prepared by gl noble denton for the health and safety

Health and Safety Executive

Identifying the incidence of electricity-related accidents in Great Britain An update (1996/97 to 2008/09p)

Prepared by GL Noble Denton for the Health and Safety Executive 2011

RR842 Research Report



GL Noble Denton Noble House 39 Tabernacle Street London EC2A 4AA

This report analyses RIDDOR based electricity-related accidents covering all industries and is intended to be an update (and standalone report) to the previous HSE research report ‘Identifying the incidence of electricity-related accidents in Great Britain’.

Using certain selection criteria, the full RIDDOR database from 1996/97 to 2008/09p was searched to identify three categories of electricity accident:

a) ‘direct contact’ with electricity; b) ‘electrical based’ accidents; and c) ‘all related’ accidents.

Analysis was carried out using RIDDOR fields such as ‘HSE year’, ‘work process’ and ‘agent’. A number of findings were revealed, including electrical fitters (including electricians) reporting the greatest number of fatalities and non-fatal injuries, with many of the accidents related to contact with electricity (or electrical discharge). However, a number of other accidents were not related to direct contact with electricity, such as handling strains/sprains and high falls. It is proposed that the results of this report constitute an updated evidence base indicating possible priority areas for intervention by the HSE.

This report and the work it describes were funded by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Its contents, including any opinions and/or conclusions expressed, are those of the authors alone and do not necessarily reflect HSE policy.

HSE Books

© Crown copyright 2011

First published 2011

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view the licence visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/, write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email [email protected].

Some images and illustrations may not be owned by the Crown so cannot be reproduced without permission of the copyright owner. Enquiries should be sent to [email protected].

ii

www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence

CONTENTS

Page No.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1. INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 INTRODUCTION 1

1.2 CONTEXT OF THE STUDY 1

1.3 OBJECTIVES AND SCOPE OF WORK 1

1.4 SCOPE OF THIS REPORT 2

1.5 HOW TO USE THIS REPORT 2

2. CREATION OF THE ELECTRICITY ACCIDENT DATA SET 4

2.1 INTRODUCTION 4

2.2 CREATION OF THE DATA SET 4

2.3 DATA SET COMPONENTS 4

2.4 DATA SET LIMITATIONS 6

2.5 RIDDOR DATA LIMITATIONS 6

3. MAIN ANALYSIS OF ACCIDENTS INVOLVING ‘DIRECT CONTACT’ WITH ELECTRICITY 8

3.1 INTRODUCTION 8

4. MAIN ANALYSIS OF ‘ELECTRICAL BASED’ ACCIDENTS 11

4.1 INTRODUCTION 11

5. MAIN ANALYSIS OF THE ‘ELECTRICITY-RELATED’ ACCIDENT DATA 50

5.1 INTRODUCTION 50

6. CONCLUSIONS 110

7. RECOMMENDATIONS 119

7.1 GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS 119

8. REFERENCES 120

iii

121 APPENDIX 1 CREATION OF THE ELECTRICITY DATA SET

iv

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES

This report has been prepared by GL Noble Denton for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE)

as research contract OH1986, and describes a study on ‘Identifying the incidence of electricity-

related accidents in Great Britain – An update (1996/97 to 2008/09p)’.

In 2003, BOMEL Limited (now incorporated into and known as GL Noble Denton) was

commissioned by the HSE to produce a report looking at a dedicated data set relating to

electrical incidents extracted from the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous

Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) database covering 1996/97 to 2002/03. A pan-industry

electrical data set was created, analysed for trends, and the report provided as an evidence base

to inform HSE planning and risk reduction programmes. In 2010, the HSE re-approached GL

Noble Denton to request an update to the research to include data up to and including 2008/09p.

This report details the updated analyses and findings.

The overall aims of this project are to:

1. Develop an electricity-related accident data set from ‘supply to switch’ to provide a

baseline for measuring improvements across a range of industry sectors.

2. Analyse the electricity-related accident data to gain an insight into what type of

accidents occur, who was involved in them and what they were doing at the time.

3. Produce a report that contains analyses of the electricity-related accident data; identify

the key issues; and identify key priority areas for intervention.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE ELECTRICITY-RELATED ACCIDENT DATA SET

A data set containing electricity-related accidents was distilled from the Reporting of Injuries,

Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR) accident database (covering

1996/97 to 2008/09p and consisting of over 1.9 million accidents).

The categorisation of RIDDOR reportable injuries is such that if an electrician fell from a ladder,

the accident may well be coded as a ‘fall’ even if it was contact with electricity that caused the fall.

Therefore, to gain better insight into all those accidents involving working with or around electricity

it is necessary to analyse a larger data set beyond those accidents that have been directly attributed to

electricity. Consequently, a data set was extracted from the main RIDDOR accident database.

The data set had three constituent parts:

Data set 1: ‘Direct contact’ with electricity – this data set is defined purely by the

RIDDOR accident kind categories ‘Electricity’ and ‘Volt’ (i.e. it only includes

accidents reported as being either an ‘Electricity’ or ‘Volt’ accident type).

v

Data set 2: ‘Electrical based’ (including ‘direct contact’) – this larger data set

contains the ‘direct contact’ accidents described above, as well as accidents reported

under other electricity-related RIDDOR categories (e.g. industries such as electricity

production, installation of wiring/fitting, manufacturing of electrical appliances;

occupations such as electrical engineers, electroplaters, etc.).

Data set 3: ‘All related’ accidents (including ‘electrical based’) – this is the full

data set containing the ‘electrical based’ accidents described above (i.e. all accidents

assigned an electricity-related RIDDOR code) and accidents brought in because their

associated accident narrative (i.e. the notifier comment or investigation report)

contains an electricity related keyword (e.g. ‘spark’, ‘plug’, ‘socket’, etc.).

The electricity-related accident data has been incorporated into the Electricity RIDDOR Report

Tool, which has been used for the analyses presented in Chapters 3, 4 and 5.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS

The key results from each main data set reveal:

‘DIRECT CONTACT’ WITH ELECTRICITY ACCIDENTS

6% of all fatalities (168 deaths) over the 13 year period 1996/97 to 2008/09p, across

all industries may be due to direct contact with electricity or electrical shock.

A fluctuating picture in the fatal accidents from 1996/97 to 2008/09p, with a peak of

18 fatalities in 1999/2000. Encouragingly, non-fatal injuries have steadily decreased

over the years.

Overall, this means an average of 13 fatalities per year from 1996/97 to 2008/09p have

been caused by direct contact with electricity. Provisional data suggests that in

2008/09p there were 6 fatalities, which is the lowest number over the 13 years.

‘ELECTRICAL BASED’ ACCIDENTS

10% of all fatalities (287 deaths) over the 13 year period 1996/97 to 2008/09p, across

all industries may be linked to ‘electrical based’ accidents.

Overall, this means in all electrical based work activity from 1996/97 to 2008/09p,

there has been an average of 22 fatalities per year (i.e. accidents appearing under an

electrical RIDDOR category). Provisional data suggests that in 2008/09p there were

11 fatalities, which is the lowest number over the 13 years. As noted earlier, around

13 fatalities per year are due to direct contact with electricity, and additionally an

average of around 4 fatalities per year are due to falls (both high and other types of

falls).

vi

Yearly trends (HSE year):

A fluctuating picture in fatal accidents over the 13 year period 1996/97 to 2008/09p

with a peak of 34 fatalities in 1996/97 which reaches a low of 11 by 2008/09p.

Encouragingly, non-fatal accidents have steadily decreased year-on-year from 1996/97

to 2008/09p.

HSE sectors (Field operations directorate, FOD):

From 1996/97 to 2008/09p, the Construction HSE sector has the highest number of

fatal accidents (127). The Engineering and Utilities HSE sector reports the highest

number of non-fatal accidents (40,235).

Types of accident (Accident kind):

Over the 13 year period 1996/97 to 2008/09p, contact with electricity (or electrical

discharge) is main cause of fatalities (168), and is also relatively significant in non-

fatal injuries (although handling/sprains and trips are more common).

Focusing on the more recent years from 2001/02 to 2008/09p, contact with electricity

(or electrical discharge) is the main cause of fatalities (88), and has a role to play in

non-fatal accidents (3,887). Tripping over obstructions (5,507) and lifting/putting

down loads (3,902) play a more important role in non-fatal accident numbers.

Job role (Occupation):

From 1996/97 to 2001/02 and 2002/03 to 2008/09p, electric fitters (including

electricians) report the highest number of fatalities and non-fatal injuries.

Activity occurring at the time of the accident (Work process):

From 1996/97 to 2000/01, electrical activities have reported the second highest

number of fatal accidents (13), with general maintenance activities involved in the

highest number of fatalities (17). Non-fatal accidents are most commonly associated

with on-site transfer such as movement of persons and materials (7,898) and general

handling (7,345).

From 2001/02 to 2008/09p, electrical activities report the highest number of fatalities

(56), as well as highest number of non-fatal accidents (8,965).

Main object/movement involved in accidents (Agents):

From 1996/97 to 2000/01, unintentional contact with overhead lines and contact with

electricity/electrical discharge involved the highest number of fatalities (20 and 19

respectively). Moving heavy weights or strains/sprains contribute to the highest

numbers of non-fatal injury.

vii

From 2001/02 to 2008/09p, overhead lines are one of the main contributors to

fatalities (20), including other electricity cables which includes those trailing and

buried in walls (20). The greatest number of non-fatal injuries is also associated with

other electricity cables (5,936).

Age:

From 1996/97 to 2008/09p, fatalities are highest for those 25 to 34 and 40 to 54

(around 32 to 34 accidents in each age category). Non-fatal injuries increase from the

16 to 19 age group (3,800) to a peak by 35 to 39 (10,886), steadily decreasing

thereafter. Major injuries levels remain stable from 20 to 54 (around 2,000 accidents

in each age category).

‘ALL RELATED’ ACCIDENTS

40% of all fatalities (1,201 deaths) over the 13 year period 1996/97 to 2008/09p,

across all industries may be potentially linked to ‘all related’ accidents. However, due

to the possible tenuous link, caution should be exercised when using these figures.

Overall, this means in ‘all related’ accidents from 1996/97 to 2008/09p arising from

electrical based work and accidents indirectly related to electricity (where electricity

or electrical components feature in some way, although not necessarily causal in the

fatality), there has been an average of 92 fatalities per year. Provisional data suggest

that in 2008/09p there were 28 fatalities, which is the lowest number over the 13

years. As noted earlier, there is an average of 13 fatalities per year due to direct

contact with electricity, the same annual average number of accidents due to being

struck by moving, flying or falling objects, but less than the average of 18 fatalities

per year due to high falls (above 2 meters).

Yearly trends (HSE year)

A fluctuating picture in the number of fatalities over the 13 year period 1996/97 to

2008/09p, with a peak in 2007/08 (136), although fatalities fall dramatically in the

following year (28). From 2001/02 to 2008/09p, non-fatal accidents gradually

decrease from 19,504 to 14,257 by 2008/09p.

These findings indicate the success of efforts by HSE and industry to reduce electricity

related accidents.


From 1996/97 to 2008/09p, the Construction HSE sector reports the greatest number

of fatal accidents (427), followed by the Agriculture and Wood HSE sector (205). The

Construction HSE sector also reports the highest number of major injuries (12,448),

viii

and the Engineering and Utilities HSE sector reports the greatest total number of non-

fatal accidents (57,653).

Industry (SIC industry code):

From 1996/97 to 2008/09p, installation and fitting of electrical wiring reports 52

fatalities (and reports the greatest number of non-fatal accidents). The highest number

of fatalities is reported by the industry related to the construction of buildings and civil

engineering works (142).


For the 13 year time period 1996/97 to 2008/09p, contact with electricity (or electrical

discharge) reports 168 fatalities, with the highest number of fatalities due to high falls

(233) and being struck by objects (174). The highest number of non-fatal injuries is

due to handling/sprains (51,456).

From 2001/02 to 2008/09p, contact with electricity (or electrical discharge) reports 88

fatalities, with high falls (125) being involved in the largest number of fatalities. Non-

fatal injuries are most commonly related to machinery, being hit by objects and trips

and slips (all above 10,000 accidents each).


From 1996/97 to 2001/02, electric fitters (including electricians) report the highest

number of fatalities (38) and highest number of non-fatal accidents (14,938).

Electrical engineers also report a high number of non-fatal injuries (8,074).

From 2002/03 to 2008/09p, electric fitters (including electricians) report the highest

number of fatalities (44) and non-fatal injuries (10,933).

Analysis shows that fatalities in electric fitters (including electricians) across the 13

year period 1996/97 to 2008/09p are predominantly related to contact with

electricity/electrical discharge (31) or high falls (20). Non-fatal injuries in this

population are often handling and sprains (7,454) and trips (5,908).

These results suggest a need to target electric fitters (including electricians), focusing

on best practice when working in direct contact with electricity, working at height, and

handling loads.

Activity occurring at the time of accident (Work process):

From 1996/97 to 2000/01, the highest number of fatalities involves general

maintenance activities (49) compared to less involvement from electrical activities

(13). The non-fatal injury trends show a similar pattern.

ix

From 2001/02 to 2008/09p, the involvement of electrical activities in fatalities is more

significant (56) although still less than manufacturing production (79) and machine

maintenance (74) activities. The non-fatal injury trends are similar.

Main object/movement involved in accidents (Agent):

From 1996/97 to 2000/01, unintentional contact with overhead lines (20) and direct

contact with electricity/electrical discharge (19) report some of the highest fatality

numbers, as do falls off moveable ladders (21). Electrical objects/movements do not

significantly feature in non-fatal injuries.

From 2001/02 to 2008/09p, the highest number of fatalities involves fork lift trucks

(33) and moveable ladders (28) rather than objects such as overhead power lines (20)

and other electricity cables (20). For non-fatal injuries, other electricity cables do play

a role (5,936), but it is less significant than other materials and machinery (11,519).

These results potentially indicate further consideration should be given to

interventions that do not merely focus on contact with electricity, but also working at

height (ladder use), and working around fork lift trucks and machinery.

Age:

From 1996/97 to 2008/09p, fatalities are highest for the 40 to 44 age group and 50 to

59 age group (above 137 fatalities in each age category). For non-fatal injuries,

accidents increase from 16 years of age (7,443) to a peak by the 35 to 39 age group

(22,930), decreasing thereafter. Major injuries remain relatively consistent (over

4,000) for the 20 to 24 age category through to the 55 to 59 age category.

It should be noted that this does not necessarily indicate that certain age groups are

more vulnerable to accident (since figures presented are frequencies rather than

calculated rates).

Employment status:

From 1996/97 to 2008/09p, three quarters of all fatalities have been reported for

‘employees’ (924), with fatalities in the ‘self-employed’ (250) constituting around

21% of all fatalities. Nearly all reported non-fatal injuries have been reported for

‘employees’ (180,899) compared to the ‘self-employed’ (4,195).

It should be noted that this does not necessarily indicate that certain types of

employment are more vulnerable to accident (since figures presented are frequencies

rather than calculated rates and the ‘self-employed non-fatal figures could also be

affected by under-reporting).

x

Monthly pattern:

From 1996/97 to 2008/09p, accumulatively the highest number of fatalities have been

reported for August (130), with significant numbers for January, and June through to

November. Significant numbers of non-fatal injuries (around 16,000 in each month)

have been reported for January, June, July and September through to November.

December reports the lowest number of non-fatal accidents (11,419).

These findings may provide some indication regarding the best time to launch media

campaigns or timely reminders throughout the year in order to reduce accident levels

further.

Types of injury:

From 1996/97 to 2008/09p, contact with electrical sources report the fourth highest

fatality numbers (145). Strains (53,554) and fractures (37,169) contribute more to

non-fatal injuries than injuries caused by electricity (4,183).

Region:

From 1996/97 to 2008/09p, the highest fatality numbers are reported for the ‘East and

South East’ (243) and the ‘Midlands’ (222). The non-fatal injury profile is similar.

At the local authority level from 1996/97 to 2008/09p, Manchester has the highest

fatality numbers (21) followed by Sandwell (16) and Birmingham (16). Birmingham

also reports the highest number of non-fatal injury (3,736) followed by Leeds (3,005),

with Manchester recording the fourth highest number of non-fatal injury (2,275).

With HSE insight into the resources available in different regions and cities, it may be

useful to compare any areas that report high accident levels with comparable regions

and cities that report lower levels. This exercise could yield further information into

best practice in certain areas that could be applied to other areas, particularly those

with high accident levels.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Some high level recommendations have been suggested based on the results of this research,

which include: considering existing knowledge and guidance around the identified risk areas;

HSE policy development work should be primarily based upon the ‘direct contact’ and

‘electrical related’ data sets; further analysis of notifier comments/investigation reports to gain

more understanding behind the key statistics reported; and further work undertaken to

understand areas of best practice that could be distilled from those regions of the country where

injury levels remain lower.

xi

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 INTRODUCTION

This report has been prepared by GL Noble Denton for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE)

as research contract OH1986, and describes a study on ‘Identifying the incidence of electricity-

related accidents in Great Britain – An update (1996/97 to 2008/09p)’.

1.2 CONTEXT OF THE STUDY

With the introduction of the ‘Revitalising Health and Safety’ (RHS) strategy statement in June

2000 by the Government and the then Health and Safety Commission (HSC), efforts have been

made by the HSE to work with industry to reduce the number of fatalities and major accidents,

cases of ill-health and the number of working days lost through work related injury and ill-

health. Percentage reduction targets have been set with the aim to achieve these targets by

2009/10.

The HSE has Electrical Specialist Groups working to investigate electrical related accidents

where the outcome has been serious (i.e. fatal or major injury), and to devise interventions to

protect those working with electricity. The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous

Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR) is one key source of information they use to inform

their decision-making and intervention development. However, the categorisation of RIDDOR

reportable injuries is such that if an electrician fell from a ladder, the accident may well be coded as

a ‘fall’ even if it was contact with electricity that caused the fall. Therefore, to gain better insight

into all those accidents involving working with or around electricity it is necessary to analyse a

larger data set beyond those accidents that have been directly attributed to electricity. This provides

a broad data set that includes those workers that have suffered handling/sprain injuries, trips or falls

whilst undertaking electricity-related work as well as those injured through contact with electricity.

As a result, best use can be made of HSE resources in targeting groups of workers involved in

activities such as cabling, where HSE’s falls from height, slips and trips, and musculoskeletal

disorder priority programmes may want to get their messages over to the same group.

Since these considerations were the basis of a 2003 study commissioned by the HSE and

undertaken by BOMEL Limited (now incorporated into and known as GL Noble Denton), there

is a need to update the data range to cover years up to and including 2008/09p, and to draw

appropriate conclusions. This report supersedes the original 2003 report1, and has been written

as a standalone document, and is intended to be referred to without the need to access the

original report.

1.3 OBJECTIVES AND SCOPE OF WORK

The full electricity-related accident data has been incorporated into the Electricity RIDDOR

Report Tool, which has been used for the analyses presented in this report.

The overall objectives of this study are to:

1. Develop an electricity-related accident data set from ‘supply to switch’ to provide a


1

2. Analyse the electricity-related accident data to gain an insight into what type of


3. Produce a report that contains analyses of the electricity-related accident data; identify

the key issues; and identify key priority areas for intervention.

1.4 SCOPE OF THIS REPORT

The study is presented in the report as follows:

Chapter 2 provides brief summary details about how the electricity data set was

created and divided into three component data sets.

Chapter 3 presents the analyses of the ‘direct contact’ with electricity (or electrical

discharge) data set.

