. I f the rate stays at the same level or goes up, it is a clear indication that the steps taken have not remedied the situation and that more effective methods are needed. 2 Monthly frequency rates for selected manufacturing industries are published by the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and are obtainable by request. Yearly rates are computed annually and cover a larger number of industries. ACCIDENT-RECORD MANUAL FOR INDUSTRIAL PLANTS 7 H ow To Measure Injury Severity The frequency rate, based on all disabling injuries, gives no clue as to whether these injuries are serious ones or not. A fatality is given no more weight in the computation of this rate than the loss o f 1 day’s time for a temporary total disability. The severity rate is used as a measure o f the relative time lost be came o f disabling injuries. It is defined briefly as the average time loss (measured in days) 'per 1,000 hours worked. Convenience is the major reason for using 1,000 hours as a base rather than 1,000,000 hours, as in the computation of the frequency rate. For all but temporary disabilities, time charges are arrived at by means of a standard scale. For temporary disabilities, the calendar days are counted by beginning with the first day the worker was dis abled, and ending with the last day o f his disability. No deductions are made for Sundays, holidays, shutdowns, or other days during which the worker normally would not be required to work. I f he was hurt on April 10, and was off continuously until his return on April 25, the disability count begins on April 11 and ends on April 24, for a total o f 14 days. For deaths and permanent impairments, the figures given in the scale o f time charges are used. The actual days o f disability are dis regarded. I f the impairment is only partial, the same percentage is applied against the time charge as the extent of the injury bears to the total loss or loss of use of the member involved. Thus, if a worker suffers a 33-percent impairment of an arm below the elbow, the time charge is one-third of 3,600 days, or 1,200 days. SCALE OF TIME CHARGES Days Death___________________________________________________________________________ 6 ,0 0 0 Permanent total disability_____________________________________________________ 6,0 0 0 Arm at or above elbow-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------4, 500 Arm below elbow------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------3, 600 H and____________________________________________________________________________ 3,0 00 Thumb__________________________________________________________________________ 600 Any one finger_________________________________________________________________ 300 Tw o fingers, samehand-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------750 Three fingers, same hand-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------1,200 Four fingers, same hand-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1,800 Thumb, and one finger, same hand---------------------------------------------------------------- 1,200 Thumb and two fingers, same hand---------------------------------------------------------------- 1,500 Thumb and three fingers, same hand-------------------------------------------------------------- 2,000 Thumb and four fingers, same hand------------------------------------------------------------------ 2,400 Leg, at or aboveknee----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4,5 00 Leg, below knee-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3,000 Foot--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2,4 00 Great toe or any two or more toes, same foot_________________________________ 300 Two great toes-------------------------------------------------------------------600 One toe, other than great toe---------------------------------------------------------------------- (x) One eye, loss of sight------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1,800 Both eyes, loss of sight------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 6,0 00 One ear, loss of hearing_____________________________________________________ 600 Both ears, loss of hearing-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------3,000 1Hernia, loss of teeth, and loss of any toe other than great toe, are considered temporary disabilities only. The formula for the computation of the severity rate is as follows: Severity r a t e = __________ Total days lost X 1,000_________ Total number of employee-hours worked 8 ACCIDENT-RECORD M ANUAL FOR INDUSTRIAL PLANTS EXAM PLE OF USE OF FORMULA Plant “ A ” worked a total of 900,000 employee-hours during the first 6 months o f 1943. During this period it had the following injuries: 1 loss of vision of one eye____________________ tim e charge___ 1 ,8 0 0 days 1 loss of one thumb____________________________tim e charge___ 600 days 1 loss of use of hand— 25 percent____________ tim e charge___ 750 days 12 temporary disabilities---------------------------------------- time lost----15 injuries. 