Occupational safety incident reporting

Craft BF. 1973. Summary status report of an investigation of an incident of toxic polyneuropathy at the Borden Chemical Company s Columbus Coated Fabrics Division, Columbus, Ohio. Cincinnati, OH National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. NTIS No. PB89-122915. 

Metrics should relate to the elements of the process safety system. Poorly selected metrics that do not specifically relate to the execution of process safety elements will not provide an accurate evaluation of process safety system performance. Occupational injury and illness reporting rates are sometimes used to judge overall safety performance, and this metric does track the incidence of employee injuries quite well. However, this rate does not reflect the effectiveness of the process safety system. Occupational safety is quite important to the health and well-being of employees, but the metrics involved in assessing the occupational safety performance are not appropriate for process safety system evaluation the detailed elements of a process safety program differ markedly fl-om an occupational safety program (as discussed in Chapter 3). 

The subject of health and safety is reported in all under five parameters - fatalities (43%), lost time accidents (86%), occupational illnesses (51%), transport incidents (49%) and emergency preparedness (63%). This suggests a fair coverage of health and safety is building in chemicals CERs, which no doubt has been assisted by the inclusion of this aspect in the CEFIC environmental reporting guidelines. 

Rooney (1992) finds that employee participation in decision making lowered the incidence of one or more Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) reportable injuries in his sample of 85 firms, although his analysis excludes firm characteristics and workers average wages. 

Table 4 in the BLS report is titled Number of Nonfatal Occupational Injuries and Illnesses Involving Days Away from Work by Selected Injury or Illness Characteristics and Industry Division, 2000. Lor private industry as a whole, strains and sprains, carpal tunnel syndrome, and tendonitis were 46.3% of total cases. Similar figures are commonly expressed. Lor example. Dr. Lranklin Mirer, Director of the UAW Health and Safety Department, says that for about 700,000 auto workers, over 50% of all incidents reported are musculoskeletal. And the costs for musculoskeletal injuries tend to ran high, especially for serious back injuries. 

An incident that causes any fatality or the hospitalization of five employees or more requires a notification report to the nearest Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) office. 

Work-Related Incidents At least three significant government organizations require reporting of work-related incidents and injuries or illnesses. They are the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Other federal agencies also have reporting standards. 

Safety and health information means the establishment s fatality, injury, and illness history OSHA 200 logs workers compensation claims nurses logs the results of any medical screening or surveillance employee safety and health complaints and reports environmental and biological exposure data information from prior workplace safety and health inspections materials safety data sheets (MSDSs) the results of employee symptom surveys safety manuals and health and safety warnings provided to the employer by equipment manufacturers and chemical suppliers information about occupational safety and health provided to the employer by trade associations or professional safety or health organizations and the results of prior accident and incident investigations at the workplace. 

The Safety Department will complete and maintain occupational injury and illness records. The OSHA 301 Injury and Illness Incident Report, or equivalent, must be completed within 7 days of the occurrence of an injury at the worksite and the OSHA 301 must be retained for 5 years. Also, the OSHA 300 Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses must be completed within 7 days when a recordable injury or illness occurs, and maintained for 5 years. The OSHA 300A Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses must be posted yearly from February 1 to April 30. 

Safety Number of process safety incidents Distribution incidents reportable to the Department of Transportation Lost workday incidence and workplace fatalities reportable to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Product safety Process in place to prioritize chemicals according to potential risk Summary of process available to public Fatalities Lost-time ii ury frequency... 

Supervisors/forepersons will conduct an investigation of any accident/incident that results in death, injury, illness, or equipment damage. The supervisor will use the company s standard investigation form (see example. Figure 7.6). The completed accident investigation report will be submitted to the individual assigned responsibility for occupational safety and health. 

Figure 16.2 OSHA 301 report of incidents. (Courtesy of Occupational Safety and Health Administration.)...

Occupational safety and health administration (OSHA) reportable incidents are investigated and effective preventions implemented. 

Basic requirement. Within eight (8) hours after the death of any employee from a work-related incident or the in-patient hospitalization of three or more employees as a result of a work-related incident, you must orally report the fatality/multiple hospitalization by telephone or in person to the Area Office of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), U.S. Department of Labor, that is nearest to the site of the incident. Yon may also use the OSHA toU-free central telephone number, 800-321-OSHA (800-321-6742). 

Work in steel plants is up to now loaded with a lot of different hazards workers have to cope with. A key variable of occupational safety is the perception of hazards as it was shown in Chap. 4. The study reported in this section was part of a greater investigation on hazard perception in different work settings (Ruppert et al., 1985). It entails extended interviews of employees as well as analyses of hazard descriptions, critical incidents, and reported accidents. 

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