Chapter 4 presents the analyses of the ‘electrical based’ data set.

Chapter 5 presents the analyses of the entire data set (termed the ‘all related’ data set).

Chapter 6 highlights the main conclusions.

Chapter 7 provides overall study recommendations.

Chapter 8 contains the references used in the main body of this report.

Appendix 1 provides a more in-depth description of how the electrical data set was

created from the RIDDOR database.

1.5 HOW TO USE THIS REPORT

1.5.1 The data sets used

The analysis has been undertaken in stages on the electricity data set, as reflected in Figure 1. It

can be seen that each successive chapter focuses on a different data set. Different audiences

will have different interests and accordingly focus on certain chapters of the report. For

instance, it is anticipated that the HSE Electrical Specialists Groups will be most interested in

Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 as these contains accidents that have been assigned an electricity

related RIDDOR code. Whilst other HSE groups may find Chapter 5 more useful as this takes

into consideration accidents that are less directly related to electricity. Chapter 2 provides an

outline of how the data sets were created and defined.

2

Chapter 4

‘Electrical based’

including ‘direct

contact’

Chapter 5

‘All related’ accidents

including ‘electrical

based’

Chapter 3

‘Direct contact’

with electricity

1

3

2

4

Signpost table

Key message

Main graph

Table of accident

numbers

5 Detailed result

text

Figure 1 Breakdown of the overall electricity data set and associated chapters

1.5.2 Layout of results in the report

At the start of Chapters 3, 4, and 5, there is a brief introduction to the data set being analysed,

followed by graphs and tables. As can be seen from Figure 2, each analysis is headed by a

signpost table (element one) to inform the reader which data set is being analysed, with data sets

being identified by a particular colour (as can be seen from Figure 1).

Figure 2 Illustrative page elements for each analysis

In addition, fatal accident numbers are indicated in purple, major injuries in burgundy and over-

3-day injuries in yellow. A key message (element two) is presented giving an overview of the

result, followed by a graph either illustrating fatalities, or major and over-3-day injuries

(element three). It should be noted that fatality trends are shown in separate graphs from major

and over-3-day accidents. A table is presented where appropriate to provide further detail

(element four). A final piece of text concludes the analysis (element five) and provides further

detail behind the key message.

3

2. CREATION OF THE ELECTRICITY ACCIDENT DATA SET

2.1 INTRODUCTION

This chapter of the report briefly describes how the electricity data set was initially created and

then developed into three separate component data sets for more focused analysis. It also

outlines some of the limitations of the data set, as well as the HSE’s RIDDOR data, which the

data set is based upon. These activities address Objective 1:

Develop an electricity-related accident data set from ‘supply to switch’ to provide a


2.2 CREATION OF THE DATA SET

A data set containing electricity-related accidents was created using workplace accidents

reported via the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995

(RIDDOR). The HSE’s RIDDOR accident database covered the years 1996/97 to 2008/09p and

contained over 1.9 million accident records. This was provided by HSE to GL Noble Denton

under its technical support agreement.

A two-prong approach was used to extract electricity-related accidents from the main RIDDOR

database:

All reported accidents assigned one or more electricity-related RIDDOR code (e.g. the

type of accident was reported as ‘Volt’ or the occupation of the injured person was an

‘electrical fitter’) were included in the data set.

All reported accidents with an associated narrative description (i.e. a notifier comment

or an investigation report) that included an electricity-related keyword (e.g. ‘fuse’ or

‘socket’) were included in the dataset.

This two-pronged approach ensured those accidents that were explicitly coded by RIDDOR as

being electricity-related, as well as those that had not been coded using electricity-related

RIDDOR codes, but were related to electricity as illustrated in the associated narrative

description, were both included in the data set. This provided the HSE team with a broader

insight into where electrical incidents are occurring and how working with other HSE

programmes (e.g. the falls team) may assist in targeting electricity-related accidents.

A detailed description of how the electricity dataset was created can be found in Appendix 1.

2.3 DATA SET COMPONENTS

Creation of the electricity-related data set (as described above) generated a total of 187,240

reported accidents and provided one main data source for the HSE’s electrical team. However,

the data set also contained a mixture of reported accidents that were both directly, and

indirectly, related to electricity. In order to provide the HSE team with a clearer picture of

4

electricity related accidents, the main dataset was developed into two further subsidiary data

sets. In total, this equated to three separate data sets, defined as follows:








occupations such as electrical engineers, electroplaters, etc.). For a full list of the

RIDDOR categories under this definition, please refer to Table 62 to Table 66 in

Appendix 1.


data set (as described in Chapter 5), containing the ‘electrical based’ accidents

described above (i.e. all accidents assigned an electricity-related RIDDOR code) and

accidents brought in because their associated accident narrative (i.e. the notifier

comment or investigation report) contains an electricity related keyword (e.g. ‘spark’,

‘plug’, ‘socket’, etc.). For a full list of the keywords used under this definition, please

refer to Table 67 in Appendix 1.

The number of accidents generated in each of the three data sets is shown in Table 1. Each data

set is represented by a coloured column and compared against the number of accidents reported

in all industries over the 13-year time period.

Table 1 Comparison of fatal, major and over-3-day injury accident numbers in all

industries between 1996/97 and 2008/09p with the number of accidents in each of the

electricity data sets

Accident

source:

Accident

outcome:

All accidents

in all

industries


with electricity

(% of all accidents)


(including direct

contact)


‘All related’

accidents (including

electrical based)


Fatal injury 2,997 168 (6%) 287 (10%) 1,201 (40%)

Major injury 376,594 2,085 (1%) 20,261 (5%) 47,788 (13%)

Over-3-day

injury

1,591,332 5,379 (<1%) 69,135 (4%) 138,251 (9%)

Total 1,970,923 7,632 (<1%) 89,683 (5%) 187,240 (10%)

Table 1 highlights that the ‘direct contact’ data set contains 7,632 reported accidents, of which

168 are fatal injuries. This means accidents involving direct contact with electricity account for

6% of fatal accidents across all industries. The ‘electrical based’ data set contains 287 fatal

5

injuries, accounting for 10% of fatal accidents across all industries and the ‘all related’ data set

contains 1,201 fatal injuries, accounting for 40% of fatal accidents across all industries.

However, some caution should be exercised when interpreting the figures for the ‘all related’

data set, as this data set does contain a number of accidents that are only indirectly related to

electricity. It is therefore recommended that any HSE policy development work is primarily

based upon the ‘direct contact’ and ‘electrical related’ data sets, as these contain accidents

assigned electricity-related RIDDOR codes only.

2.4 DATA SET LIMITATIONS

There are some potential limitations to the electricity data sets that should be highlighted, as

follows:

The keyword search approach is not a perfect science, but it is a means to efficiently

build a data set, considering the full RIDDOR database consists of over 1.9 million

accident records for the period 1996/97 to 2008/09p.

The ‘all related’ data set is highly dependent on the contents of notifier comments and

investigation reports, as well as the keyword search terms (see Table 67). Any

accident not assigned an electricity-related RIDDOR code will not be included in the

‘all related’ data set unless it has an electricity-related keyword present in the accident

narrative. Equally, there may be a number of accidents included in the data set

because their notifier comment or investigation report contains a keyword, even

though the accident may not have any real association with electricity.

There may be under-reporting of less severe incidents (which can potentially exist in

all industries). Consequently, the RIDDOR data/figures on minor accidents (over-3-

day and some major accidents) presented may be lower than is the real case.

2.5 RIDDOR DATA LIMITATIONS

To remain current and reflect changes to HSE internal operations and external industry

developments, the HSE has periodically needed to amend the codes used in RIDDOR fields,

more specifically:

Work process, Agent, and Accident Kind fields – coding changed in 2001/02 due to

the implementation of the Incident Contact Centre (ICC)

Occupation field – coding changed in 2002/03 due to change in the Standard

Occupational Classification (SOC)

All remaining RIDDOR fields – stayed the same throughout the 13 years from

1996/97 to 2008/09p.

6

For the affected fields the graphs have been split into two (this is clearly stated in the report).

For example, graphs will represent the ‘pre-ICC’ and ‘post-ICC’ timeframe because there is no

mapping between the pre-ICC and ICC system.

Finally, it should be noted that the data reported for each year is final data (i.e. it has undergone

a process of verification by HSE). The only exception is for the year 2008/09p, which is

differentiated on the graphs with a ‘p’ for ‘provisional’. This data was provisional at the time of

writing this report and therefore may be subject to minor future amendments following HSE

verification.

7

3. MAIN ANALYSIS OF ACCIDENTS INVOLVING ‘DIRECT

CONTACT’ WITH ELECTRICITY

3.1 INTRODUCTION

This chapter helps to address Objective 2, which is to:

Analyse the electricity-related accident data to gain an insight into what type of


The analyses presented in this chapter relates to the ‘direct contact’ with electricity data set,

which are accidents that have been categorised as either ‘volt’ or ‘electricity’ under the

RIDDOR accident kind code. More specifically, Table 2 highlights the column of data that is

being presented in this chapter. It suggests that around 6% of all fatal accidents (across all

industries) have been caused by direct contact with electricity, amounting to 168 fatalities over

the 13 year period.

Table 2 Comparison of fatal, major and over-3-day injury accident numbers in all industries between 1996/97 and 2008/09p with the number of accidents in each of the


Accident

source:

Accident

outcome:

All accidents

in all

industries

‘Direct contact’ ‘Electrical based’

(including direct

contact)


‘All related’


electrical based)


with electricity


Fatal injury 2,997 168 (6%) 287 (10%) 1,201 (40%)

Major injury 376,594 2,085 (1%) 20,261 (5%) 47,788 (13%)

Over-3-day

injury

1,591,332 5,379 (<1%) 69,135 (4%) 138,251 (9%)

Total 1,970,923 7,632 (<1%) 89,683 (5%) 187,240 (10%)

NB: data highlighted in colour has been presented in this chapter

8

Yearly trends in ‘direct contact’ accidents (HSE year)

Key message

mixed picture regarding the number of fatal accidents over the years, although some

indication that fatality levels have improved over the most recent years with the exception of

2006/07.

Findings

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

96/97 97/98 98/99 99/00 00/01 01/02 02/03 03/04 04/05 05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09P

Fatality

1996/97 to 2008/09p

3.1.1

A

Figure 3 All fatal accidents from „direct contact‟ with electricity

Figure 3 shows the number of fatal accidents caused by direct contact with electricity over the

13 years. It can be seen that a peak in the number of accidents was reported in 1999/2000 with

18 fatalities, with a fluctuating improvement in subsequent years, except for 2006/07 where

fatalities climbed back up to 17.

9

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

96/97 97/98 98/99 99/00 00/01 01/02 02/03 03/04 04/05 05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09P

Over-3-day Injury

Major Injury

1996/97 to 2008/09p

Key message

Overall, a steady reduction in the total number of non-fatal injuries since 1996/97.

Findings

Figure 4 All non-fatal accidents from „direct contact‟ with electricity

Table 3 All non-fatal accidents from „direct contact‟ with electricity between 1996/97 and 2008/09p

HSE Year Major Injury Over-3-day Injury Grand Total

96/97 229 517 746

97/98 263 495 758

98/99 225 460 685

99/00 226 502 728

00/01 199 461 660

01/02 125 391 516

02/03 130 438 568

03/04 155 378 533

04/05 114 356 470

05/06 117 357 474

06/07 117 351 468

07/08 85 349 434

08/09P 100 324 424

Grand Total 2,085 5,379 7,464

Figure 4 and Table 3 show the non-fatal accidents from direct contact with electricity over the 3

years. Encouragingly, it can be seen that the total non-fatal accidents have decreased from

1996/97 to 2008/09p.

For major injuries only, a peak of 263 accidents in 1997/98 has reduced to 100 accidents by

2008/09p.

10

4. MAIN ANALYSIS OF ‘ELECTRICAL BASED’ ACCIDENTS

4.1 INTRODUCTION

This chapter also helps to address Objective 2, which is to:



This chapter presents analysis on the ‘electrical based’ accidents data set, defined by all

electricity related RIDDOR categories. More specifically, Table 4 highlights the column of data

that is being presented in this chapter. It suggests that around 10% of all fatal accidents (across

all industries) are ‘electrical based’, which amounts to 287 fatalities across the 13 years.



Accident

source:

Accident

outcome:

All accidents

in all

industries


with electricity


‘Electrical based’ ‘All related’


electrical based)


(including direct

contact)


Fatal injury 2,997 168 (6%) 287 10%) ( 1,201 (40%)

Major injury 376,594 2,085 (1%) 20,261 (5%) 47,788 (13%)

Over-3-day

injury

1,591,332 5,379 (<1%) 69,135 (4%) 138,251 (9%)

Total 1,970,923 7,632 (<1%) 89,683 (5%) 187,240 (10%)


It is anticipated that this chapter will be of direct interest to those working in the Electrical

Specialist Groups in the HSE. This is because only the main RIDDOR electricity-related

categories are contained within the ‘electrical based’ data set and have been graphically

illustrated in this chapter, by: HSE year, field operations directorate, ‘accident kind map’ (and

‘accident kind’), occupation, work process, agent and age.

11

4.1.1 Yearly trends in ‘electrical based’ accidents (HSE year)

Key message

Overall, a fluctuating picture from year to year in electrical based fatal accidents.

Findings

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

96/97 97/98 98/99 99/00 00/01 01/02 02/03 03/04 04/05 05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09P

Fatality

1996/97 to 2008/09p

‘ ’

Figure 5 All „electrical based‟ fatal accidents

Figure 5 shows the distribution of the 287 fatal accidents over the 13 years. It can be noted

fatality levels have fluctuated from an intial peak of 34 in 1996/97 to reach a provisional low of

11 by 2008/09p.

12

Key message

A very encouraging picture whereby total electrical based non-fatal accidents have steadily

decreased from 1996/97 onwards.

Findings

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

9000

10000

96/97 97/98 98/99 99/00 00/01 01/02 02/03 03/04 04/05 05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09P

Over-3-day Injury

Major Injury

1996/97 to 2008/09p

‘ ’

Figure 6 All „electrical based‟ non-fatal accidents

Table 5 All „electrical based‟ non-fatal accidents between 1996/97 and 2008/09p

HSE Year Major Injury Over-3-day Injury Grand Total

96/97 1,881 7,091 8,972

97/98 1,922 7,026 8,948

98/99 1,709 6,437 8,146

99/00 1,741 6,441 8,182

00/01 1,621 6,254 7,875

01/02 1,619 6,020 7,639

02/03 1,510 5,183 6,693

03/04 1,552 4,711 6,263

04/05 1,475 4,580 6,055

05/06 1,353 4,073 5,426

06/07 1,362 3,976 5,338

07/08 1,260 3,892 5,152

08/09P 1,256 3,451 4,707

Grand Total 20,261 69,135 89,396

Figure 6 and Table 5 show a very encouraging decreasing trend (year-on-year) from an intial

peak of 8,972 accidents in 1996/97 to 4,707 accidents by 2008/09p.

For major injuries only, a similar encouraging trend is apparent with an intial number of 1,881

accidents in 1996/97, dropping to an all time low (for this 13 year timespan) of 1,256 by

2008/09p.

13

‘Electrical based’ accidents in each HSE sector (Field Operations

Directorate, FOD)

Construction HSE sector reports the highest number of fatal accidents, with the

Engineering and Utilities HSE sector reporting just around half as many fatalities.

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

Co

nstr

uctio

n

En

gin

ee

rin

g a

nd

utilitie

s

Fo

od

& E

nte

rta

inm

en

t

Ag

ricu

ltu

re &

wo

od

Me

tals

& M

ine

rals

CH

ID

Se

rvic

es

Fib

res &

Po

lym

ers

Fatality

1996/97 to 2008/09p

4.1.2

Key message

The

Findings

Figure 7 All „electrical based‟ fatal accidents in each HSE sector

Table 6 All „electrical based‟ fatal accidents in each HSE sector between 1996/97 and 2008/09p

Category Fatalities

Construction 127

Engineering and utilities 65

Food & Entertainment 41

Agriculture & wood 29

Metals & Minerals 12

CHID 6

Services 4

Fibres & Polymers 3

Grand Total 287

Figure 7 and Table 6 show that by far, the Construction HSE sector reports the greatest number

of fatal accidents (127), with around half as many fatalities being reported for the Engineering

and Utilities HSE sector (65) which is ranked second highest.

14

Key message

A slightly different picture to the fatal accident profile, the Engineering and Utilities HSE sector

the highest total number of non-fatal accidents, with the Construction HSE sector

reporting half as many non-fatal accidents (although both do report similar numbers of major

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

35000

40000

45000E

ng

ine

eri

ng

an

d u

tilitie

s

Co

nstr

uctio

n

Fo

od

& E

nte

rta

inm

en

t

Se

rvic

es

Fib

res &

Po

lym

ers

Me

tals

& M

ine

rals

CH

ID

Ag

ricu

ltu

re &

wo

od

Over-3-day Injury

Major Injury

1996/97 to 2008/09p

reports

injuries).

Findings

Figure 8 All „electrical based‟ non-fatal accidents in each HSE sector

Table 7 All „electrical based‟ non-fatal accidents in each HSE sector between 1996/97 and 2008/09p

Category Major Injury Over-3-day Injury Grand Total

Engineering and utilities 7,287 32,948 40,235

Construction 6,801 13,091 19,892

Food & Entertainment 3,329 12,984 16,313

Services 1,495 5,961 7,456

Fibres & Polymers 487 1,672 2,159

Metals & Minerals 495 1,516 2,011

CHID 153 550 703

Agriculture & wood 214 413 627

Grand Total 20,261 69,135 89,396

Figure 8 and Table 7 show that the Construction HSE sector reports only the second highest

total number of non-fatal accidents with 19,892 incidents (despite having the highest fatality

level as indicated earlier). It is the Engineering and Utilities HSE sector that has the most non-

fatal accidents (40,235), double the number reported by the Construction HSE sector.

Interestingly, for major injury accidents only, both these HSE sectors have a similar number of

accidents (around 7,000).

15

Types of ‘electrical based’ accident (Accident kind map)

Key message

As can be expected, the most common type of ‘electrical based’ fatal accident relates to contact

with electricity or electrical discharge (‘Volt’), with high falls featuring but to a much smaller

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

13 -

VO

LT

07H

-H

IGH

FA

LL

07X

-F

ALL

02 -

STR

UC

K B

Y

01 -

MA

CH

INE

RY

12 -

EX

PLO

SIO

N

03 -

TR

AN

SP

OR

T

07L -

LO

W F

ALL

Fatality

1996/97 to 2008/09p

4.1.3

degree.

Findings

Figure 9 Top eight types of „electrical based‟ accident leading to fatal injuries

Table 8 All types of „electrical based‟ accident leading to fatal injuries between 1996/97 and 2008/09p

Category Fatalities

13 - VOLT 168

07H - HIGH FALL 37

07X - FALL 12

02 - STRUCK BY 11

01 - MACHINERY 10

12 - EXPLOSION 9

03 - TRANSPORT 7

07L - LOW FALL 6

XX - NOT KNOWN (NOT SPECIFIED) 5

08 - COLLAPSE/OVERTURN 5

15 - OTHER KIND 4

04 - STRIKE/STEP ON 4

09 - DROWNING/ASPHYX 4

10 - EXPOSURE/HOT SUB 2

05 - HANDLING/SPRAINS 1

17 - ASSAULT/VIOLENCE 1

11 - FIRE 1

Grand Total 287

16

Figure 9 and Table 8 show that contact with electricity or electrical discharge (as shown by the

‘Volt’ bar) have clearly caused the highest number of fatalities (168 constituting around 59% of

all ‘electrical based’ fatalities over the 13 year period).