150 days .Total tim e loss____ 3 ,3 00 days Severity rate— 3,300X 1,000,__o 17 900,000 The frequency rate for this period would be computed as follow s: Frequency r a te = 15 X 1,0 00,0 00^ 16.7 900,000 Because it is difficult to evaluate many injuries, particularly the more serious ones, at the end of each month, it is suggested that the severity rate be computed for a period of not less than 6 months, and preferably for an entire year. Even then the problem is encountered o f evaluating the severity o f injuries for which the extent of impairment is undetermined at the time o f the computation. A worker, for instance, may have an injury to his leg, but the exact extent of the impairment may not be meas urable until months later. In such instances the opinion of the attend ing physician must be used as the basis for the time-charge estimate. I t the severity rate is computed for the entire year, then obviously these estimates need to be made only for such cases as are undeter mined at the end of the year. For most cases the exact degree of impairment will have become definitely settled during the course of the year. A recently suggested modification of the American Standard provides that the necessary estimates be made within 1 month after the close o f the year so as to permit an earlier severity determination for plants interested in safety contests. A more accurate measure usually requires that a somewhat longer period elapse after the end of the year before making final severity estimates. The frequency rate, and to a lesser extent the severity rate, are useful in answering the first two of the five questions o f the safety man: (1) How serious is the accident problem? and (2) Where do the accidents occur? The frequency rates by departments tell him where most accidents occur. A comparison with the rates of other departments or other plants in the same industry, or with rates for the entire industry, reveals quickly the relative measure o f the de partment’s or plant’s performance. What Causes Accidents? Any analysis o f accident causes must necessarily begin with the investigation of individual accidents. As safety is an integral part o f the production process, and because safety is management’s respon sibility, the foreman is the key man in accident prevention. He is responsible for the production and for the safety of his workers. He must see that working conditions are safe, that the workers under his supervision know how to work safely, and that they do so. Conse ACCIDENT-RECORD M ANUAL FOR INDUSTRIAL PLANTS 9 quently the basic approach to accident prevention is through the foreman. Form 2, the Supervisor’s Report of Accident Investiga tion has been drawn with two purposes in mind: (1) To assist the supervisor in the analysis of accidents in his department, and (2) to require him to think in terms of causes and remedial measures. The trained safety man can tell quickly from the completed reports whether or not a foreman understands his accident problems. Through discussion with the foreman, his attention can be directed to significant omissions or errors in judgment. In addition to serving as a record for each accident, the form therefore serves also as a useful educa tional tool. In a few States the agencies administering the workmen’s compen sation acts have prescribed report forms which not only serve the administrative needs of these bodies but also provide them with basic material for accident prevention. Such forms readily serve the em ployer’s needs for accident-cause analysis and make unnecessary the use of a form along the lines suggested here. The form required bv the Arkansas Workmen’s Compensation Commission is reproduced, by way of example, on page 11. 10 ACCIDENT-RECORD M ANUAL FOR INDUSTRIAL PLANTS F orm 2 Name of Com pany:____________________________ Supervisor’s Report of Accident Investigation (Note.— The term “ Supervisor” refers to any individual who acts as immediate foreman, leader, headman, or gang boss) D epartm ent:________________________________ Name of injured w orker:____________________________ Badge or clock no__________ Occupation:____________________________________________________________________________ D ate o f accident:--------------------3 (circle one) Hour of d a y : -------a. m. -------- p. m. S h ift: 1, 2, Description of injury (name also body parts affected and resulting type of disability) :______________________________________ 1__________________________________ Full description of bow accident happened: W hat unguarded, defective, or otherwise unsafe machine, tool, or other object, substance, or condition, contributed to the accident?_____________________________ W hat w as wrong with it? W h at unsafe act was committed? W hy was the unsafe act committed? W hat has been done to prevent sim ilar accidents? W h at do you recommend to prevent sim ilar accidents? Signature: __________________ P osition : ------------— ------------ Note : The size suggested for this form is 8 % " x 11". D a te : 11 ACCIDENT-RECORD M ANUAL FOR INDUSTRIAL PLANTS THE USE OF THIS FORM IS REQUIRED UltDER THE PROVISIOHS OF THE ARKANSAS WORKMEN’S COMPENSATION L A W “ “ I m PLOYER’SFIRST r e p o r t o f INDUSTRIAL INJURY m ia : S tate’s , ...................... ......................................... . N u m ber E m p lo y e r :------------------------- — F or: C arrier’s Wile N o _____ ____ ____ _____ _____ .. _________ (Tbe spaces above not to be filled in by Employer) E M P L ffV E R -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------(Give name under which coneefji doee business) DO NOT WRITE IN THIS COLUMN CASE NO. (Lis! prinolpal product or service of the concern) EMPLOYER NO. A C C ID E N T ’ •(City and State) F (Tee or No) PLACE OF ACCIDENT (Yes or No) (10) Name of Foreman_____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _— INDUSTRY IN JU R E D E M P L O Y E E (First Name) (Middle Initial) (Last Name) DATE OF ACCIDENT AOE f (I I ) 1 y.