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Occupational Accidents Profile of the Construction Industry in Sweden

Aulin, Radhlinah LU and Ågren, Robert LU orcid (2012) CIB W099 International Conference on “Modelling and Building Health and Safety” p.438-447
Abstract
In Sweden, accident statistics reveal little, if any, evidence of improvement in health and safety on construction sites. Accident statistics, which adopt a reactive approach, must not be looked upon as merely numbers and figures. They must be able to reveal the underlying factors contributing to the accidents. This paper aims to examine construction safety performance based on accidents data from 2000-10. Additionally, the impact of rules and regulations implemented prior to 2010 on accident trends are discussed. The findings indicate that while accident frequency seems to be declining, the fatalities recorded remain high with an average of 10 fatalities per year, instilling fear among workers for their safety at work. Analysis of the... (More)
In Sweden, accident statistics reveal little, if any, evidence of improvement in health and safety on construction sites. Accident statistics, which adopt a reactive approach, must not be looked upon as merely numbers and figures. They must be able to reveal the underlying factors contributing to the accidents. This paper aims to examine construction safety performance based on accidents data from 2000-10. Additionally, the impact of rules and regulations implemented prior to 2010 on accident trends are discussed. The findings indicate that while accident frequency seems to be declining, the fatalities recorded remain high with an average of 10 fatalities per year, instilling fear among workers for their safety at work. Analysis of the causes of accidents reveals a high level of repetitions of the same or similar accidents, especially with regard to ‘loss of control’. Changes need to be made to the reporting of accidents. What is required is to determine the appropriate mitigation strategies, by using analysis of accident reports, to prevent future accidents. Since every accident is a reflection of the quality of management, it is important for companies to recognise that there is no single reliable measure of health and safety performance but rather a combination of both reactive and proactive measures. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Fatalities, incidence rate, causes of accidents, absence from work, construction, reactive data.
host publication
Proceedings of CIB W099 International Conference on “Modelling and Building Health and Safety”
editor
Krisiani Tjandra, Imelda
pages
438 - 447
publisher
National University of Singapore
conference name
CIB W099 International Conference on “Modelling and Building Health and Safety”
conference location
Singapore
conference dates
2012-09-10 - 2012-09-11
ISBN
978-981-07-1421-5
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
ca7ba559-b131-4a47-8b3a-650774a279c8 (old id 3055559)
date added to LUP
2016-04-04 11:32:06
date last changed
2018-11-21 21:05:29
@inproceedings{ca7ba559-b131-4a47-8b3a-650774a279c8,
  abstract     = {{In Sweden, accident statistics reveal little, if any, evidence of improvement in health and safety on construction sites. Accident statistics, which adopt a reactive approach, must not be looked upon as merely numbers and figures. They must be able to reveal the underlying factors contributing to the accidents. This paper aims to examine construction safety performance based on accidents data from 2000-10. Additionally, the impact of rules and regulations implemented prior to 2010 on accident trends are discussed. The findings indicate that while accident frequency seems to be declining, the fatalities recorded remain high with an average of 10 fatalities per year, instilling fear among workers for their safety at work. Analysis of the causes of accidents reveals a high level of repetitions of the same or similar accidents, especially with regard to ‘loss of control’. Changes need to be made to the reporting of accidents. What is required is to determine the appropriate mitigation strategies, by using analysis of accident reports, to prevent future accidents. Since every accident is a reflection of the quality of management, it is important for companies to recognise that there is no single reliable measure of health and safety performance but rather a combination of both reactive and proactive measures.}},
  author       = {{Aulin, Radhlinah and Ågren, Robert}},
  booktitle    = {{Proceedings of CIB W099 International Conference on “Modelling and Building Health and Safety”}},
  editor       = {{Krisiani Tjandra, Imelda}},
  isbn         = {{978-981-07-1421-5}},
  keywords     = {{Fatalities; incidence rate; causes of accidents; absence from work; construction; reactive data.}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{438--447}},
  publisher    = {{National University of Singapore}},
  title        = {{Occupational Accidents Profile of the Construction Industry in Sweden}},
  year         = {{2012}},
}