The next most common type of accident associated with fatal accidents, albeit it much lower

than the ‘volt’ category, relates to high falls (37 deaths).

17

Key message

Accidents caused by contact with electricity or electrical discharge (‘Volt’) are actually the

most common type of non-fatal accident, with handling/sprains the most common,

followed by trips and being struck by objects.

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

3000005 -

HA

ND

LIN

G/S

PR

AIN

S

06 -

TR

IP

02 -

STR

UC

K B

Y

13 -

VO

LT

07L -

LO

W F

ALL

04 -

STR

IKE

/STE

P O

N

01 -

MA

CH

INE

RY

07H

-H

IGH

FA

LL

10 -

EX

PO

SU

RE

/HO

T

SU

B

Over-3-day Injury

Major Injury

1996/97 to 2008/09p

fourth

Findings

Figure 10 Top nine types of „electrical based‟ accident leading to non-fatal injuries

Table 9 All types of „electrical based‟ accident leading to non-fatal injuries between 1996/97 and 2008/09p


05 - HANDLING/SPRAINS 2,031 25,218 27,249

06 – TRIP 5,796 14,269 20,065

02 - STRUCK BY 2,307 8,006 10,313

13 – VOLT 2,085 5,379 7,464

07L - LOW FALL 2,663 3,377 6,040

04 - STRIKE/STEP ON 727 3,252 3,979

01 – MACHINERY 896 2,819 3,715

07H - HIGH FALL 1,481 957 2,438

10 - EXPOSURE/HOT SUB 557 1,587 2,144

15 - OTHER KIND 387 1,553 1,940

07X – FALL 621 928 1,549

03 – TRANSPORT 277 667 944

17 - ASSAULT/VIOLENCE 82 267 349

12 – EXPLOSION 133 198 331

11 – FIRE 60 152 212

08 - COLLAPSE/OVERTURN 74 133 207

14 – ANIMAL 14 189 203

XX - NOT KNOWN 45 154 199

09 - DROWNING/ASPHYX 25 30 55

Grand Total 20,261 69,135 89,396

Figure 10 and Table 9 show that contact with electricity or electrical discharge (shown by

‘Volt’) is the fourth most common accident kind map category (7,464 accidents) involved in

non-fatal accidents. Handling (including lifting and carrying) and sprains (including strains)

18

are the most common accident kind with 27,249 accidents. Trips (20,065) and being struck by

an object (10,313) are the next most common kinds of accident.

19

Types of ‘electrical based’ accident (Accident kind)

‘accident kind’ classification was introduced by the HSE as part of the

new Incident Contact Centre (ICC) to provide more detailed categories to classify the kind of

accidents being reported. For instance, handling and sprains was divided to include lifting,

putting down, handling, sharp objects, outward body movements and other handling activities.

This category therefore covers the last eight years up to 2008/09p (i.e. ‘post ICC’).

electricity (or electrical discharge) is the main cause of fatalities, with high falls

featuring as important but at a much lower number than electricity

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

ELE

CTR

ICIT

Y

HIG

H F

ALL

FA

LL U

NS

PE

C

EX

PLO

SIO

N

NO

IN

FO

MA

CH

INE

RY

Fatality

2001/02 to 2008/09p(post-ICC)

4.1.4

From 2001/02, a new

-

Key message

Contact with ‘ ’

and falls unspecified

accidents.

Findings

Figure 11 Top six types of „electrical based‟ accident leading to fatal injuries

Table 10 All types of „electrical based‟ accident leading to fatal injuries between 2001/02 to 2008/09 (post-ICC)

Category Fatalities

ELECTRICITY 88

HIGH FALL 21

FALL UNSPEC 10

EXPLOSION 5

NO INFO 4

MACHINERY 4

OTHER-HIT OBJECT 3

OTHER 3

FALL EQUIP 3

LOW FALL 3

FORWARD 2

OTHER-HIT FIXED 2

VEHICLE 1

20

Category Fatalities

RUNAWAY 1

PHYS ASSAULT 1

OTHER-EXPOSED TO 1

SHARP 1

HARM FAILURE 1

DROWN OTHER 1

COLLAPSE 1

Grand Total 156

Figure 11 and Table 10 show that fatalities were by far the highest for the ‘electricity’ accident

kind category (88). This further supports the view that direct contact with electricity or

electrical discharge is one of the main causes of fatal accidents.

In comparison, high falls report the second highest level albeit at a much reduced number of 21

fatalities, and falls from an unspecified height also have a reasonable number of fatalities (10).

21

Key message

caused by contact with electricity (or electrical discharge) are the third most

common type of accident leading to non-fatal injuries, and non-fatal injuries from trips over

obstructions, and lifting/putting down loads are more common.

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000TR

IP O

BS

TR

UC

T

LIF

T P

UTD

OW

N

ELE

CTR

ICIT

Y

OTH

ER

-TR

IP

OTH

ER

-HA

ND

LIN

G

LO

W F

ALL

OTH

ER

-HIT

O

BJE

CT

SH

AR

P

BO

DY

MO

VE

Over-3-day Injury

Major Injury

2001/02 to 2008/09p (post-ICC)

Accidents ‘ ’

Findings

Figure 12 Top nine types of „electrical based‟ accident leading to non-fatal injuries

Table 11 Top 30 types of accident leading to non-fatal injuries between 2001/02 and 2008/09 (post-ICC)


TRIP OBSTRUCT 1,851 3,656 5,507

LIFT PUTDOWN 186 3,716 3,902

ELECTRICITY 943 2,944 3,887

OTHER-TRIP 1,171 2,697 3,868

OTHER-HANDLING 343 2,628 2,971

LOW FALL 1,460 1,412 2,872

OTHER-HIT OBJECT 660 2,101 2,761

SHARP 348 2,298 2,646

BODYMOVE 71 2,205 2,276

PUSH PULL 200 1,557 1,757

MACHINERY 352 1,119 1,471

SLIP WET 326 997 1,323

STRUCTURE 265 1,032 1,297

OTHER 266 837 1,103

TRIP UNEVEN 300 768 1,068

HIGH FALL 685 366 1,051

CARRYING 95 816 911

HAND TOOL 153 681 834

FALL UNSPEC 357 441 798

SLIP DRY 131 359 490

UNKNOWN-TRIP 154 303 457

FALL EQUIP 96 295 391

OTHER-HIT FIXED 59 208 267

HOT COLD 28 238 266

FORWARD 77 168 245

OTHER-EXPOSED TO 74 165 239

22


FALL STRUCT 61 176 237

UNKNOWN-HANDLING 20 197 217

PHYS ASSAULT 59 152 211

EXPLOSION 82 128 210

Grand Total 10,873 34,660 45,533

Figure 12 and Table 11 show that contact with ‘electricity’ (or electrical discharge) is the third

most common type of accident leading to non-fatal injury.

Trips over obstructions (e.g. furniture, small items, work materials, boxes, and waste) are the

most prevalent kind of accident with 5,507 total non-fatal accidents.

‘Lift putdown’ (injury through lifting or putting down loads) and ‘other trip’ (slipped, tripped or

fell on the same level in another way not specified elsewhere - includes lost footing on kerb

stone/steps or on raised thresholds) are also as common as contact with electricity/electrical

discharge, with each reporting around 3,800 total non-fatal accidents.

23

‘Electrical based’ accidents by job role (Occupation)

The Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) is a means of classifying all occupations in

Great Britain. This has been subject to updates and in April 2002 the SOC 2000 was adopted.

Consequently, from 2002/03 and beyond, the occupations of those injured at work were

recorded using the SOC 2000 system. This necessitates splitting the illustration of job role to

cover 1996/97 to 2001/02 (‘pre SOC’) and 2002/03 to 2008/09p (‘post-SOC’). The section that

follows begins with the pre-SOC period.

Key message

Electric fitters have reported the highest number fatal accidents with the second highest fatal

accident level reported by electrical engineers.

Findings

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

ELE

CTR

IC F

ITTE

R

EN

GIN

E/E

LE

C

NO

T K

NO

WN

MA

INTA

IN F

ITTE

R

FA

RM

WO

RK

ER

PLU

MB

ER

/HE

ATIN

G

SC

IEN

TIF

IC/E

LE

C

ELE

CTR

IC/G

EN

ER

AT

EN

GIN

EE

R/T

EC

HN

OL

OTH

ER

BU

ILD

ING

OTH

ER

MIS

CFatality

1996/97 to 2001/02 (pre-SOC)

4.1.5

‘ ’

-

Figure 13 Top 11 „electrical based‟ occupations reporting fatal accidents

Table 12 „Electrical based‟ occupations that reported fatal accidents between 1996/97 and 2001/02 (pre-SOC)

Category Fatalities

ELECTRIC FITTER 38

ENGINE/ELEC 15

NOT KNOWN 13

MAINTAIN FITTER 8

FARM WORKER 6

PLUMBER/HEATING 6

SCIENTIFIC/ELEC 5

OTHER BUILDING 4

OTHER MISC 4

ENGINEER/TECHNOL 4

ELECTRIC/GENERAT 4

OTH ELECTRICAL 3

24

Category Fatalities

OTHER MANUAL 3

GOODS DRIVER 3

BUILDER 3

AGRIC/MANAGERS 3

OTH CONSTRUCTION 3

OTH AGRICULTURE 2

OTH/TRANS/MACH 2

ROAD CONSTRUCT 2

BUILDING LABOUR 2

CABLE JOINTER 2

FORESTRY 2

OTH MACH/PLANT 2

Grand Total 139

Figure 13 and Table 12 shows that electric fitters have the greatest number of fatal accidents

(38). The next highest fatalities are reported for electrical engineers (15), and then maintenance

fitters (8).

In order to present the data succinctly, the table only shows occupations that have reported two

or more ‘electrical based’ fatalities.

25

Key message

Similar to the fatal accident profile, electric fitters have reported the most non-fatal injuries,

with electrical engineers reporting the second highest number of non-fatal injuries.

Findings

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

14000

16000E

LE

CTR

IC F

ITTE

R

EN

GIN

E/E

LE

C

NO

T K

NO

WN

OTH

RO

UTIN

E

OP

AS

SE

MB

LY

/LIN

E

OTH

ER

MIS

C

SC

IEN

TIF

IC/E

LE

C

MA

INTA

IN F

ITTE

R

EN

GIN

EE

R/T

EC

HN

OL

OTH

ELE

CTR

ICA

L

ELE

CTR

IC/G

EN

ER

AT

Over-3-day Injury

Major Injury

1996/97 to 2001/02 (pre-SOC)

Figure 14 Top 11 „electrical based‟ occupations reporting non-fatal accidents

Table 13 Top 30 „electrical based‟ occupations that reported non-fatal accidents between 1996/97 and 2001/02 (pre-SOC)


ELECTRIC FITTER 3,362 11,576 14,938

ENGINE/ELEC 1,754 6,320 8,074

NOT KNOWN 624 2,627 3,251

OTH ROUTINE OP 370 2,202 2,572

ASSEMBLY/LINE 315 1,806 2,121

OTHER MISC 419 1,548 1,967

SCIENTIFIC/ELEC 245 944 1,189

MAINTAIN FITTER 257 882 1,139

ENGINEER/TECHNOL 250 798 1,048

OTH ELECTRICAL 273 738 1,011

ELECTRIC/GENERAT 161 585 746

OTHER MANUAL 146 572 718

OTH MACH/PLANT 80 604 684

DESPATCH CLERKS 90 474 564

METAL MACHINE OP 76 476 552

METAL MACHINING 63 414 477

GOODS DRIVER 90 378 468

CABLE JOINTER 95 357 452

ROUTINE MANUFACT 42 324 366

ROUTINE METAL 48 285 333

OTH LABOUR 64 239 303

OTH CONSTRUCTION 111 175 286

WELDERS 63 196 259

OTHER BUILDING 91 150 241

PLUMBER/HEATING 69 167 236

CLEANERS 52 167 219

26


CARPENTER/JOINER 53 150 203

OTH CRAFT/MANUAL 30 170 200

OTH PROC OP 25 168 193

OTH MACHINING 31 155 186

Grand Total 9,349 35,647 44,996

Figure 14 and Table 13 show that again, it is clear that electric fitters reported the highest

number of injuries with 14,938 total non-fatal accidents.

Electrical engineers also have a significant number of total non-fatal accidents (8,074) followed

by other routine operatives (2,572).

27

The section that follows illustrates the accidents that occurred post-SOC sorted by occupation.

Similar to the period before the introduction of SOC 2000, electric fitters reported the highest

fatality numbers by far, with a number of labourers in the construction trade not elsewhere

reporting the second highest number of fatal accidents.

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

ELE

CTR

IC F

ITTE

R

LA

BO

UR

ER

OTH

ELE

CTR

ICA

L E

NG

ELE

C E

NG

NE

C

HG

V D

RIV

ER

Fatality

2002/03 to 2008/09p (SOC 2000)

Key message

‘

classified’

Findings

Figure 15 Top 5 „electrical based‟ occupations reporting fatal accidents

Table 14 „Electrical based‟ occupations that reported fatal accidents between 2002/03 and 2008/09 (SOC 2000)

Category Fatalities

ELECTRIC FITTER 44

LABOURER OTH 10

ELECTRICAL ENG 7

ELEC ENG NEC 6

HGV DRIVER 5

CONSTRCT OPS NEC 4

PAINTER DECORATE 4

LINE REPAIRER 4

PLUMBER HEATING 3

CONSTRUCTION NEC 3

TRANSPORTOPSNEC 3

DIRCTOR CHF EXEC 3

ROUTINE OPS NEC 2

PROCES PLANT LAB 2

VIDEO AUDIO ENG 2

ELEC TECHNICIANS 2

ENG PROS NEC 2

MUSICIAN 2

Grand Total 108

28

Figure 15 and Table 14 show that similar to the results from the pre-SOC classification (as was

seen in Figure 13), electrical fitters report the greatest number of fatalities (44).

Of interest, the second highest number of reported fatal accidents (10) are reported for

‘Labourer oth’ (labourers in other construction trades n.e.c. (not elsewhere classified)), with

electrical engineers (7) and electrical engineers n.e.c. (6) reporting similar numbers.

In order to present the data succinctly, the table only shows occupations that have reported two

or more ‘electrical based’ fatalities.

29

Key message

Similar to the fatal injuries profile, electric fitters have reported the most non-fatal injuries.

Electrical engineers have the third highest number of non-fatal accidents although this is much

lower than electric fitters.

Findings

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

ELE

CTR

IC F

ITTE

R

PR

OC

ES

S O

PS

ELE

CTR

ICA

L E

NG

OTH

STO

RA

GE

HA

ND

ELE

C E

NG

NE

C

EN

G P

RO

S N

EC

SA

LE

S A

SS

ISTA

NT

ELE

C T

EC

HN

ICIA

NS

AS

SE

MB

LE

R E

LE

C

TE

LE

CO

M E

NG

INE

ER

Over-3-day Injury

Major Injury

2002/03 to 2008/09p (SOC2000)

Figure 16 Top 10 „electrical based‟ occupations that reported non-fatal accidents

Table 15 Top 30 „electrical based‟ occupations that reported non-fatal accidents between 2002/03 and 2008/09p (SOC 2000)



PROCESS OPS 440 2,751 3,191

ELECTRICAL ENG 605 1,635 2,240

OTH STORAGE HAND 285 1,642 1,927

ELEC ENG NEC 377 1,191 1,568

ENG PROS NEC 264 879 1,143

SALES ASSISTANT 229 863 1,092

ELEC TECHNICIANS 235 769 1,004

ASSEMBLER ELEC 131 772 903

TELECOM ENGINEER 155 667 822

METAL PRODUCTION 173 518 691

PLANT OPS NEC 132 524 656

ENG TECH 114 487 601

TRANSPORTOPSNEC 88 439 527

LABOURER OTH 186 325 511

CLEANER/DOMESTIC 143 358 501

ROUTINE OPS NEC 67 373 440

PLUMBER HEATING 117 307 424

HGV DRIVER 86 313 399

GEN OFFICE CLERK 108 262 370

LINE REPAIRER 75 184 259

CONSTRCT OPS NEC 107 152 259

WELDING TRADES 55 194 249

ELECTROPLATERS 67 180 247

30


CARE ASSISTANT 57 190 247

RETAIL MGR 68 147 215

CATER ASSISTANT 42 170 212

CONSTRUCTION NEC 79 132 211

NURSES 53 154 207

CARPENTER 57 146 203

Grand Total 7,879 24,373 32,252

Figure 16 and Table 15 show that the pattern is similar to the fatality picture, with electric fitters

reporting the highest numbers with 10,933 non-fatal accidents.

Process operatives report the next highest number of non-fatal accidents (3,191), followed by

electrical engineers (2,240), although these are much lower than the number reported by electric

fitters.

31

Activity occurring at the time of the ‘electrical based’ accident (Work

Process)

ICC also caused the ‘work process’ classification to change in 2001. The data

covering the pre-ICC period is presented first, followed by the post-ICC period.

Key message

Electrical activities have reported the second highest number of fatal accidents, which is slightly

lower than the number of fatalities reported by general maintenance activities.

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

GN

RL M

AIN

TN

ELE

CTR

ICA

L

NO

T K

NO

WN

DIS

T N

ETW

OR

KS

ON

-SIT

E T

RA

NS

F

GN

RL L

AB

OU

RIN

G

LO

AD

/UN

LO

AD

ING

GN

RL O

TH

INA

DE

QU

ATE

DA

TA

ELE

C D

IST G

RN

D

GN

RL S

ER

V

Fatality

1996/97 to 2000/01 (pre-ICC)

4.1.6

The new

Findings

Figure 17 Top 11 „electrical based‟ activities involved in fatal accidents

Table 16 Top 17 „electrical based‟ activities involved in fatal accidents between 1996/97 and 2000/01(pre-ICC coding system)

Category Fatalities

GNRL MAINTN 17

NOT KNOWN 13

ELECTRICAL 13

DIST NETWORKS 8

ON-SITE TRANSF 7

LOAD/UNLOADING 6

GNRL LABOURING 6

GNRL OTH 5

INADEQUATE DATA 4

ELEC DIST GRND 3

GNRL SERV 3

SURFACING 2

AERIAL SPRAYING 2

TRAVEL/DELIVER 2

PLUMBING 2

PORTABLE 2

HIGHWAY MAINTN 2

Grand Total 97

32

Figure 17 and Table 16 show that electrical work processes have the second highest number of

fatalities (13), after general maintenance (including repair, renovation, cleaning activities at

temporary locations, inspection; excluding building maintenance) with 17 fatalities.

Distribution networks (including electricity, gas, water, telecommunications and postal, meter

reading, mail collection, delivery and sorting) also have a relatively high number of fatalities

(8).

In order to present the data succinctly, the table only shows work processes that have reported

two or more ‘electrical based’ fatalities.

33

Key message

Electrical activities have actually reported the ninth highest total number of non-fatal accidents,

with transferring items on-site (moving loads, or general handling) producing the most non-fatal

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

9000

ON

-SIT

E T

RA

NS

F

GN

RL H

AN

DLIN

G

GN

RL M

AIN

TN

NO

T K

NO

WN

DIS

T N

ETW

OR

KS

LO

AD

/UN

LO

AD

ING

GN

RL O

TH

GN

RL L

AB

OU

RIN

G

ELE

CTR

ICA

L

Over-3-day Injury

Major Injury

1996/97 to 2000/01 (pre-ICC)

accidents.