* k . *k, Wages: Per hour I .............. ^ .1 v , RACE .p e r day $---------------- .p er week 1 If board, lodging, fares o r ‘ other advantages CONJUO. COND. AND SEX C A U S E O F A C C ID E N T (Describe briefly. such as:- loading truck; operating a drill press; shoveling dirt; etc.) < ) ( ) «. TIME EMPLOYED % WEEKLY WAGE (Name the machine, tool, appliance, gas liquid, etc., involved) , (State it gears* pulley* motor, etc.) OCCUPATION • AGENCY (Describe the accident fully, stating whether the Injured person fell or was struck, etc.. AGENCY PART and all the factors contributing to the accident. Use other side o f report for additional apace.) (Specify the remedial measure, such as; better Illumination, better ACCIDENT TYPE ventilation, providing goggled providing a better guard, better supervision, etc.) ^ ^ Name and ad ^ ^ _ ____ ^ ^_____ ^ ^ (Do not aay "by being more careful." but specify what employee UNSAFE ACT should or should not have done. For Instance: should n o t have used defective ladder; should not have oiled machinery In MECHANICAL defect motion, etc.) N A T U R E A N D L O C AT IO N O F IN JU R Y * (Describe In detail the nature of the injury and the part of the body affected. For instance: amputation of right arm.) ^ t > .. * PERSONAL DEFECT .. NATURE (11) Did injury result In death? ■ ■ — .I f so. give date----------------------------------------------------------------------------- LOCATION INSURANCE IN S U R A N C E (S»> Name and address of workmen s compensitlo nsu REPORT LAO CODED BY Note : The actual size of this form is 8 % " x 11", 12 ACCIDENT-RECORD M ANUAL FOR INDUSTRIAL PLANTS Accident Cause Summary From time to time, and preferably for specified periods, it will be desirable to summarize the facts obtained from the supervisors’ re ports. I f accidents have been few in number, a simple chronological record o f the type suggested in Form 3 may suffice. I f accidents have been numerous, Form 4 is preferable. Before entering into a discussion of these forms, however, it is desirable to sketch briefly the method of accident cause analysis which underlies these forms. The purpose o f accident camse analysis is to determine the factors which brought about accidents. These factors fall into 2 classes: (1) Unsafe working conditions, and (2) unsafe acts. It is important to watch both of these factors, even though in any given accident one may appear to be the more important. Unsafe working conditions fre quently lead to unsafe acts, and vice versa. In most accidents, both factors will be found. It is not intended here to go into great detail on the classification o f accident factors. There are several sources which adequately cover this subject.3 It is sufficient to indicate that the accident factors to be recorded are the factors which appear during any properly con ducted accident investigation, and which can be obtained directly from an analysis of either the supervisor’s report or a workmen’s compen sation report form o f the type used in Arkansas. To describe an unsafe working condition adequately, it is necessary to identify both the unsafe object or condition and to specify in what respect it is or was unsafe. Frequently it is desirable to go even farther and to identify a particular part of the unsafe object. It is more meaningful, for instance, to specify the faulty safety lock on the elevator door or the frayed elevator cable rather than to name the elevator as the unsafe object. # In describing the unsafe working con dition, then, it is necessary to identify three accident factors: (1) The object, substance, or condition which is or was unsafe. (2) The particular unsafe part of the named object. (3) The defective condition. In the standard method of accident cause analysis, these three fac tors are labeled, respectively— (1) agency, (2) agency part, and (3) agency defect. A fourth factor, called accident type, identifies the type o f accident which resulted from the unsafe condition or unsafe act. This accident type may be a fall on a level surface, a fall from one level to another, struck by, caught in, on or between, etc. The unsafe act involved may have been committed by the worker who was injured, or by a co-worker, or by some other person. An unsafe act may be described briefly as the violation o f an accepted safe practice rule, such as oiling gears which are in motion, placing a lad 8American Standards Association Code Z16.2: American Recommended Practice for Compiling Industrial Accident Causes, 1941; U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bulletin No. 667 : Manual on Industrial Injury Statistics, 1940; and H. W. Heinrich: Industrial Acci dent Prevention, 1941. ACCIDENT-RECORD MANUAL FOR INDUSTRIAL PLANTS 13 der at an improper angle, climbing over a moving belt or conveyor, and similar acts. The question to be answered is: What was done unsafely and thereby contributed to the occurrence of the accident ? The determination o f the unsafe act furnishes the fifth accident factor. I f possible, it is worth while to determine why the unsafe act was committed (personal fault). The determination of this sixth fac tor may help greatly in the selection of the proper remedial measures. This is particularly true if workers are unaware of the proper safe practices, or have some physical deficiency, such as poor vision, which requires attention. Briefly, the accident cause factors may be summarized as follows: 4 1. The agency involved—i. e., the object or substance. 