Findings

Figure 18 Top nine „electrical based‟ activities involved in non-fatal accidents

Table 17 Top 30 „electrical based‟ activities involved in non-fatal accidents between 1996/97 and 2000/01(pre-ICC coding system)


ON-SITE TRANSF 1,868 6,030 7,898

GNRL HANDLING 946 6,399 7,345

GNRL MAINTN 969 2,963 3,932

NOT KNOWN 624 2,627 3,251

DIST NETWORKS 320 1,870 2,190

LOAD/UNLOADING 327 1,790 2,117

GNRL OTH 428 1,610 2,038

GNRL LABOURING 393 1,492 1,885

ELECTRICAL 642 1,092 1,734

GNRL ASSEMBLY 157 899 1,056

GNRL INSTALL ETC 296 647 943

MACHINING 133 540 673

TRAVEL/DELIVER 106 440 546

INADEQUATE DATA 80 283 363

GNRL SERV 87 219 306

FABRICATION 58 245 303

GROUND WORKS 95 126 221

CONSUMER PREMISE 33 184 217

GENERATION 46 165 211

GNRL AMENITIES 49 159 208

BT GRND WKS 28 177 205

ELEC DIST GRND 62 138 200

GNRL EXAMINATION 60 129 189

GENERAL JOBBING 65 92 157

ENGNRNG INSTALL 39 112 151

COMMISSIONING 36 107 143

34


GNRL STORING 23 117 140

GNRL PACKING 16 115 131

FINISHING PROCS 42 80 122

TOOL SETTING 17 104 121

Grand Total 8,045 30,951 38,996

Figure 18 and Table 17 clearly show that on-site transfer (including movement of persons,

patients walking, materials or part finished items between processes by pump, conveyor;

manual or mechanical means) and general handling have the highest total non-fatal accident

levels (each with over 7,300 accidents). In comparison, electrical work processes are ranked

ninth in the table (1,734).

35

Following the introduction of the ICC coding system, the following two graphs illustrate the

dominant work process for the eight years between 2001/02 to 2008/09p.

By far, electrical activities have reported the highest number of fatal accidents, with the second

greatest number of fatalities being reported for machine maintenance.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

ELE

CTR

ICA

L

MA

INTN

MA

CH

INE

S

SU

RF

AC

E T

RE

AT

PR

OD

M

AN

UF

AC

TU

RE

LO

AD

/UN

LO

AD

OTH

HA

ND

LIN

G

AG

OP

ER

ATIO

NS

LA

BO

UR

ING

NE

C

Fatality

2001/02 to 2008/09p (post-ICC)

Key message

Findings

Figure 19 Top eight „electrical based‟ activities involved in fatal accidents

Table 18 Top 19 „electrical based‟ activities involved in fatal accidents between 2001/02 and 2008/09p (post-ICC coding system)

Category Fatalities

ELECTRICAL 56

MAINTN MACHINES 20

SURFACE TREAT 12

PROD MANUFACTURE 10

LOAD/UNLOAD 7

AG OPERATIONS 6

OTH HANDLING 6

LABOURING NEC 5

STRUCTURAL ERECT 3

CLIMB/DESCEND EQ 3

LAY/REPAIR 2

SCAFFOLDING 2

SALES TO PUBLIC 2

ARBORICULTURE 2

FOUNDATION/EXCAV 2

WALK/RUN ELSE 2

POP CONCERTS 2

ROOFING 2

ROAD BUILD/REP 2

Grand Total 146

36

Figure 19 and Table 18 show that electrical activities occurring at the time of accident report the

highest fatal accident numbers (56).

In comparison, machine maintenance and surface treatment (painting, decorating, plastering,

flooring, plumbing, joinery) report 20 and 12 fatalities respectively.

In order to present the data succinctly, the table only shows work processes that have reported

two or more ‘electrical based’ fatalities.

37

Key message

the fatal accident profile, electrical activities have been involved in the highest

number of non-fatal accidents, with a similar number also found for manufacturing production

0100020003000400050006000700080009000

10000

EL

EC

TR

ICA

L

PR

OD

MA

NU

FA

CT

UR

E

MA

INT

N M

AC

HIN

ES

OT

H H

AN

DL

ING

WA

LK

/RU

N E

LS

E

CL

IMB

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SC

EN

D E

Q

LO

AD

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LO

AD

ST

OR

ING

Over-3-day Injury

Major Injury

2001/02 to 2008/09p (post-ICC)

Similar to

activities.

Findings

Figure 20 Top eight „electrical based‟ activities involved in non-fatal accidents

Table 19 Top 30 „electrical based‟ activities involved in non-fatal accidents between 2001/02 and 2008/09p (post-ICC coding system)


ELECTRICAL 2,932 6,033 8,965

PROD MANUFACTURE 1,351 6,738 8,089

MAINTN MACHINES 1,023 3,621 4,644

OTH HANDLING 626 3,630 4,256

WALK/RUN ELSE 1,079 2,687 3,766

CLIMB/DESCEND EQ 1,011 2,120 3,131

LOAD/UNLOAD 338 1,773 2,111

STORING 317 1,680 1,997

SALES TO PUBLIC 345 1,082 1,427

LABOURING NEC 294 888 1,182

SURFACE TREAT 298 747 1,045

ADMIN WORK 248 675 923

CLEAN INTERNAL 167 431 598

ENTER/LEAVE 135 331 466

SOCIAL CARE ELSE 112 314 426

VEHICLE REPAIR 87 327 414

FOOD REP 62 280 342

AMENITIES 61 266 327

WALK/RUN CARPARK 115 157 272

FOUNDATION/EXCAV 82 154 236

LAY/REPAIR 57 129 186

TEACHING 59 118 177

TRAV ON HIGHWAY 31 130 161

TRAV IN VEHICLE 44 107 151

NURSING 27 89 116

ROAD BUILD/REP 31 82 113

38


SCAFFOLDING 50 59 109

PACKING 18 91 109

STRUCTURAL ERECT 31 71 102

REFUSE DISPOSAL 17 48 65

Grand Total 11,048 34,858 45,906

Figure 20 and Table 19 show that again, electrical work processes have reported the greatest

number of non-fatal accidents (8,965).

A very similar number of non-fatal accidents are also reported for ‘Prod manufacture’

(manufacturing production associated with the industry [SIC] of the workplace for: food

products, drink, tobacco, textiles, clothing, leather, amongst others) with 8,089 total non-fatal

accidents.

Machine maintenance features again for non-fatal injuries, with the third highest number of total

non-fatal accidents (4,644).

39

Main object or movement involved in ‘electrical based’ accidents (Agent)

The new ICC also caused the ‘agent’ category to change in 2001. The data covering the pre-

ICC period is presented first, followed by the post-ICC period.

Unintentional contact with overhead lines and contact with electricity/electrical discharge report

the greatest number of fatalities.

0

5

10

15

20

25

VO

OH

LIN

ES

VO

LT

UN

KN

OW

N

VO

PLA

NT

VO

DO

ME

STIC

VO

HA

ND

TO

OL

FA

LL L

AD

DE

R-M

OV

E

VO

UG

CA

BLE

S

Fatality

1996/97 to 2000/01 (pre-ICC)

4.1.7

Key message

Findings

Figure 21 Top eight „electrical based‟ objects/movements involved in fatal accidents

Table 20 Top 16 „electrical based‟ objects/movements involved in fatal accidents between 1996/97 and 2000/01 (pre-ICC coding system)

Category Fatalities

VO OHLINES 20

VOLT 19

UNKNOWN 13

VO PLANT 11

VO DOMESTIC 6

VO UGCABLES 5

FALL LADDER-MOVE 5

VO HANDTOOL 5

STRUCK BY 3

EX TEMP 2

EFFIRE/EXPLOSION 2

FALL WORKPLAT 2

FALL OTHER 2

FALL ACCESS 2

FALL WORKAREA 2

VO SWITCH 2

Grand Total 101

40

Figure 21 and Table 20 show that ‘Vo ohlines’ (overhead lines - unintentional contact) and

‘Volt’ (contact with electricity or electrical discharge) have reported 20 and 19 fatalities

respectively.

‘Vo plant’ (industrial plant, vessels or equipment) additionally reports a high level of fatalities

(11).

In order to present the data succinctly, the table only shows main objects/movements that have

reported two or more ‘electrical based’ fatalities.

41

Key message

The picture is quite different from the fatal accident profile, with electrical contact or electrical

equipment incidents not featuring in the most common objects/movements involved in non-fatal

In fact, the most common injuries relate to moving heavy weights or strains/sprains.

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000H

S W

EIG

HT

UN

KN

OW

N

HS

AW

KW

AR

D

HS

SH

AR

P

HA

ND

LIN

G/S

PR

AIN

S

FA

LL L

AD

DE

R-M

OV

E

TR

IP

TR

IP O

BS

TR

UC

T

TR

IP S

LIP

PE

RY

Over-3-day Injury

Major Injury

1996/97 to 2000/01(pre-ICC)

accidents.

Findings

Figure 22 Top nine „electrical based‟ objects/movements involved in non-fatal accidents

Table 21 Top 30 „electrical based‟ objects/movements involved in non-fatal accidents between 1996/97 and 2000/01 (pre-ICC coding system)


HS WEIGHT 118 3,281 3,399

UNKNOWN 624 2,628 3,252

HS AWKWARD 164 2,845 3,009

HS SHARP 290 2,442 2,732

HANDLING/SPRAINS 127 2,128 2,255

FALL LADDER-MOVE 1,011 988 1,999

TRIP 465 1,321 1,786

TRIP OBSTRUCT 499 1,170 1,669

TRIP SLIPPERY 324 1,099 1,423

STRUCK BY 216 899 1,115

SB ARTICLE 236 875 1,111


VOLT 318 659 977

WI FIXED 146 823 969

FALL STAIRS 179 565 744

SB HANDTOOL 73 552 625

SB FREE FALL OBJ 141 425 566

TRIPS/FALLS 164 398 562

MACHINERY 116 427 543

VO PLANT 191 333 524

VO DOMESTIC 128 331 459

WI MOVEABLE 79 328 407

VO UGCABLES 177 215 392

SB LIFTED 101 257 358

42


SB BUILDING 70 287 357

MMT MACH 58 290 348

SB FLYING OBJECT 78 251 329

FALL ACCESS 127 197 324

HS WEIGHTL 6 303 309

VEH FLT 67 203 270

Grand Total 6,506 27,363 33,869

Figure 22 and Table 21 show that the picture is quite different to the fatal accident findings

(shown in Figure 21). Objects/movements related to sprains and strains involved in handling

objects occupy the top end of the graph. More specifically, ‘Hs weight’ (lifting or moving [inc

throwing] heavy weights) and ‘Hs awkward’ (strains or sprains etc. not involving handling or

lifting e.g. awkward movement) each report over 3,000 total non-fatal accidents.

‘Hs sharp’ (injuries or cuts from handled material including trapped fingers under item being

handled) and handling/sprains are ranked third and fourth respectively (excluding the

‘unknown’ category) based on total numbers of non-fatal accidents.

43


main agents for the eight years between 2001/02 to 2008/09p.

Key message

Other types of electricity cable (including trailing and buried in walls) and overhead lines have

been involved in the most fatal accidents since 2001/02.

0

5

10

15

20

25

OTH

ELE

C C

AB

OV

ER

HE

AD

LIN

E

UN

KN

OW

N

MO

VE

AB

LE

LA

DD

OTH

ER

EN

ER

GY

SY

S

INJD

PE

RS

ON

UG

RO

UN

D C

AB

LE

MO

TO

RS

Fatality

2001/02 to 2008/09p(post-ICC)

Findings

Figure 23 Top eight „electrical based‟ objects/movements involved in fatal accidents

Table 22 Top 22 „electrical based‟ objects/movements involved in fatal accidents between 2001/02 and 2008/09p (post-ICC coding system)

Category Fatalities

OVERHEAD LINE 20

OTH ELEC CAB 20

UNKNOWN 16

MOVEABLE LADD 12

OTHER ENERGY SYS 10

MOTORS 5

INJD PERSON 5

UGROUND CABLE 5

ROOFS 4

OTHER SURF&STRUC 3

OTHER MATS&MACH 3

OTHER CONVEY EQU 2

ELEVATING PLTFRM 2

MOB SCAFFOLD 2

ENERGY SYSTEM 2

PYLONS 2

FRAGILE ROOF 2

NOT K ENERGY SYS 2

FLOORS 2

DOMESTIC EQUI 2

44

Category Fatalities

CONVEYORS 2

MUSIC INSTRUM 2

Grand Total 125

Figure 23 and Table 22 show that overhead lines and also other electricity cables (including

trailing, buried in walls) both report 20 fatalities over this period.

In order to present the data succinctly, the table only shows main objects/movements that have

reported two or more ‘electrical based’ fatalities.

45

Key message

As with the fatal accidents profile since 2001/02, other types of electricity cable (including

trailing and buried in walls) have been involved in the greatest number of non-fatal accidents.

Findings

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000O

TH

ELE

C C

AB

OTH

ER

MA

TS

&M

AC

H

FLO

OR

S

MO

VE

AB

LE

LA

DD

INJD

PE

RS

ON

MIS

C P

OR

T C

ON

STA

IRS

STE

PS

DO

ME

STIC

EQ

UI

OTH

ER

EN

ER

GY

SY

S

OTH

ER

MA

CH

&E

QU

EN

ER

GY

SY

STE

M

Over-3-day Injury

Major Injury

2001/02 to 2008/09p (post-ICC)

Figure 24 Top 11 „electrical based‟ objects/movements involved in non-fatal accidents

Table 23 Top 30 „electrical based‟ objects/movements involved in non-fatal accidents between 2001/02 and 2008/09p (post-ICC coding system)


OTH ELEC CAB 1,707 4,229 5,936

OTHER MATS&MACH 633 3,041 3,674

FLOORS 1,074 2,373 3,447

MOVEABLE LADD 1,567 1,627 3,194

INJD PERSON 272 2,474 2,746

MISC PORT CON 247 1,754 2,001

STAIRS STEPS 564 1,248 1,812

DOMESTIC EQUI 116 1,205 1,321

OTHER ENERGY SYS 282 958 1,240

OTHER MACH&EQU 230 955 1,185

ENERGY SYSTEM 175 902 1,077

MACH COMPTS 113 842 955

DOORS WALLS 228 693 921

DRILLING 197 694 891

BUILDING MATS 209 647 856

STORAGE ACCESS 174 549 723

OTHER SURF&STRUC 188 463 651

CUTTING 71 529 600

FURNITURE 100 483 583

WATER 120 408 528

HAND TRUCKS 80 444 524

VEH COMPTS 112 401 513

MACHINED PRTS 48 358 406

UGROUND CABLE 145 253 398

STRETCH WATER 115 268 383

FLT 109 252 361

SUB NO RISK 59 276 335

46


OFFICE EQUIP 30 278 308

UNKNOWN 75 226 301

MOTORS 68 215 283

Grand Total 9,108 29,045 38,153

Figure 24 and Table 23 confirm the significance of other types of electricity cable (including

trailing and buried in walls), which by far, reports the greatest number of total non-fatal

accidents (5,936).

47

4.1.8 ‘Electrical based’ accident/injury by age

Key message

Fatal accidents are highest for those aged between 25 and 34 and those between 40 and 54.

Findings

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Fatality

1996/97 to 2008/09p

Figure 25 ‘Electrical based‟ fatal accidents by age groups

Figure 25 shows the fatal accidents covering the 13 years, and suggests that those aged 25 to 34 and also those aged 40 to 54 have had the greatest number of fatal accidents (between 32 and 34 deaths).

It should be noted that since these figures reflect frequencies and not rates, it is not necessarily

the case that these age groups are the most at risk.

48

Key message

There is a gradual increase in the total non-fatal injuries from the 16 to 19 age group through to

a peak in the 35 to 39 age group, steadily decreasing thereafter. Major injury levels remain

relatively consistent from ages 20 through to 54.

Findings

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

Over-3-day Injury

Major Injury

1996/97 to 2008/09p

Figure 26 ‘Electrical based‟ non-fatal accidents by age groups

Table 24 „Electrical based‟ non-fatal accidents by age groups between 1996/97 to 2008/09p


01 - 15 5 7 12

16 - 19 963 2,837 3,800

20 - 24 1,982 6,385 8,367

25 - 29 2,236 7,530 9,766

30 - 34 2,287 8,341 10,628

35 - 39 2,264 8,622 10,886

40 - 44 2,013 8,138 10,151

45 - 49 2,019 7,702 9,721

50 - 54 2,016 6,809 8,825

55 - 59 1,679 5,035 6,714

60 - 64 875 2,561 3,436

65+ 144 213 357

NOT KNOWN 1,778 4,955 6,733

Grand Total 20,261 69,135 89,396

Figure 26 and Table 24 show that for total non-fatal injuries, accidents progressively increase

from the 16 to 19 age group (3,800 accidents) to a peak in the 35 to 39 age group (10,886

accidents), and then gradually decreases with each subsequent age group.

For major injuries only, age groups from 20 to 24 through to 50 to 54 each appear to have a

similar number of accidents (around 2,000).

49

5. MAIN ANALYSIS OF THE ‘ELECTRICITY-RELATED’

ACCIDENT DATA

5.1 INTRODUCTION

This chapter completes the analyses to address Objective 2, which is to:



This chapter presents the analyses of the full electricity-related data set, termed the ‘all related’

data set. This is defined by electricity -related RIDDOR categories as well as those accidents

where their associated narratives (i.e. notifier comments / investigation reports) contain

electricity-related keywords (see Appendix 1 for a list of the keywords). As such, the data set

contains accidents directly related to electricity, as well as those that are related to electricity,

but where contact with electricity was not the main cause. Examples of these accidents include,

tripping over electrical wiring, battery acid burns, injury from power tool use, asphyxiation

from smoke generated from electrical faults, etc.

Table 25 highlights the column of data that is analysed and presented in this chapter. It

indicates that 40% of all fatal accidents (across all industries) could have some connection with

electricity. For example, they may be due to direct contact with electricity, or in other cases due

to instances where electricity is not the primary cause but is in some way connected to the

accident.



Accident

source:

Accident

outcome:

All accidents

in all

industries


with electricity



(including direct

contact)


‘All related’


electrical based)


Fatal injury 2,997 168 (6%) 287 (10%) 1,201 40%) (

Major injury 376,594 2,085 (1%) 20,261 (5%) 47,788 13%) (

Over-3-day

injury

1,591,332 5,379 (<1%) 69,135 (4%) 138,251 (9%)

Total 1,970,923 7,632 (<1%) 89,683 (5%) 187,240 10%) (


It is advised that some caution should be exercised when interpreting the figures for the ‘all

related’ data set, as this data set does contain a number of accidents that are only indirectly

related to electricity. It is therefore recommended that any HSE policy development work is

primarily based upon the ‘directcontact’ and ‘electrical related’ data sets, as these contain accidents assigned electricity-related RIDDOR codes only.

50

Yearly trends in ‘all related’ accidents (HSE year)

Key message

A fluctuating picture in the fatal accident levels, with a peak occurring in 2007/08, although

accidents do provisionally decrease dramatically in the following year.

Findings

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

96/97 97/98 98/99 99/00 00/01 01/02 02/03 03/04 04/05 05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09P

Fatality

1996/97 to 2008/09p

5.1.1

Figure 27 „All related‟ fatal accidents

Table 26 „All related‟ fatal accidents between 1996/97 and 2008/09p

HSE year Fatalities

96/97 78

97/98 102

98/99 101

99/00 89

00/01 113

01/02 110

02/03 77

03/04 90

04/05 84

05/06 76

06/07 117

07/08 136

08/09P 28

Grand Total 1,201

Figure 27 and Table 26 show that the pattern of fatalities has fluctuated from year to year. It is

important to note that the time from 1996/97 to 2000/01 should not be directly compared to the

time from 2001/02 to 2008/09p. This is due to the introduction of notifier comments in 2001,

which required the notifier to describe the accident. As the ‘all related’ data set contains

accidents with an electricity related keyword in their notifier comment, it is expected that from

51

2001/02 the ‘all related’ accident data set would contain more accidents due to the introduction

of notifier comments.

From 2001/02 onwards, it can be reliably deduced that fatal accident numbers do fluctuate, and

reach a peak in 2007/08 (136) but then dramatically fall in 2008/09p. However, it should be

viewed with caution given that the figures for 2008/09 have yet to be finalised by HSE.

52

Key message

The increase in accidents from 2000/01 to 2001/02 is not due to a real increase in non-fatal

accidents, rather a result of more accidents being pulled in for analysis with the introduction of

notifier comments as part of RIDDOR. However, there real evidence of a decrease in non-fatal

accidents following 2001/02.

Findings

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

96/97 97/98 98/99 99/00 00/01 01/02 02/03 03/04 04/05 05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09P

Over-3-day Injury

Major Injury

1996/97 to 2008/09p

‘ ’

Figure 28 „All related‟ non-fatal accidents

Table 27 „All related‟ non-fatal accidents between 1996/97 and 2008/09p


96/97 2,501 7,742 10,243

97/98 2,684 7,794 10,478

98/99 2,546 7,251 9,797

99/00 2,755 7,408 10,163

00/01 2,832 7,377 10,209

01/02 4,629 14,875 19,504

02/03 4,381 13,810 18,191

03/04 4,741 13,512 18,253

04/05 4,459 12,712 17,171

05/06 4,103 12,061 16,164

06/07 4,236 11,821 16,057

07/08 4,206 11,346 15,552

08/09P 3,715 10,542 14,257

Grand Total 47,788 138,251 186,039

Figure 28 and Table 27 show ‘all related’ accidents by year. The data indicates a sharp rise in

the overall accident numbers from 2001/02 onwards. As with the fatal accidents, this can be

explained by the introduction of ICC notifier comments (and thus identification of additional

accidents and injuries from the keyword search which has been conducted on notifier

comments) producing the pattern in Figure 28 and Table 27. As such, the increase in the total

non-fatal injury bar from 2000/01 to 2001/02 is not due to increased incidence in accidents per

se.

12.130883.00\04\001R Rev 3 September 2010 53

2001/02 the ‘all related’ accident data set would contain more accidents due to the introduction

of notifier comments.

From 2001/02 onwards, it can be reliably deduced that fatal accident numbers do fluctuate, and

reach a peak in 2007/08 (136) but then dramatically fall in 2008/09p. However, it should be

viewed with caution given that the figures for 2008/09 have yet to be finalised by HSE.

52

related’ accidents classified by HSE sector (Field Operations

Directorate, FOD)

The Construction HSE sector reports the highest number of fatal accidents by far, double that of

the next highest reporting sector (Agriculture and Wood).

0

50

100

150

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250

300

350

400

450

Co

nstr

uctio

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ricu

ltu

re &

wo

od

En

gin

ee

rin

g a

nd

utilitie

s

Fo

od

& E

nte

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inm

en

t

Me

tals

& M

ine

rals

Se

rvic

es

Fib

res &

Po

lym

ers

CH

ID

Fatality

1996/97 to 2008/09p

5.1.2 ‘All

Key message

Findings

Figure 29 „All related‟ fatal accidents in each HSE sector

Table 28 „All related‟ fatal accidents in each HSE sector between 1996/97 and 2008/09p

Category Fatalities

Construction 427

Agriculture & wood 205

Engineering and utilities 180

Food & Entertainment 160

Metals & Minerals 97

Services 81

Fibres & Polymers 40

CHID 11

Grand Total 1,201

Figure 29 and Table 28 indicate that by far, the greatest number of fatal accidents have been

reported by the Construction HSE sector (427), which is double the number of the next highest

figures reported by the Agricultural and Wood HSE sector (205).

55

Key message

Engineering and Utilities HSE sector reports the highest total number of non-fatal

However, it is the Construction HSE sector that reports the highest levels of major

injury accidents.

0

10000

20000

30000

40000

50000

60000

70000

En

gin

ee

rin

g a

nd

utilitie

s

Fo

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& E

nte

rta

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t

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Po

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Me

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& M

ine

rals

Ag

ricu

ltu

re &

wo

od

CH

ID

Over-3-day Injury

Major Injury

1996/97 to 2008/09p

The

accidents.

Findings

Figure 30 „All related‟ non-fatal accidents in each HSE sector

Table 29 „All related‟ non-fatal accidents in each HSE sector between 1996/97 and 2008/09p


Engineering and utilities 11,854 45,799 57,653

Food & Entertainment 10,586 34,368 44,954

Construction 12,448 20,108 32,556

Services 5,418 21,046 26,464

Fibres & Polymers 2,650 7,418 10,068

Metals & Minerals 2,355 5,338 7,693

Agriculture & wood 2,054 3,095 5,149

CHID 423 1,079 1,502

Grand Total 47,788 138,251 186,039

Figure 30 and Table 29 show that the Engineering and Utilities HSE sector reports the highest

total number of non-fatal accidents (57,653), followed by the Food and Entertainment HSE

sector (44,954). Both have similar numbers of major injuries.

Interestingly, the Construction HSE sector has the third highest total number of non-fatal

accidents (32,556), but has the highest number of major injuries (12,448) of any HSE sector. In

effect, 38% of all non-fatal injuries reported by this HSE sector are major injury accidents.

56

‘All related’ accidents in each industry (SIC Industry Code)

Key message

Installation (and fitting) of electrical wiring is the industry reporting the fourth highest fatality

Construction of buildings and civil engineering works reports the largest number of fatal

0

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160

CO

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ION

CO

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OM

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RC

E

HIG

HW

AY

/RO

AD

ETC

Fatality

1996/97 to 2008/09p

5.1.3

level.

accidents.

Findings

Figure 31 Top 11 „all related‟ industries reporting fatal accidents

Table 30 Top 32 „all related‟ industries reporting fatal accidents between 1996/97 to 2008/09p

Category Fatalities

CONSTRUCTION BLD 142

MIXED FARMING 89

OTH CONST (SPEC) 54

INST ELEC WIRING 52

MAINT/REP M VEHS 31

ROOF COVER/FRAME 27

FREIGHT BY ROAD_OTHR 26

AGRI SERVICES 24

DEMOLITION 21

CONST COMMERCE 21

HIGHWAY/ROAD ETC 21

SEWAGE/REF DISP 19

TREAT/COAT METAL 16

FREIGHT BY ROAD_ROAD 16

OTH FAB METAL 15

PLUMBING 15

CONST DOMESTIC 15

BASIC IRON/STEEL 13

WSALE WASTE 12

CONST CIVIL ENG 12

57

Category Fatalities

RECYCLING METAL 11

CATTL/DAIRY FARM 11

OTH BUILD INSTAL 11

PAINTING/GLAZING 10

CON/CIV ENG RENT 10

GEN MECH ENGING 10

SHEEP ETC FARM 9

OTH WATER TRANSP 9

METAL STRUCTURES 9

FORESTRY/LOGGING 9

GEN PUB SERVICES 9

COLL/TREAT OTHER 9

Grand Total 758

Figure 31 and Table 30 show that ‘Inst Elec Wiring’ (installation of electrical wiring and fitting)

industries report the fourth highest number of fatal accidents (52).

‘Construction Bld’ (Construction of buildings and civil engineering works) reports the highest

number of fatal accidents (142), followed by mixed farming (89).

58

Key message

The installation (and fitting) of electrical wiring industry reported the highest number of non-

injuries, with a number of other industries related to the manufacture of electrical

components, such as insulated wire/cable and motors/generators, also featuring in the top 15

industries reporting non-fatal accidents.

Findings

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

14000

INS

T E

LE

C W

IRIN

G

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GE

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UB

SE

RV

ICE

S

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)

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ITA

LS

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C D

OM

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FR

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OTH

ELE

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QP

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LV

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/TU

BE

S

INS

WIR

E/C

AB

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ELE

C D

IST/C

ON

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BLIC

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Y

ELE

C M

OTO

R/G

EN

S

Over-3-day Injury

Major Injury

1996/97 to 2008/09p

fatal

Figure 32 Top 15 „all related‟ industries reporting non-fatal accidents

Table 31 Top 30 „all related‟ industries reporting non-fatal accidents between 1996/97 and 2008/09p


INST ELEC WIRING 4,133 7,850 11,983

CONSTRUCTION BLD 2525 3,517 6,042

TELECOMMS 847 4,929 5,776

GEN PUB SERVICES 977 4,637 5,614

RET ELEC APPLS 822 3,970 4,792

OTH CONST (SPEC) 1,796 2,680 4,476

PUBLIC HOSPITALS 686 3,453 4,139

ELEC DOM APPLS 459 3,306 3,765

FREIGHT BY ROAD_OTHR 868 2,850 3,718

OTH ELEC EQPT 536 2,331 2,867

VALVES/TUBES 515 2,288 2,803

INS WIRE/CABLE 332 2,285 2,617

ELEC DIST/CONT 394 1,952 2,346

PUBLIC SECURITY 486 1,654 2,140

ELEC MOTOR/GENS 358 1,781 2,139

MAINT/REP M VEHS 582 1,538 2,120

OTH FAB METAL 639 1,371 2,010

LAB RECRUIT/PERS 697 1,258 1,955

FIRE SERVICE 217 1,655 1,872

GEN MECH ENGING 575 1,143 1,718

OTHER PLASTIC 459 1,214 1,673

NATIONAL POST 171 1,449 1,620

ENGINE PARTS MV 314 1,259 1,573

ELEC INST/APPLS 266 1,236 1,502

RETAIL W ALC 264 1,233 1,497

59


LIGHTING EQPT 258 1,211 1,469

PLUMBING 449 949 1,398

CONST CIVIL ENG 513 876 1,389

ELEC GENERATION 251 1,040 1,291

OTHER MANUF NEC_2 278 995 1,273

Grand Total 21,667 67,910 89,577

Figure 32 and Table 31 show the largest total number of non-fatal accidents were reported in

the ‘Inst Elec Wiring’ (installation of electrical wiring and fitting) industries with 11,983

accidents over the 13 years. Around 34% of non-fatal accidents in this industry resulted in

major injury.

‘Construction Bld’ (construction of buildings and civil engineering works) records the second

largest total number of non-fatal accidents (6,042). Telecommunications has a similar level of

total non-fatal accidents (5,776).

Industries related to the manufacturer of electrical components also feature throughout top 15

industries reporting non-fatal accidents. These include:

‘Ret elec appls’ (retail sale of electrical household appliances, radio and television goods);

‘Elec dom appls’ (manufacture of electrical domestic appliances);

‘Ins wire/cable’ (manufacture of insulated wire and cable);

‘Elec dist/cont’ (manufacture of electricity distribution and control apparatus);

‘Elec motor/gens (manufacture of electric motors, generators and transformers).

60

Types of ‘all related’ accident (Accident kind)

ity or electrical discharge (‘Volt’) is the third most common type of

accident, with high falls and being struck by objects more commonly reporting fatalities.

0

50

100

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250

07H

-H

IGH

FA

LL

02 -

STR

UC

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VO

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TR

AN

SP

OR

T

01 -

MA

CH

INE

RY

08 -

CO

LLA

PS

E/O

VE

RTU

…

Fatality

1996/97 to 2008/09p

5.1.4

Key message

Contact with electric

Findings

Figure 33 Top six „all related‟ types of accident leading to fatal injuries

Table 32 Types of „all related‟ fatal accidents between 1996/97 and 2008/09p

Category Fatalities

07H - HIGH FALL 233

02 - STRUCK BY 174

13 - VOLT 168

03 - TRANSPORT 154

01 - MACHINERY 126

08 - COLLAPSE/OVERTURN 75

09 - DROWNING/ASPHYX 39

07L - LOW FALL 35

07X - FALL 33

10 - EXPOSURE/HOT SUB 29

12 - EXPLOSION 29

04 - STRIKE/STEP ON 27

XX - NOT KNOWN 22

11 - FIRE 19

15 - OTHER KIND 18

06 - TRIP 5

14 - ANIMAL 5

17 - ASSAULT/VIOLENCE 5

05 - HANDLING/SPRAINS 5

Grand Total 1,201

Figure 33 and Table 32 show that contact with electricity or electrical discharge (‘Volt) reports

the third highest fatal accident numbers (168).

61

High falls (i.e. above 2 metres) are the type of accident reporting the highest number of fatalities

(233), followed by being struck by moving, flying or falling objects (including accidents

involving powered hand tools or accidental assault such as horseplay) (174 fatalities).

62

Key message

ontact with electricity or electrical discharge (‘Volt’) is responsible for relatively few non-fatal

accidents (it is ranked seventh compared with other types of accident). Handling and sprains are

the most common type of accident.

0

10000

20000

30000

40000

50000

60000

05

-H

AN

DL

ING

/SP

RA

INS

06

-T

RIP

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01

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AC

HIN

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07

L -

LO

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AL

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IKE

/ST

EP

ON

13

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OL

T

10

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XP

OS

UR

E/H

OT

S

UB

Over-3-day Injury

Major Injury

1996/97 to 2008/09p

C

Findings

Figure 34 Top eight types of „all related‟ non-fatal accidents

Table 33 Types of „all related‟ non-fatal accidents between 1996/97 and 2008/09p


05 - HANDLING/SPRAINS 4,851 46,605 51,456

06 - TRIP 10,778 26,359 37,137

02 - STRUCK BY 6,602 17,872 24,474

01 - MACHINERY 5,843 10,694 16,537

07L - LOW FALL 5,171 5,867 11,038

04 - STRIKE/STEP ON 1,621 6,858 8,479

13 - VOLT 2,085 5,379 7,464

10 - EXPOSURE/HOT SUB 1,797 4,909 6,706

07H - HIGH FALL 3,819 1,755 5,574

15 - OTHER KIND 1,100 4,001 5,101

03 - TRANSPORT 1,214 1,991 3,205

07X - FALL 1,226 1,611 2,837

17 - ASSAULT/VIOLENCE 464 1,990 2,454

11 - FIRE 278 750 1,028

12 - EXPLOSION 295 488 783


14 - ANIMAL 113 436 549

XX - NOT KNOWN 129 270 399


Grand Total 47,788 138,251 186,039

Figure 34 and Table 33 show that handling and sprains are the most common non-fatal accident

type (51,456), followed by trips (37,137) and being struck by falling objects (24,474).

63

Contact with electricity or electrical discharge (‘Volt’) in comparison reports relatively few

accidents and is ranked seventh in terms of the total number of non-fatal accidents (7,464).

64

From 2001/02, a new ‘accident kind’ classification was introduced by HSE as part of the new

Incident Contact Centre (ICC) to provide more detailed categories to classify the kind of

accidents being reported. For instance, handling and sprains divided to include lifting, putting

sharp objects, outward body movements and other handling activities. It

covers the last eight years up to 2008/09p.

Contact with electricity or electrical discharge (‘Electricity’) is the second highest type of fatal

accident, behind high falls (over 2 metres).

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

HIG

H F

ALL

ELE

CTR

ICIT

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RW

AR

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PE

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ALL

Fatality

2001/02 to 2008/09p (post-ICC)

down, handling,

Key message

Findings

Figure 35 Top nine types of „all related‟ accident leading to fatal injuries

Table 34 Top 27 types of „all related‟ accident leading to fatal injuries between 2001/02 and 2008/09p (post-ICC coding system)

Category Fatalities

HIGH FALL 125

ELECTRICITY 88

MACHINERY 70

OTHER-HIT OBJECT 55

COLLAPSE 46

FORWARD 39

FALL EQUIP 34

FALL UNSPEC 28

LOW FALL 24

REVERSE 18

NO INFO 18

RUNAWAY 17

EXPLOSION 17

OVERTURN 16

VEHICLE 16

OTHER 12

65

Category Fatalities

UNKNOWN-VEHICLE 11

DROWN WATER 9

FIRE 9

FALL STRUCT 7

OTHER-HIT FIXED 6

OTHER-EXPOSED TO 6

PHYS ASSAULT 5

ANIMAL 5

HARM FAILURE 3

EJECTED 3

UNKNOWN-OBJECT 3

Grand Total 690

Figure 35 and Table 34 show that contact with electricity or electrical discharge (‘Electricity’)

reports the second highest fatal accident numbers (88), behind high falls (from over 2 metres)

which is the most common type of accident leading to fatal injury (125).

66

Key message

Unlike the fatality profile, non-fatal accidents classed as ‘electricity’ are much less frequent than

a range of other types of accidents such as contact with machinery, hit by objects, trips and

Findings

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

MA

CH

INE

RY

OTH

ER

-HIT

O

BJE

CT

OTH

ER

-TR

IP

TR

IP O

BS

TR

UC

T

SH

AR

P

LIF

T P

UTD

OW

N

OTH

ER

-HA

ND

LIN

G

LO

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ALL

BO

DY

MO

VE

PU

SH

PU

LL

SLIP

WE

T

OTH

ER

STR

UC

TU

RE

ELE

CTR

ICIT

Y

Over-3-day Injury

Major Injury

2001/02 to 2008/09p (post-ICC)

slips.

Figure 36 Top 14 types of „all related‟ accident leading to non-fatal injuries

Table 35 Top 30 types of „all related‟ accident leading to non-fatal injuries between 2001/02 and 2008/09p (post-ICC coding system)


MACHINERY 3,674 7,218 10,892

OTHER-HIT OBJECT 2,788 7,633 10,421

OTHER-TRIP 3,053 7,126 10,179

TRIP OBSTRUCT 3,067 6,177 9,244

SHARP 1,329 6,907 8,236

LIFT PUTDOWN 464 7,741 8,205

OTHER-HANDLING 1,037 7,035 8,072

LOW FALL 3,722 3,761 7,483

BODYMOVE 175 5,257 5,432

PUSH PULL 576 4,416 4,992

SLIP WET 1,146 3,331 4,477

OTHER 941 3,222 4,163

STRUCTURE 762 3,154 3,916

ELECTRICITY 943 2,944 3,887

HIGH FALL 2,301 970 3,271

TRIP UNEVEN 768 2,291 3,059

PHYS ASSAULT 432 1,853 2,285

FALL EQUIP 753 1,524 2,277

HAND TOOL 429 1,801 2,230

FALL UNSPEC 928 1,090 2,018

CARRYING 227 1,600 1,827

HOT COLD 167 1,477 1,644

FORWARD 507 924 1,431

SLIP DRY 384 1,038 1,422

UNKNOWN-TRIP 396 819 1,215

67


OTHER-EXPOSED TO 353 773 1,126

VEHICLE 193 906 1,099

FALL STRUCT 239 691 930

MANHAND PERS 72 800 872

HARM FAILURE 336 524 860

Grand Total 32,162 95,003 127,165

Figure 36 and Table 35 show that the ‘machinery’ accident types (contact with moving

machinery or material being machined) is the most frequent type of accident associated with

non-fatal injuries (10,892).