2. The agency part—such as the gears of a press. 3. The defective condition o f the agency or agency part. 4. The accident type. 5. The unsafe act. 6. The reason for the unsafe act—i. e., personal fault. An example may serve to illustrate this method o f accident-fac tor classification. An inexperienced oiler removes the guard on the gears o f a punch press in order to oil them. The guard was so con structed as to make access to the oil cup difficult without the removal o f the guard. The oiler’s fingers were mashed between the gears. The accident factors in this case are: Agency____________________________ Punch press. Agency part_______________________ Gears. Agency defect_____________________ Improperly guarded. Accident type-------------------------------- Caught between. Unsafe act________________________ Removal of guard. Reason for unsafe act_____________ Inexperience. This type o f analysis is factual, and it does not attempt to assess blame. The remedial measures, however, are not difficult to de termine: (1) The substitution o f a guard, or the modification of the present guard, which will provide easy access to the oil cup; (2) proper supervision and training of the oiler in the safe wav of doing liis work. This method of analysis is simple and follows the steps which an investigator o f accidents usually follows. The Accident Report Summary As already indicated, Form 3 is suggested for plants with few disabling injuries. It provides a chronological record which can be compiled readily from an analysis o f the accident investigation re port. In addition to the six accident factors, the form also provides for a record o f the remedial action taken. 1For the rules governing the selection of cause factors when there is a choice, see any of the sources named in footnote 3 (p. 12). F orm 3 Accident Report Summary Period co v ered :-------- __--------- t o ----------Prepared by D epartm ent: Name of injured Accident date Nature of injury Agency and part Agency defect Accident type Walter Ryan_______ 3-5-43 Broken leg Conveyor None Caught be tween John Walters.............. 3-8-43 Punctured eye Chisel Burred Struck by Unsafe act Reason for unsafe act Remedial action taken Employees instructed never to climb over Climbing over In a hurry moving conveyor moving con veyor Not wearing Not sold on Wearing of goggles made mandatory; fre quent inspection and conditioning of tools goggles— safety using unsafe tool ACCIDENT-RECORD M A N U A L FOR IN D U ST R IA L P L A N T S Nam e of co m p a n y :_________________________ ACCIDENT-RECORD MANUAL FOR INDUSTRIAL PLANTS 15 The Accident Cause Analysis Summary In summarizing the accident factors of a large number of accidents, best results will be obtained by so arranging the summary form that it will point toward hazards of particular concern to the specific de partment or plant. Although there are many unsafe acts, relatively few are of important significance at any one time in any one unit of industrial operation. It is advisable, therefore, for each plant or department or type of operation—depending on how these records are to be kept—to provide itself with a few selected items in the category o f each o f the accident factors. These selected items should consti tute the items of special importance to the operation or department or plant, and should be assigned simple code numbers or symbols. Classi fication and summarization by such numbers or symbols is very much simpler than by the use of the actual terminology on the summary form. A ll other items, deemed of lesser significance, can be assigned to a miscellaneous heading. This procedure permits the summary sheet to be expanded or contracted. New items may be added, old ones dropped, and variations introduced to suit the need. Form 4 can be prepared directly from Form 1. Under the agency column should be listed the specific agencies involved in the work injuries—such as saw, multiple drill press, ladder, loading platform, wrench, etc. I f the summary is for a plant, the departments can next be shown, also by code symbol. The number of injuries shown for each department will then be those in which the listed agency was in volved. Next are shown the type of disability, unsafe condition, acci dent type, unsafe act, and reason for unsafe act. In a department or plant in which operations consist o f machining with some assembling, for illustration, the agencies may tend to fall into two major categories: Machines and hand tools. Under the head ing of “machines” can be listed the specific machines involved: Lathe, drill press, grinder, etc. The category of tools can be divided into power-driven tools and hand-operated