Very similar levels of total non-fatal accidents are found for ‘other-hit object’ (hit by a moving,

flying or falling object, which could not be specified in other categories) and ‘other trip’ (such

as lost footing on kerb stones/steps) amounting to over 10,000 accidents each.

The ‘electricity’ accident type (3,887) actually ranks 14th

in Table 35, which is quite different

from the fatality profile of this type of accident (seen in Figure 35).

68

‘All related’ accidents by job role (Occupation)

This section shows the number of ‘all related accidents split by occupation reported between

1996/97 and 2001/02 using the categories existing for that time under the pre-SOC 2000

(Standard Occupational Classification) system.

Key message

The role of electric fitters (including electricians) reported the highest number of fatal accidents,

closely followed by maintenance fitters (craft and related manual operations) and agriculture

managers (and administrators).

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

ELE

CTR

IC F

ITTE

R

MA

INTA

IN F

ITTE

R

AG

RIC

/MA

NA

GE

RS

RO

OF

ER

FA

RM

WO

RK

ER

GO

OD

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ER

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OTH

ER

MIS

C

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MA

NU

AL

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GIN

E/E

LE

C

Fatality

1996/97 to 2001/02 (pre-SOC)

5.1.5

’

Findings

Figure 37 Top 11 „all related‟ occupations reporting fatal accidents

Table 36 Top 33 „all related‟ occupations reporting fatal accidents between 1996/97 and 2001/02 (pre-SOC)

Category Fatalities

ELECTRIC FITTER 38

MAINTAIN FITTER 36

AGRIC/MANAGERS 34

ROOFER 24

FARM WORKER 23

GOODS DRIVER 21

OTH CONSTRUCTION 21

OTHER MANUAL 17

OTHER BUILDING 17

OTHER MISC 17

ENGINE/ELEC 15

OTH AGRICULTURE 14

OTH MACH/PLANT 14

UNKNOWN 13

BUILDER 12

69

Category Fatalities

CONSTRUCTION 11

VEHICLE TRADES 10

ENGINEER/TECHNOL 9

REFUSE 9

PAINTER/DECORATE 9

WELDERS 9

GENERAL MANAGERS 8

STEEL ERECTOR 7

SCAFFOLD/STEEPLE 7

CARPENTER/JOINER 7

PLUMBER/HEATING 7

ROAD CONSTRUCT 6

AG MACH DRIVER 6

DOCKS 6

FORESTRY 6

OTH ROUTINE OP 6

OTH/TRANS/MACH 6

OTH LABOUR 6

Grand Total 451

Figure 37 and Table 36 show that electric fitters (including electricians) are the group reporting

the greatest number of fatal accidents (38).

Maintenance fitters (craft and related manual operations) and agriculture managers (and

administrators) also report significant numbers of fatal accidents (36 and 34 respectively).

Electrical engineers (‘Engine/elec’) defined by RIDDOR as ‘other occupations (labouring),

mining, manufacturing and construction, agriculture’, is ranked 11th in the table (15 fatalities).

70

Key message

Electric fitters (including electricians) is the occupation that has reported the greatest number of

non-fatal accidents, nearly double that of the second highest number of accidents reported by

the ‘engine/elec’ occupation.

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

14000

16000

ELE

CTR

IC F

ITTE

R

EN

GIN

E/E

LE

C

OTH

RO

UTIN

E

OP

UN

KN

OW

N

OTH

ER

MIS

C

AS

SE

MB

LY

/LIN

E

MA

INTA

IN F

ITTE

R

EN

GIN

EE

R/T

EC

HN

OL

Over-3-day Injury

Major Injury

1996/97 to 2001/02(pre-SOC)

Findings

Figure 38 Top eight „all related‟ occupations reporting non-fatal accidents

Table 37 Top 30 „all related‟ occupations reporting non-fatal accidents between 1996/97 and 2001/02 (pre-SOC)



ENGINE/ELEC 1,754 6,320 8,074

OTH ROUTINE OP 711 2,902 3,613

UNKNOWN 624 2,627 3,251

OTHER MISC 771 2,341 3,112

ASSEMBLY/LINE 424 2,109 2,533

MAINTAIN FITTER 791 1,612 2,403

ENGINEER/TECHNOL 422 1,047 1,469

OTHER MANUAL 413 1,050 1,463

OTH MACH/PLANT 309 1,013 1,322

SCIENTIFIC/ELEC 245 944 1,189

DESPATCH CLERKS 225 940 1,165

GOODS DRIVER 324 781 1,105

OTH ELECTRICAL 273 738 1,011

METAL MACHINE OP 245 701 946

OTH LABOUR 246 687 933

METAL MACHINING 214 658 872

ELECTRIC/GENERAT 161 585 746

CARPENTER/JOINER 287 381 668

WELDERS 208 400 608

OTH FOOD DRINK 170 414 584

OTH CONSTRUCTION 317 267 584

ROUTINE MANUFACT 107 461 568

VEHICLE TRADES 169 369 538

CLEANERS 137 338 475

71


CABLE JOINTER 104 370 474

OTHER BUILDING 218 246 464

PLUMBER/HEATING 171 291 462

ROUTINE METAL 73 334 407

PACKERS 68 339 407

Grand Total 13,543 42,841 56,384

Figure 38 and Table 37 show that electrical fitters (including electricians) are the occupation

that has reported the greatest number of non-fatal accidents (14,938), a conclusion that agrees

with the fatal accident profile (as shown in Figure 37).

Interestingly, electrical engineers (‘Engine/elec’) report the second highest number of non-fatal

accidents (8,074), despite a relatively low fatality level as indicated earlier.

72

The Standard Occupation Classification (SOC 2000) was adopted from 2002/03, and therefore

the data shown below covers the period from 2002/03 to 2008/09p.

(including electricians), report the highest number of fatal accidents of any

group. A significant number of fatal accidents are also reported by the

industry, specifically labourers (in other construction trades not elsewhere

classified) and construction trades not elsewhere classified.

05

101520253035404550

ELE

CTR

IC F

ITTE

R

LA

BO

UR

ER

OTH

CO

NS

TR

UC

TIO

N

NE

C

HG

V D

RIV

ER

PR

OC

ES

S O

PS

RE

FU

SE

SA

LV

AG

E

RO

OF

TIL

ER

FA

RM

WO

RK

ER

Fatality

2002/03 to 2008/09p (SOC 2000)

Key message

Electric fitters

occupational

construction

Findings

Figure 39 Top eight „all related‟ occupations reporting fatal accidents

Table 38 Top 31 „all related‟ occupations reporting fatal accidents between 2002/03 and 2008/09p (SOC 2000)

Category Fatalities

ELECTRIC FITTER 44

LABOURER OTH 35

CONSTRUCTION NEC 28

HGV DRIVER 26

PROCESS OPS 23

REFUSE SALVAGE 21

ROOF TILER 20

FARM WORKER 20

METAL PRODUCTION 18

CONSTRCT OPS NEC 17

FARMERS 17

PLANT OPS NEC 15

TRANSPORTOPSNEC 14

CARPENTER 14

OTH STORAGE HAND 14

PLUMBER HEATING 11

ROAD CONSTRUCT 10

73

Category Fatalities

LABOURER BUILD 10

GROUNDSMEN 10

MOTOR MECHANIC 9

DIRCTOR CHF EXEC 9

SCAFFOLDER 9

WELDING TRADES 9

PAINTER DECORATE 9

ENG PROS NEC 8

FORESTRY WORKER 7

SECURTY GUARD 7

ELECTRICAL ENG 7

ELEC ENG NEC 6

OTH SERVICE MGR 6

FARM MANAGERS 6

Grand Total 459

Figure 39 and Table 38 show that electric fitters (including electricians) are the group reporting

the greatest number of fatal accidents (44) (as also reported under the pre-SOC system, shown

in Figure 37).

Construction occupations also report significant numbers of fatal accidents, with labourers (in

other construction trades not elsewhere classified) reporting 35 fatalities, and construction trades

not elsewhere classified reporting 28 fatalities.

74

Key message

Similar to the fatality profile, electrical fitters (including electricians) have reported the most

non-fatal accidents of any occupation. Electrical engineers report a number of accidents, but

these are low in comparison to electrical fitters.

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NG

Over-3-day Injury

Major Injury

2002/03 to 2008/09p (SOC 2000)

Findings

Figure 40 Top 10 „all related‟ occupations reporting non-fatal accidents

Table 39 Top 30 „all related‟ occupations reporting non-fatal accidents between 2002/03 and 2008/09p (SOC 2000)



PROCESS OPS 1,782 7,157 8,939

OTH STORAGE HAND 1,282 5,795 7,077

METAL PRODUCTION 940 2,395 3,335

SALES ASSISTANT 601 2,187 2,788

HGV DRIVER 757 1,944 2,701

ENG PROS NEC 740 1,949 2,689

PLANT OPS NEC 722 1,910 2,632

FOODDRINKTOBACCO 483 2,105 2,588

ELECTRICAL ENG 605 1,635 2,240

LABOURER OTH 863 1,242 2,105

CLEANER/DOMESTIC 507 1,471 1,978

TRANSPORTOPSNEC 433 1,537 1,970

CARPENTER 691 1,166 1,857

CARE ASSISTANT 305 1,484 1,789

PLUMBER HEATING 453 1,173 1,626

METAL MAKE/TREAT 393 1,210 1,603

POLICE OFFICER L 372 1,196 1,568

ELEC ENG NEC 377 1,191 1,568

TELECOM ENGINEER 296 1,264 1,560

ENG TECH 373 1,171 1,544

CONSTRCT OPS NEC 656 879 1,535

FIRE OFFICER 169 1,348 1,517

POSTAL WORKER 158 1,294 1,452

MOTOR MECHANIC 331 1,118 1,449

75


WELDING TRADES 432 984 1,416

CONSTRUCTION NEC 480 718 1,198

NURSES 198 962 1,160

CATER ASSISTANT 177 897 1,074

GEN OFFICE CLERK 261 791 1,052

Grand Total 19,121 57,822 76,943

Figure 40 and Table 39 show that electrical fitters (including electricians) report the most non-

fatal accidents (10,933) which correspondents to the fatality profile (as shown in Figure 39).

Process operatives (not elsewhere classified) report the second highest total non-fatal accident

levels (8,939) followed by ‘Oth storage hand’ (other goods handling and storage occupations

not elsewhere classified) which reports 7,077 total non-fatal accidents.

Electrical engineers do feature in 10th

place, but in comparison to electrical fitters report a much

lower total non-fatal accident number (2,240).

76

To provide further context, the analyses that follow provide a detailed breakdown of the kinds

of accident experienced by electric fitters across the 13 years (classified using the accident kind

Key message

of electric fitters (including electricians) are primarily due to direct contact with

or electrical discharge. Fatalities from high falls (over 2 metres) are also quite

0

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Fatality

1996/97 to 2008/09p

map).

Fatalities

electricity

significant.

Findings

Figure 41 All types of fatal accident reported by electric fitters

Figure 41 shows that the highest number of fatal accidents involve contact with electricity or

electrical discharge (i.e. the ‘Volt’ category) incurring 31 fatalities, followed by high falls with

20 fatalities.

77

In terms of the non-fatal accidents, electric fitters (including electricians) report a comparatively

of accidents related to electricity (‘Volt’), but report predominantly

handling/sprains and trips.

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T

Over-3-day Injury

Major Injury

1996/97 to 2008/09p

Key message

low number

Findings

Figure 42 Top seven types of non-fatal accident reported by electric fitters

Table 40 All types of non-fatal accident reported by electric fitters between 1996/97 and 2008/09p


05 - HANDLING/SPRAINS 619 6,835 7,454

06 - TRIP 1,650 4,258 5,908

02 - STRUCK BY 694 2,366 3,060

07L - LOW FALL 1,411 1,579 2,990

04 - STRIKE/STEP ON 254 1,005 1,259

07H - HIGH FALL 749 470 1,219

13 - VOLT 345 543 888

01 - MACHINERY 219 480 699

15 - OTHER KIND 139 522 661

07X - FALL 266 389 655

10 - EXPOSURE/HOT SUB 97 358 455

03 - TRANSPORT 75 129 204

12 - EXPLOSION 40 40 80

XX - NOT KNOWN 19 55 74

14 - ANIMAL 5 66 71


17 - ASSAULT/VIOLENCE 13 53 66

11 - FIRE 16 34 50


Grand Total 6,646 19,225 25,871

Figure 42 and Table 40 show that contact with electricity or electrical discharge (‘Volt’) is a

comparatively low (888) type of accident for electric fitters.

78

Handling and sprains make up the highest total non-fatal accident number (7,454). Trips are

also common (5,908).

It would appear that trips and low falls are responsible for the highest frequency of major

injuries for electric fitters over the 13 year time period.

79

Activity occurring at the time of the ‘all related’ accident (Work Process)

ICC also caused the ‘work process’ classification to change in 2001. The data

covering the pre-ICC period is presented first, followed by the post-ICC period.

activities have reported relatively few fatal accidents, with the largest number of

fatalities caused by general maintenance activities, and on-site transfer and loading/unloading

0

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GFatality

1996/97 to 2000/01 (pre-ICC)

5.1.6

The new

Key message

Electrical

activities.

Findings

Figure 43 Top 9 „all related‟ activities involved in fatal accidents

Table 41 Top 28 „all related‟ activities involved in fatal accidents between 1996/97 and 2000/01 (pre-ICC coding system)

Category Fatalities

GNRL MAINTN 49

ON-SITE TRANSF 32

LOAD/UNLOADING 30

GNRL OTH 23

ROOFING 21

GNRL LABOURING 17

GNRL HANDLING 13

UNKNOWN 13

ELECTRICAL 13

INADEQUATE DATA 11

STRUCTURAL ERECT 9

GENERAL JOBBING 9

DIST NETWORKS 8

DEMOLITION 7

TRAVEL/DELIVER 7

ANIMAL HANDLING 5

80

Category Fatalities

FABRICATION 5

SURFACE TREATMNT 5

CROP STORE PROCS 5

FOUND GRND WKS 5

TREE MAINTN 4

ANIMAL HOUSING 4

GNRL EXAMINATION 4

FARM MACH MAINTN 4

BUILDING MAINTN 4

STORING CROPS 4

HIGHWAY MAINTN 4

GNRL SERV 4

Grand Total 319

Figure 43 and Table 41 show that involvement of electrical activities in fatal accidents has been

relatively infrequent (13 fatalities and ranked joint seventh in the table).

The most common activities involved in fatal accidents are general maintenance (including

repair, renovation, cleaning activities at temporary locations, inspection; excluding building

maintenance) which involved 49 fatalities; on-site transfer (transfer [on site] including

movement of persons, patients walking, materials or part finished items between processes by

pump, conveyor; manual or mechanical means) which involved 32 fatalities; and

loading/unloading (30 fatalities).

81

Key message

Similar to the fatal accident profile, electrical activities have been responsible for fewer non-

fatal accidents than a range of other activities such as on-site transfer and general handling.

0

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Over-3-day Injury

Major Injury

1996/97 to 2000/01 (pre-ICC)

Findings

Figure 44 Top nine „all related‟ activities involved in non-fatal accidents

Table 42 Top 30 „all related‟ activities involved in non-fatal accidents between 1996/97 and 2000/01 (pre-ICC coding)


ON-SITE TRANSF 2,265 6,387 8,652

GNRL HANDLING 1,375 7,029 8,404

GNRL MAINTN 1,579 3,510 5,089

UNKNOWN 624 2,627 3,251

GNRL OTH 631 1,844 2,475

LOAD/UNLOADING 504 1,938 2,442

GNRL LABOURING 572 1,654 2,226

DIST NETWORKS 326 1,889 2,215

ELECTRICAL 642 1,092 1,734

GNRL ASSEMBLY 236 975 1,211

GNRL INSTALL ETC 352 683 1,035

MACHINING 278 657 935

TRAVEL/DELIVER 130 458 588

INADEQUATE DATA 117 326 443

FABRICATION 103 313 416

GNRL SERV 110 234 344

GROUND WORKS 127 140 267

GNRL AMENITIES 59 174 233

GNRL PACKING 44 187 231

GNRL EXAMINATION 89 140 229

GENERAL JOBBING 119 108 227

CONSUMER PREMISE 34 184 218

GENERATION 46 165 211

BT GRND WKS 29 178 207

ELEC DIST GRND 62 138 200

TOOL SETTING 46 136 182

FINISHING PROCS 81 91 172

ENGNRNG INSTALL 52 120 172

82


WOOD SAWING 78 93 171

GNRL STORING 39 129 168

Grand Total 10,749 33,599 44,348

Figure 44 and Table 42 show that the activities involved in non-fatal accidents are similar to the

fatal accident profile (as shown in Figure 43), whereby electrical accidents do feature (1,734

accidents and ranked ninth), but are comparatively infrequent in relation to other activities.

The activities that have been involved in the greatest total number of non-fatal accidents are

mainly on-site transfer (8,652) and general handling (8,404).

83


main activities involved in accidents (work processes) for the eight years between 2001/02 to

Electrical activities have reported the third highest number of fatal accidents, which is lower

than manufacturing production and machine maintenance.

0102030405060708090

PR

OD

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Fatality

2001/02 to 2008/09p (post-ICC)

2008/09p.

Key message

Findings

Figure 45 Top eight „all related‟ activities involved in fatal accidents

Table 43 Top 32 „all related‟ activities involved in fatal accidents between 2001/02 and 2008/09p (post-ICC coding)

Category Fatalities

PROD MANUFACTURE 79

MAINTN MACHINES 74

ELECTRICAL 56

SURFACE TREAT 45

LABOURING NEC 38

AG OPERATIONS 37

ROOFING 33

LOAD/UNLOAD 27

STRUCTURAL ERECT 19

FOUNDATION/EXCAV 19

OTH HANDLING 19

LIVESTOCK OPS 17

TRAV IN VEHICLE 16

VEHICLE REPAIR 15

CLIMB/DESCEND EQ 15

STORING 14

ROAD BUILD/REP 14

SCAFFOLDING 12

LAND MAINTENANCE 11

REFUSE SORTING 10

84

Category Fatalities

WALK/RUN ELSE 10

DEMOLITION 9

TRAV ON HIGHWAY 8

REFUSE COLLECT 8

ARBORICULTURE 7

QUARRYING 6

REFUSE DISPOSAL 6

LAY/REPAIR 6

METAL SCRAP 5

DOCK OTHER 4

ENFORCE OTHER 4

CLEAN INTERNAL 4

Grand Total 647

Figure 45 and Table 43 show that electrical activity is ranked third, based on the number of fatal

accidents reported (56).

The highest numbers of fatal accident are related to ‘Prod manufacture’ (manufacturing

production) which has 79 fatalities and machine maintenance (74 fatalities).

85

There is evidence that electrical activities have been involved in non-fatal accidents, although a

number of other activities have been involved in more accidents, in particular manufacturing

0

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Over-3-day Injury

Major Injury

2001/02 to 2008/09p (post-ICC)

Key message

production.

Findings

Figure 46 Top five activities involved in non-fatal accidents

Table 44 Top 30 activities involved in non-fatal accidents between 2001/02 and 2008/09p (post-ICC coding)


PROD MANUFACTURE 5,872 20,444 26,316

MAINTN MACHINES 3,132 9,118 12,250

OTH HANDLING 2,118 9,093 11,211

WALK/RUN ELSE 2,631 6,651 9,282

ELECTRICAL 2,932 6,033 8,965

CLIMB/DESCEND EQ 2,702 5,151 7,853

STORING 1,188 5,270 6,458

LOAD/UNLOAD 1,402 4,910 6,312

SURFACE TREAT 1,758 2,984 4,742

LABOURING NEC 1,146 2,669 3,815

SALES TO PUBLIC 841 2,779 3,620

SOCIAL CARE ELSE 438 2,313 2,751

ADMIN WORK 439 1,737 2,176

VEHICLE REPAIR 537 1,635 2,172

CLEAN INTERNAL 476 1,479 1,955

FOOD REP 220 1,375 1,595

TRAV ON HIGHWAY 188 1,167 1,355

ENTER/LEAVE 313 809 1,122

POLICE FOOT PAT 221 735 956

TRAV IN VEHICLE 297 646 943

SCAFFOLDING 441 464 905

AMENITIES 162 729 891

OTH TRAINING 152 615 767

LAND MAINTENANCE 189 566 755

TEACHING 230 506 736

WALK/RUN CARPARK 262 472 734

86


STRUCTURAL ERECT 286 415 701

ROAD BUILD/REP 177 524 701

FOUNDATION/EXCAV 279 402 681

ROOFING 350 301 651

Grand Total 31,379 91,992 123,371

Figure 46 and Table 44 show that electrical activity accounts for 8,965 non-fatal accidents and

is ranked fifth. However, the main activity associated with non-fatal accidents is manufacturing

production (26,316).

87

Main object or movement involved in ‘all related’ accidents (Agent)

The new ICC also caused the ‘agent’ classification to change in 2001. The data covering the

pre-ICC period is presented first, followed by the post-ICC period.

Key message

A range of different electrical objects/movements appear to be responsible for fatal injuries.

contact with overhead lines (‘Vo ohlines’), as well as direct contact with

electricity/electrical discharge (‘Volt’) are significant. However, falls off moveable ladders are

the most common.

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Fatality

1996/97 to 2000/01 (pre-ICC)

1996/97 to 2000/01 (pre-ICC)

5.1.7

Unintentional

Findings

Figure 47 Top nine „all related‟ objects/movements involved in fatal accidents

Table 45 Top 31 „all related‟ objects/movements involved in fatal accidents between 1996/97 and 2000/01 (pre-ICC coding system)

Category Fatalities

FALL LADDER-MOVE 21

VO OHLINES 20

VOLT 19

SB LIFTED 19

FALL FRAGILE 18

UNKNOWN 13

EFFIRE/EXPLOSION 13

SB FREE FALL OBJ 11

VO PLANT 11

VEH FLT 10

VEH TRACTOR 9

FALL ROOFEDGE 9

CMVEHICLE-OVRTRN 8

STRUCK BY 7

FALL OTHER 7

88

Category Fatalities

FALL STRUCT 7

FALL TOWER 7

SB BUILDING 7

FALL SCAFFOLD 7

AD WATER 7

AS ASPHYXIATION 6

VEH GOODS HGV 6

VO DOMESTIC 6

FALL VEHICLE_OTH 6

MLC FLT-MACH 6

VO UGCABLES 5

VO HANDTOOL 5

MAGTRCTOR-WH-MCH 5

VEH PRIVATE CAR 5

CM PLANT 5

SB ARTICLE 5

Grand Total 290

Figure 47 and Table 45 show that falls off moveable ladders (including step ladders) are the

category of object/movement responsible for most fatal injuries (21). However, electricity

related objects/movements contribute a similar number of fatal accidents, specifically ‘Vo

ohlines’ - unintentional contact overhead power lines (20) and ‘Volt’ - direct contact with

electricity/electrical discharge (19).

89

Key message

Unlike the fatal accident profile, electricity objects/movements have not been responsible to a

high degree for non-fatal accidents.

Findings

0

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3500

4000H

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EIG

HT

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IXE

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LT

Over-3-day Injury

Major Injury

1996/97 to 2000/01 (pre-ICC)

Figure 48 Top 14 „all related‟ objects/movements involved in non-fatal accidents

Table 46 Top 30 „all related‟ objects/movements involved in non-fatal accidents between 1996/97 and 2000/01 (pre-ICC coding system)


HS WEIGHT 132 3,360 3,492

UNKNOWN 624 2,628 3,252

HS AWKWARD 175 2,889 3,064

HS SHARP 392 2,618 3,010

HANDLING/SPRAINS 168 2,206 2,374

FALL LADDER-MOVE 1,253 1,059 2,312

TRIP 489 1,343 1,832

TRIP OBSTRUCT 531 1,188 1,719

TRIP SLIPPERY 343 1,121 1,464

STRUCK BY 321 1,003 1,324

SB ARTICLE 330 954 1,284


WI FIXED 179 866 1,045

VOLT 318 659 977

MACHINERY 309 639 948

FALL STAIRS 188 576 764

SB HANDTOOL 85 575 660

SB FREE FALL OBJ 195 461 656

TRIPS/FALLS 202 409 611

SB LIFTED 224 332 556

MMT MACH 149 389 538

VO PLANT 191 333 524

VO DOMESTIC 128 331 459

SB BUILDING 120 321 441

VEH FLT 158 280 438

WI MOVEABLE 90 340 430

90


SB FLYING OBJECT 117 291 408

VO UGCABLES 177 215 392

FALL ACCESS 165 219 384

EX RELEASE6 116 252 368

Grand Total 8,089 28,710 36,799

Figure 48 and Table 46 show that unlike the fatal accident profile where electricity

objects/movements were significant, they are not as responsible for non-fatal accidents.

The primary objects/movements that have contributed to non-fatal accidents are related to

handling objects and awkward movements, more specifically:

‘Hs weight’ (moving heavy weights);

‘Hs awkward’(awkward movements);

‘Hs sharp’ (injuries/cuts from handled material).

91


main objects/movements (agents) involved in accidents in the eight years between 2001/02 to

Although not the primary object/movement responsible for fatal accidents, electricity associated

made a relatively significant contribution to fatalities specifically overhead

‘Oth elec cab’ (other electricity cables including those trailing or buried in

0

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Fatality

2001/02 to 2008/09p (post-ICC)

2008/09p.

Key message

objects have –power lines and walls).

Findings

Figure 49 Top eight „all related‟ objects/movements involved in fatal accidents

Table 47 Top 32 „all related‟ objects/movements involved in fatal accidents between 2001/02 and 2008/09p (post-ICC coding)

Category Fatalities

NO INFO 45

FLT 33

MOVEABLE LADD 28

OTHER HGV 27

ROOFS 25

WHEEL TRACTOR 20

OVERHEAD LINE 20

OTH ELEC CAB 20

OTHER MACH&EQU 19

FRAGILE ROOF 15

MOB SCAFFOLD 15

EXCAVATOR 14

BUILDING MATS 13

OTHER MATS&MACH 13

OTHER SURF&STRUC 12

INJD PERSON 12

92

Category Fatalities

FIXD SCAFFOLD 11

CAR 11

SKYLIGHTS 10

DOORS WALLS 10

TREE PLANT 10

OTHER ENERGY SYS 10

MOTORS 10

OTHER VEHICLE 10

FLOORS 9

VEH COMPTS 8

PRESS COMPACT 8

REFUSE 7

NOT K MACH&EQU 7

CONVEYORS 7

TOWER CRANE 7

OTHER CRANE 7

Grand Total 473

Figure 49 and Table 47 show that forklift trucks have been responsible for the greatest number

of fatal accidents (33), followed closely by moveable ladders (28) and other heavy goods

vehicles (27).

Contributing to a much lower incidence of fatal accidents, but associated with electricity are

overhead power lines and ‘Oth elec cab’ (other electricity cables including those trailing or

buried in walls) which are each responsible for 20 fatalities and ranked joint sixth.

93

Key message

Other electricity cables including those trailing or buried in walls reports the fourth highest level

accidents, with other materials and machines, floors (including pavements and

roads) and the injured person themselves contributing to most non-fatal accidents.

0

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14000

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ER

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&E

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Over-3-day Injury

Major Injury

2001/02 to 2008/09p (post-ICC)

of non-fatal

Findings

Figure 50 Top six „all related‟ objects/movements involved in non-fatal accidents

Table 48 Top 30 „all related‟ objects/movements involved in non-fatal accidents between 2001/02 and 2008/09p (post-ICC coding)


OTHER MATS&MACH 2,327 9,192 11,519

FLOORS 2,948 6,843 9,791

INJD PERSON 743 6,220 6,963

OTH ELEC CAB 1,707 4,229 5,936

MOVEABLE LADD 3,078 2,825 5,903

OTHER MACH&EQU 1,551 3,876 5,427

MISC PORT CON 721 4,603 5,324

STAIRS STEPS 1,454 3,277 4,731

MACH COMPTS 639 2,715 3,354

DOORS WALLS 708 2,414 3,122

VEH COMPTS 606 2,409 3,015

BUILDING MATS 788 2,022 2,810

HAND TRUCKS 419 2,047 2,466

WATER 484 1,700 2,184

STORAGE ACCESS 453 1,661 2,114

OTHER SURF&STRUC 621 1,346 1,967

PERS REC CARE 221 1,684 1,905

DRILLING 413 1,457 1,870

FLT 663 1,204 1,867

FURNITURE 360 1,502 1,862

DOMESTIC EQUI 163 1,681 1,844

CUTTING 220 1,484 1,704

MACHINED PRTS 241 1,130 1,371

MOB SCAFFOLD 717 632 1,349

PERS NK TO EM 275 1,068 1,343

94


SUB NO RISK 235 1,074 1,309

CONVEYORS 387 911 1,298

OTHER ENERGY SYS 282 958 1,240

STRETCH WATER 344 744 1,088

ENERGY SYSTEM 175 902 1,077

Grand Total 23,943 73,810 97,753

Figure 50 and Table 48 show that the main objects/movements responsible for the greatest

number of non-fatal accidents are other materials and machinery (‘other’ indicating ‘other

known not in list’) with 11,519 accidents.

Floors (including pavements and roads) have contributed to 9,791 total non-fatal accidents,

followed by the injured person themselves (6,963). Ranked fourth is other electricity cables

including those trailing or buried in walls (5,936).

95

5.1.8 ‘All related’ accidents/injury by age

Key message

The 40 to 44 age group, and those aged 50 to 59 have reported the highest numbers of fatal

accidents.

Findings

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

Fatality

1996/97 to 2008/09p

Figure 51 „All related‟ fatal accidents by age groups

Table 49 „All related‟ fatal accidents by age groups between 1996/97 to 2008/09p

Category Fatalities

01 - 15 2

16 - 19 31

20 - 24 89

25 - 29 93

30 - 34 108

35 - 39 112

40 - 44 137

45 - 49 115

50 - 54 145

55 - 59 139

60 - 64 108

65+ 60

NOT KNOWN 62

Grand Total 1,201

Figure 51 and Table 49 show the fatality pattern for the 13 years whereby those aged 40 to 44,

and 50 to 59 have recorded the greatest number of fatalities (137 or more in each case).

It should be noted that since these figures reflect frequencies and not rates, it is not necessarily

the case that these age groups are the most at risk.

96

Key message

Increasing numbers of non-fatal injuries from around 16 years until around 35 to 39 years of

age, with subsequent decrease in accidents thereafter.

Findings

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

Over-3-day Injury

Major Injury

1996/97 to 2008/09p

Figure 52 „All related‟ non-fatal accidents by age groups

Table 50 „All related‟ non-fatal accidents by age groups between 1996/97 to 2008/09p


01 - 15 26 23 49

16 - 19 2,112 5,331 7,443

20 - 24 4,315 12,258 16,573

25 - 29 4,859 14,259 19,118

30 - 34 5,257 16,298 21,555

35 - 39 5,331 17,599 22,930

40 - 44 5,013 16,722 21,735

45 - 49 4,821 15,270 20,091

50 - 54 4,766 13,346 18,112

55 - 59 4,055 10,294 14,349

60 - 64 2,263 5,387 7,650

65+ 435 501 936

NOT KNOWN 4,535 10,963 15,498

Grand Total 47,788 138,251 186,039

Figure 52 and Table 50 show non-fatal injuries increase from the 16 to 19 age group (7,443

incidents) to a peak in the 35 to 39 age group (22,930 incidents), then slowly decrease thereafter

for the remaining age groups.

In terms of major injuries only, from 20 to 24 through to 55 to 59 there are over 4,000 reported

accidents in each age group.

97

Employment status of injured persons

Key message

Around three-quarters of those who had fatal accidents were classed as ‘employees’, with a

much smaller proportion of fatal accidents in those classed as ‘self-employed’.

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

1000

EMPLOYEE SELF EMPLOYED

EMPLOYED BY OTHER

TRAINEE WORK EXPERIENCE

Fatality

1996/97 to 2008/09p

5.1.9

Findings

Figure 53 „All related‟ fatal accidents by employment status

Table 51 „All related‟ fatal accidents by employment status between 1996/97 and 2008/09p

Category Fatalities

EMPLOYEE 924

SELF EMPLOYED 250

EMPLOYED BY OTHER 17

TRAINEE 9

WORK EXPERIENCE 1

Grand Total 1,201

Figure 53 and Table 51 show that ‘employees’ accounted for 924 fatalities (77% of all fatal

accidents). In contrast, the self-employed had significantly fewer fatal accidents with 250 (21%

of all fatal accidents).

98

Key message

Nearly all non-fatal accidents have involved those classed as ‘employees’, with around a quarter

of these accidents defined as major injury accidents.

Findings

0

20000

40000

60000

80000

100000

120000

140000

160000

180000

200000

EMPLOYEE SELF EMPLOYED

TRAINEE EMPLOYED BY OTHER

WORK EXPERIENCE

Over-3-day Injury

Major Injury

1996/97 to 2008/09p

Figure 54 „All related‟ non-fatal accidents by employment status

Table 52 „All related‟ non-fatal accidents by employment status between 1996/97 and 2008/09p


EMPLOYEE 45,015 135,884 180,899

SELF EMPLOYED 2,454 1,741 4,195

TRAINEE 227 447 674

EMPLOYED BY OTHER 54 99 153

WORK EXPERIENCE 38 80 118

Grand Total 47,788 138,251 186,039

Figure 54 and Table 52 show that nearly all accidents (180,899) have occurred to those classed

as an ‘employee’ (97% of all non-fatal accidents). In addition, 25% of these accidents are

classed as major. The ‘self-employed’ have comparatively a much smaller number of total non-

fatal accidents (4,195), but over half of these accidents (58%) are major injury accidents.

However, despite this seemingly clear trend, some caution must be exercised when interpreting

these figures. ‘Employees’ are far more likely to report non-fatal accidents (it is likely to be

required by their employers) than the ‘self-employed’. This therefore is likely to have affected

the non-fatal accident trend. This is also different to fatal accidents, which will always be

reported eventually regardless of employment status.

99

Accident/injury by month

Key message

The highest number of fatal accidents were reported for August, although January, and June

through to November, also reported high levels of fatal accidents.

Findings

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Fatality

1996/97 to 2008/09p

5.1.10

Figure 55 Monthly pattern of „all related‟ fatal accidents

Table 53 Monthly pattern of „all related‟ fatal accidents between 1996/97 and 2008/09p

Category Fatalities

Jan 105

Feb 79

Mar 87

Apr 89

May 95

Jun 112

Jul 108

Aug 130

Sep 107

Oct 107

Nov 105

Dec 77

Grand Total 1,201

Figure 55 and Table 53 show that the highest number of fatalities occurred in August (130). A

high number of fatalities are also recorded for January, and for the months June through to

November (each month reporting more than 100 fatalities).

100

Key message

Most non-fatal accidents have been reported in January, June, July and September to November.

December appears to be the month that has the lowest total number of non-fatal accidents.

Findings

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

14000

16000

18000

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Over-3-day Injury

Major Injury

1996/97 to 2008/09p

Figure 56 Monthly pattern of „all related‟ non-fatal accidents

Table 54 Monthly pattern of „all related‟ non-fatal accidents between 1996/97 and 2008/09p


Jan 3,957 12,051 16,008

Feb 3,939 11,532 15,471

Mar 3,905 11,362 15,267

Apr 3,839 11,074 14,913

May 4,005 11,196 15,201

Jun 3,946 12,201 16,147

Jul 4,268 12,424 16,692

Aug 3,985 11,563 15,548

Sep 4,141 11,986 16,127

Oct 4,379 12,561 16,940

Nov 4,207 12,099 16,306

Dec 3,217 8,202 11,419

Grand Total 47,788 138,251 186,039

Figure 56 and Table 54 show that 16,008 total non-fatal accidents have been reported in

January, and similar numbers in the months June and July, and the months from September

through to November. It is also clear that total non-fatal accidents are the lowest in December

(11,419).

Major injuries amount to around 4,000 accidents in every month except December where it is

3,217.

101

ll related’ types of injury

Fatal injuries from loss of consciousness and shock etc. due to contact with electrical sources

have reported the fourth highest number of fatalities.

0

50

100

150

200

250O

TH

ER

N/K

MU

LT

IPL

E

OT

HE

R K

NO

WN

EL

EC

TR

ICIT

Y

FR

AC

TU

RE

CO

NC

US

S/IN

TE

RN

AL

Fatality

1996/97 to 2008/09p

5.1.11 ‘A

Key message

(‘Electricity’)

Findings

Figure 57 Top six „all related‟ fatal accidents by injury type

Table 55 „All related‟ fatal accidents by injury type between 1996/97 and 2008/09p

Category Fatalities

OTHER N/K 210

MULTIPLE 192

OTHER KNOWN 164

ELECTRICITY 145

FRACTURE 145

CONCUSS/INTERNAL 130

CONTUSION 71

ASPHYXIATION 59

BURN 54

LACERATION 15

NATURAL CAUSE 5

AMPUTATION 5

STRAIN 3

SUPERFICIAL 2

(blank) 1

Grand Total 1,201

Figure 57 and Table 55 show that a significant number of fatal injuries have been reported for

the ‘electricity’ category (loss of consciousness, shock etc. from electricity or electrical

appliances) with 145 fatalities and ranking joint fourth in the table.

102

Key message

Non-fatal accidents from electricity injuries are much less frequent than injuries such as strains

and fractures.

Findings

0

10000

20000

30000

40000

50000

60000

STR

AIN

FR

AC

TU

RE

CO

NTU

SIO

N

LA

CE

RA

TIO

N

SU

PE

RF

ICIA

L

BU

RN

MU

LTIP

LE

ELE

CTR

ICIT

Y

Over-3-day Injury

Major Injury

1996/97 to 2008/09p

Figure 58 Top eight „all related‟ fatal accidents by injury type

Table 56 „All related‟ non-fatal accidents by injury type between 1996/97 and 2008/09p


STRAIN 471 53,083 53,554

FRACTURE 29,549 7,620 37,169

CONTUSION 1,341 24,609 25,950

LACERATION 3,298 18,161 21,459

SUPERFICIAL 870 10,870 11,740

BURN 2,450 6,565 9,015

MULTIPLE 1,470 6,663 8,133

ELECTRICITY 1,045 3,138 4,183

OTHER KNOWN 603 3,443 4,046

AMPUTATION 3,233 1 3,234

OTHER N/K 386 2,142 2,528

DISLOCATION 1,670 556 2,226

CONCUSS/INTERNAL 560 797 1,357

ASPHYXIATION 547 545 1,092

LOSS OF SIGHT 273 16 289

NATURAL CAUSE 22 42 64

Grand Total 47,788 138,251 186,039

Figure 58 and Table 56 show that the main non-fatal injuries reported have been strains

(53,554), followed by fractures (37,169) and contusions (25,950). ‘Electricity’ non-fatal

injuries are comparatively low (4,183).