tools, with the specific tools listed under each. For the purpose o f this system, there are essentially three types o f disability: Fatalities, permanent impairments, and temporary total disabilities. These have already been defined and can be shown on the form simply as types 1, 2, and 3. Unsafe conditions can be summarized by selecting those which seem important—from Form 1—and assigning a number to each. The number o f cases shown within each space indicates the number o f times an accident occurred because o f this particular defect of the agency. In case of machines, the selected unsafe conditions con ceivably may be (1) unguarded, (2) improperly guarded, and (3) miscellaneous. For hand tools, they may be (4) worn, (5) mush roomed, and (6) miscellaneous. The standard accident-cause classification recognizes 10 accident types. For a particular department or plant, however, only 3 of these may be important: (1) Struck by, (2) caught in, on, or between, and (3) falls— on same level. A miscellaneous group (4) will provide for all others. 16 ACCIDENT-RECORD M ANUAL FOR INDUSTRIAL PLANTS As is true of unsafe conditions, the number of unsafe acts are legion. But again certain of these will stand out from an analysis of Form 2. Suppose in the department under consideration, the following stand out: (1) Improper methods of lifting, (2) failure to wear goggles, and (3) using hands instead of hand tools. A ll other unsafe acts can then be combined into (4) miscellaneous. Although some of the reasons for unsafe acts are hard to determine objectively, many of them lend themselves readily to analysis and classification. Such reasons are not difficult to identify, as for ex ample : Disregard of instructions, violent temper, nervous, excitable, failure to understand instructions, lack of skill, unawareness of safe practice, and various bodily defects—such as poor eyesight or defective hearing. Form 2 will indicate that some of these recur much more frequently than others. If, for example, these numerically signifi cant reasons are then identified as 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 (miscellaneous), they too can be summarized very simply. The general outline of Form 4 can remain essentially unchanged from month to month, or year to year. But the detail to be recorded on it will change, depending on the results of the review of Form 2. The detail shown on Form 4 serves primarily as an example for the hypothetical department used in the illustration. Each department or plant will want to substitute detailed classification of its own. based on its specific accident experience. Each form, however, should either show or have appended to it a listing of the cause factors represented by each code symbol. F orm 4 Name of company:___ __________________ For period fr o m ____________ t o _______ Department (or plant)__________________________________ Agency 2 3 Accident type Unsafe condition Type of disability 1 Summary prepared by 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 3 2 Reason for unsafe act Unsafe act 4 1 2 3 4 M achines: Lathe_____________________ Drill press_________________ Grinder____ ___________ All others__________________ H and tools—pow cr driven: Pneumatic drill_____ _____ Hammer.---------- ---------------Chisel................ ......................... All others........................... —hand powered: Wrench____________________ Hammer___________________ All others______ ___________ Etc................................................... ! | i 1 2 3 4 5 ACCIDENT-RECORD M A N U A L FOR IN D U STRIAL P L A N TS Accident Cause Summary 18 ACCIDENT-RECORD M ANUAL FOR INDUSTRIAL PLANTS Other Types of Summaries or Detailed Analyses Form 4 by no means exhausts the possible types of summaries which may be found valuable. It does, however, include the more obvious facts which are important for a recording o f accident cause data. Other information which may be found worth while may con tain such items as occupation, sex, race, shift, day of week, hour of shift, and, possibly, the age or length of experience. The form can be expanded to include any or all of these, should that be desirable. Various types of detailed analyses may also be found o f value. For instance, what types of unsafe acts are characteristic of certain types o f operations or occupations? To what extent do unsafe acts differ for men and women, or between employees on different shifts ? What types o f accidents follow from certain types o f unsafe acts? How do certain types of remedial action affect the recurrence o f accident types or unsafe acts? To this may be added data on the time losses involved as well as compensation and medical costs. An important aspect of accident investigation and record keeping is that detailed information is important. The better the record keep ing, the easier it will be to see accident trends, and the more ade quately can the records be used to prevent recurrences o f similar acci dents. Records are no substitute for accident prevention, nor should accident prevention stand inactive until records are compiled. But accident records are indispensable aids toward accident prevention. Their important function is to use the past as a guide for the future<
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