103

5.1.12 Accidents by region

Key message

The ‘East and South East’ region reports the highest fatal accident numbers followed closely by

the ‘Midlands’.

Findings

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

Ea

st a

nd

So

uth

Ea

st

Mid

lan

ds

Wa

les a

nd

So

uth

We

st

Yo

rksh

ire

an

d N

ort

h E

ast

Sco

tla

nd

No

rth

We

st

Lo

nd

on

Fatality

1996/97 to 2008/09p

Figure 59 „All related‟ fatal accidents reported by region

Table 57 „All related‟ fatal accidents reported by region between 1996/97 and 2008/09p

Category Fatalities

East and South East 243

Midlands 222

Wales and South West 190

Yorkshire and North East 161

Scotland 159

North West 130

London 96

Grand Total 1,201

Figure 59 and Table 57 show that the ‘East and South East’ has the highest total number of fatal

accidents (243). The ‘Midlands’ has the second highest numbers of fatalities (222) followed by

‘Wales and South West’ (190).

104

Key message

Similarly to the fatality profile, the ‘East and South East’ and the ‘Midlands’ report the highest

total number of non-fatal accidents.

Findings

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

35000

40000

East and

So

uth

East

Mid

land

s

Yo

rkshire a

nd

No

rth

East

Wale

s a

nd

So

uth

West

No

rth W

est

Lo

nd

on

Sco

tland

NA

Over-3-day Injury

Major Injury

1996/97 to 2008/09p

Figure 60 „All related‟ non-fatal accidents reported by region

Table 58 „All related‟ non-fatal accidents reported by region between 1996/97 and 2008/09p


East and South East 9,278 27,352 36,630

Midlands 9,134 26,057 35,191

Yorkshire and North East 7,658 22,107 29,765

Wales and South West 6,660 19,282 25,942

North West 5,814 17,480 23,294

London 4,471 13,640 18,111

Scotland 4,771 12,328 17,099

NA 2 5 7

Grand Total 47,788 138,251 186,039

Figure 60 and Table 58 is similar to the fatality profile (as shown in Figure 59) where the

highest number of non-fatal accidents are found in the ‘East and South East’ (36,630) followed

by the ‘Midlands’ (35,191).

105

Breaking down the information further into local authority level, generates the following results.

Key message

Manchester has reported the highest number of fatal accidents, with Sandwell and Birmingham

reporting the joint second highest number of fatalities.

0

5

10

15

20

25

MA

NC

HE

STE

R

SA

ND

WE

LL

BIR

MIN

GH

AM

SH

EF

FIE

LD

CA

RD

IFF

UA

BR

ISTO

L U

A

NE

ATH

+P

T T

ALB

UA

GLA

SG

OW

UA

BO

LTO

N

N L

AN

AR

KS

HIR

E U

A

CIT

Y W

ES

TM

INS

TE

R

Fatality

1996/97 to 2008/09p

Findings

Figure 61 Top 11 „all related‟ fatal accidents reported by local authority

Table 59 Top 38 „all related‟ fatal accidents reported by local authority between 1996/97 and 2008/09p

Category Fatalities

MANCHESTER 21

SANDWELL 16

BIRMINGHAM 16

SHEFFIELD 15

CARDIFF UA 14

BRISTOL UA 13

NEATH+PT TALB UA 12

GLASGOW UA 12

BOLTON 11

N LANARKSHIRE UA 11

CITY WESTMINSTER 11

ABERDEENSHIRE UA 10

POWYS UA 9

BRADFORD 9

TOWER HAMLETS 9

FIFE UA 9

BORDERS UA 9

SLOUGH UA 9

DUMF + GALWAY UA 9

ABERDEEN CITY UA 9

106

Category Fatalities

HEREFORDSHIRE UA 8

WOLVERHAMPTON 8

SEFTON 8

NE LINCS 8

DONCASTER 8

PLYMOUTH UA 8

PERTH/KINROSS UA 7

NORTH TYNESIDE 7

EDINBURGH UA 7

AYLESBURY VALE 7

HIGHLAND UA 7

MENDIP 7

STOKE ON TRENT 7

S LANARKSHIRE UA 7

WEST LANCASHIRE 7

DUDLEY 7

RENFREWSHIRE UA 7

HILLINGDON 7

Grand Total 366

Figure 61and Table 59 show that Manchester has had the highest number of fatal accidents (21).

Ranked joint second is Sandwell (a metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, lying next to

the city of Birmingham) and Birmingham (16).

107

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000B

IRM

ING

HA

M

LE

ED

S

GLA

SG

OW

UA

MA

NC

HE

STE

R

SH

EF

FIE

LD

CIT

Y W

ES

TM

INS

TE

R

BR

AD

FO

RD

LIV

ER

PO

OL

WA

KE

FIE

LD

ED

INB

UR

GH

UA

DO

NC

AS

TE

R

Over-3-day Injury

Major Injury

1996/97 to 2008/09p

Key message

Birmingham has the highest total number of non-fatal accidents, followed by Leeds and

Glasgow.

Findings

Figure 62 Top 11 „all related‟ non-fatal accidents reported by local authority

Table 60 Top 30 „all related‟ non-fatal accidents reported by local authority between 1996/97 and 2008/09p


BIRMINGHAM 955 2,781 3,736

LEEDS 791 2,214 3,005

GLASGOW UA 659 1,889 2,548

MANCHESTER 538 1,737 2,275

SHEFFIELD 618 1,485 2,103

CITY WESTMINSTER 542 1,278 1,820

BRADFORD 429 1,236 1,665

LIVERPOOL 381 1,240 1,621

WAKEFIELD 331 1,239 1,570

EDINBURGH UA 383 1,085 1,468

DONCASTER 305 1,157 1,462

FIFE UA 335 1,109 1,444

SUNDERLAND 317 1,018 1,335

SANDWELL 350 967 1,317

BRISTOL UA 330 956 1,286

NOTTINGHAM UA 276 970 1,246

KIRKLEES 355 891 1,246

HILLINGDON 238 995 1,233

STOKE ON TRENT 318 877 1,195

CARDIFF UA 327 860 1,187

NEWCASTLE N TYNE 255 913 1,168

ROTHERHAM 271 861 1,132

N LANARKSHIRE UA 303 809 1,112

HULL CITY UA 282 828 1,110

ABERDEEN CITY UA 359 710 1,069

COVENTRY 272 782 1,054

108


NEWPORT UA 305 744 1,049

GATESHEAD 238 789 1,027

WIGAN 211 783 994

S LANARKSHIRE UA 260 734 994

Grand Total 11,534 33,937 45,471

Figure 62 and Table 60 show that the highest number of total non-fatal accidents have been

reported by Birmingham (3,736), followed by Leeds (3,005) and then Glasgow (2,548).

Manchester has the fourth highest total number of non-fatal accidents (2,275) but as seen earlier

(as shown in Figure 61) it records the highest fatality level of any local authority.

Interestingly, Sandwell may have the same fatal accident level as Birmingham (as shown in

Figure 61), but in terms of total non-fatal accidents, Sandwell (1,317) has less than half of the

number of accidents reported by Birmingham and is ranked 14th in Table 60.

109

6. CONCLUSIONS

In relation to the initial project objectives, the following conclusions can be drawn from the

work undertaken in this research to:

Objective 1: Develop an electricity-related accident data set from ‘supply to switch’

to provide a baseline for measuring improvements across a range of

industry sectors.

1. A data set containing electricity-related accidents was created using workplace

accidents reported via the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences

Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR).

2. The main data set contained reported accidents that were assigned an electricity-

related RIDDOR code, as well as those that were indirectly related to electricity as

their associated narrative included an electricity-related keyword. This provided the

HSE team with a broader insight into where electrical incidents are occurring and how

working with other HSE programmes (e.g. the falls team) may assist in targeting

electricity-related accidents.

3. In order to provide the HSE team with a clearer picture of electricity related accidents,

the main data set was developed into two further subsidiary data sets. In total, this

equated to three separate data sets, defined as follows:

Data set 1: ‘Direct contact’ with electricity – this data set was defined

purely by the RIDDOR accident kind categories ‘Electricity’ and ‘Volt’ (i.e.

it only included accidents reported as being either an ‘Electricity’ or ‘Volt’

accident type).

Data set 2: ‘Electrical based’ (including ‘direct contact’) – this larger data

set contained the ‘direct contact’ data set, as well as accidents reported under

other electricity-related RIDDOR categories (e.g. industries such as

electricity production, installation of wiring/fitting, manufacturing of

electrical appliances; occupations such as electrical engineers, electroplaters,

etc.).

Data set 3: ‘All related’ accidents (including ‘electrical based’) – this was

the full data set, containing the ‘electrical based’ data set (i.e. all accidents

assigned an electricity-related RIDDOR code) and accidents brought in

because their associated accident narrative (i.e. the notifier comment or

investigation report) contained an electricity related keyword (e.g. ‘spark’,

‘plug’, ‘socket’, etc.).

4. The ‘direct contact’ data set contained 7,632 reported accidents, of which 168 were

fatal injuries (accounting for 6% of fatal accidents across all industries). The

110

‘electrical based’ data set contained 287 fatal injuries, accounting for 10% of fatal

accidents across all industries and the ‘all related’ data set contained 1,201 fatal

injuries, accounting for 40% of fatal accidents across all industries. However, caution

should be exercised when interpreting the figures for the ‘all related’ data set, as this

data set does contain a number of accidents that are only indirectly related to

electricity.

5. There were also some limitations to the ‘all related’ data set as there was such high

reliance upon the quality of the text contained within notifier comments and

investigation reports. There were also limitations with the HSE’s RIDDOR data,

particularly due to changes in coding within certain RIDDOR fields during the 13-year

period.

Objective 2: Analyse the electricity-related accident data to gain an insight into what

type of accidents occur, who was involved in them and what they were

doing at the time.

‘DIRECT CONTACT’ WITH ELECTRICITY ACCIDENTS

6. 6% of all fatalities (168 deaths) over the 13 year period 1996/97 to 2008/09p, across

all industries may be due to direct contact with electricity or electrical shock (see

Table 2).

7. There is a fluctuating picture in the number of fatal accidents over the 13 year period

1996/97 to 2008/09p with a peak of 18 fatalities in 1999/2000 (see Figure 3).

8. Non-fatal injuries have steadily decreased since 1996/97 (from 746 total accidents to

424 by 2008/09p) (see Figure 4).

9. Overall, this means an average of 13 fatalities per year from 1996/97 to 2008/09p have

been caused by direct contact with electricity. Provisional data suggests that in

2008/09p there were 6 fatalities, which is the lowest number over the 13 years.

‘ELECTRICAL BASED’ ACCIDENTS

10. 10% of all fatalities (287 deaths) over the 13 year period 1996/97 to 2008/09p, across

all industries may be linked to ‘electrical based’ accidents (see Table 4).

11. Overall, this means in all electrical based work activity from 1996/97 to 2008/09p,

there has been an average of 22 fatalities per year (i.e. accidents appearing under an

electrical RIDDOR category). Provisional data suggests that in 2008/09p there were

11 fatalities, which is the lowest number over the 13 years. As noted earlier, around

13 fatalities per year are due to direct contact with electricity, and additionally an

average of around 4 fatalities per year are due to falls (both high and other types of

falls).

111


12. For fatalities, a fluctuating picture is evident over the 13 year period 1996/97 to

2008/09p with a peak of 34 fatalities in 1996/97 and reaching a provisional low of 11

by 2008/09p (see Figure 5).

13. For non-fatal accidents, a clearer and encouraging steady decrease in accidents is

evident from 1996/97 to 2008/09p (see Figure 6).


14. From 1996/97 to 2008/09p, fatalities are highest for the Construction HSE sector (127

fatal accidents), with the Engineering and Utilities HSE sector recording the most non-

fatal accidents (40,235) (see Figure 7 and Figure 8).


15. Over the full 13 year period 1996/97 to 2008/09p, contact with electricity or electrical

discharge is the type of accident most frequently causing fatalities (168). In terms of

non-fatal accidents, contact with electricity is relatively common (ranked fourth

highest, 7,464) but it is handling/sprains (27,249) and trips (20,065) that are far more

common (see Figure 9 and Figure 10).

16. Focusing only on more recent years (from 2001/02 to 2008/09p), a more detailed

classification of the data verifies that contact with electricity or electrical discharge is

the main cause of fatalities (88). For non-fatal accidents, contact with electricity or

electrical discharge is a common cause (ranked third highest, 3,887), but there are

significant numbers of non-fatal injuries from tripping over obstructions (5,507) and

lifting/putting down loads (3,902) (see Figure 11and Figure 12).


17. From 1996/97 to 2001/02, electric fitters (including electricians) reported the most

fatalities (38) followed by electrical engineers (15). Similarly, they both report the

greatest number of non-fatal injuries, with electric fitters (including electricians)

reporting 14,938 total non-fatal injuries and electrical engineers reporting 8,074 non-

fatal injuries (see Figure 13 and Figure 14).

18. From 2002/03 to 2008/09p, again electric fitters (including electricians) report the

most fatalities (44), as well as the highest total non-fatal injuries (10,933) (see Figure

15 and Figure 16).


19. From 1996/97 to 2000/01, electrical activities have reported the second highest

number of fatal accidents (13), with general maintenance activities being involved in

112

most fatalities (17). With non-fatal accidents, electrical activities report only the ninth

highest number of accidents (1,734), with the most accidents relating to on-site

transfer such as movement of persons or materials (7,898) and general handling

(7,345) (see Figure 17 and Figure 18).

20. From 2001/02 to 2008/09p, electrical activities by far report the highest number of

fatal accidents (56), and additionally report the highest number of non-fatal accidents



21. From 1996/97 to 2000/01, unintentional contact with overhead lines as well as contact

with electricity/electrical discharge reported the first and second most fatal accidents

(20 and 19 respectively). However, for non-fatal accidents, the picture is quite

different with the moving of heavy weights or strains/sprains being involved in most

accidents (see Figure 21 and Figure 22).

22. From 2001/02 to 2008/09p, contact with overhead lines features as one of the most

common objects/movements involved in fatalities (20) along with other types of

electricity cable - including those trailing and buried in walls (20). It is this latter

category that also reports the most non-fatal accidents (5,936), with overhead lines not

appearing to be related to any significant number of non-fatal accidents (see Figure 23

and Figure 24).

Age:

23. For fatalities from 1996/97 to 2008/09p, those aged between 25 and 34 and 40 to 54

have recorded the most fatal accidents (between 32 and 34 accidents in each age

category) (see Figure 25).

24. For total non-fatal injuries from 1996/97 to 2008/09p, the number of accidents slowly

increases beyond the 16 to 19 age group (3,800) to reach a peak by 35 to 39 (10,886),

steadily decreasing thereafter. Within this, major injury levels appear to remain

relatively stable from 20 through to 54 (around 2000 accidents in each age grouping)

(see Figure 26).

‘ALL RELATED’ ACCIDENTS

25. 40% of all fatalities (1,201 deaths) over the 13 year period 1996/97 to 2008/09p,

across all industries may be potentially linked to ‘all related’ accidents (involving

either direct contact with electricity, or tenuously linked to electrical sources or

components) (see Table 25). However, due to the possible tenuous link, caution

should be exercised when using these figures.

26. Overall, this means in ‘all related’ accidents from 1996/97 to 2008/09p arising from

electrical based work and accidents indirectly related to electricity (where electricity

113

or electrical components feature in some way, although not necessarily causal in the

fatality), there has been an average of 92 fatalities per year. Provisional data suggest

that in 2008/09p there were 28 fatalities, which is the lowest number over the 13

years. As noted earlier, there is an average of 13 fatalities per year due to direct

contact with electricity, the same annual average number of accidents due to being

struck by moving, flying or falling objects, but less than the average number of 18

fatalities per year due to high falls (above 2 metres).


27. For fatalities, a fluctuating picture is evident over the 13 year period 1996/97 to

2008/09p, with a peak in 2007/08 (136), although fatalities do dramatically fall the

following year in 2008/09p (provisionally 28) (see Figure 27).

28. For non-fatal accidents, there is evidence of total accidents remaining stable from

1996/97 to 2000/01. From 2001/02 to 2008/09p, the trend appears to show total

accidents gradually decreasing from 19,504 to 14,257 by 2008/09p (see Figure 28).

29. Overall, these findings indicate the success of efforts by HSE and industry to reduce

electricity related accidents.


30. From 1996/97 to 2008/09p, the Construction HSE sector reports the greatest number

of fatal accidents (427), double that of the next highest reporting sector, which is the

Agriculture and Wood HSE sector (205) (see Figure 29).

31. For total non-fatal accidents from 1996/97 to 2008/09p, the Engineering and Utilities

HSE sector reports the most accidents (57,653). However, the Construction HSE

sector reports the greatest number of major injury accidents (12,448) (see Figure 30).

Industry (SIC industry code):

32. From 1996/97 to 2008/09p, installation and fitting of electrical wiring reports the

fourth highest fatality numbers (52), with the greatest number of fatal accidents being

reported by the industry related to the construction of buildings and civil engineering

works (142) (see Figure 31).

33. For non-fatal injuries from 1996/97 to 2008/09p, installation and fitting of electrical

wiring reports the greatest number of total accidents (11,983), although there are other

industries related to the manufacture of various electrical components that also report

varying numbers of accidents (see Figure 32).

114


34. Over the full 13 year period 1996/97 to 2008/09p, contact with electricity or electrical

discharge reports the third greatest number of fatal accidents (168), after high falls

(233) and being struck by objects (174). In terms of non-fatal accidents, the picture is

slightly different with contact with electricity only reporting the seventh highest

number of accidents (7,464), with most accidents due to handling/sprains (51,456)

(see Figure 33 and Figure 34).

35. Focusing only on more recent years (from 2001/02 to 2008/09p), contact with

electricity or electrical discharge reports the second highest number of fatal accidents

(88), with high falls (125) being the primary type of fatal accident. For non-fatal

injuries, contact with electricity does not feature as strongly (3,887 total non-fatal

accidents) compared to machinery, hit by objects and trips and slips (all above 10,000

accidents each) (see Figure 35 and Figure 36).


36. From 1996/97 to 2001/02, electric fitters (including electricians) report the greatest

number of fatal accidents (38) as well as the greatest number of total non-fatal

accidents (14,938). Electrical engineers rank eleventh in fatality numbers (15), but do

have the second highest number of non-fatal injuries (8,074) (see Figure 37 and Figure

38).

37. From 2002/03 to 2008/09p, electric fitters (including electricians) report the most fatal

accidents (44) as well as the greatest total number of non-fatal accidents (10,933) (see

Figure 39 and Figure 40).

38. Further analysis of the accidents only involving electric fitters (including electricians)

for the 13 year period 1996/97 to 2008/09p showed that fatal accidents are

predominantly related to contact with electricity/electrical discharge (31) or high falls

(20). Non-fatal injuries in this population are often handling and sprains (7,454) and

trips (5,908) (see Figure 41 and Figure 42).

39. These results suggest a need to target electric fitters (including electricians), focusing

on best practice when working in direct contact with electricity, working at height, and

handling loads.


40. From 1996/97 to 2000/01, electrical activities have reported relatively few fatal

accidents (13) compared to general maintenance activities (49), and on-site transfer of

people or materials (32) and loading/unloading (30). The non-fatal accident profile is

similar (see Figure 43 and Figure 44).

115

41. From 2001/02 to 2008/09p, electrical activities ranked third in terms of the highest

number of reported fatal accidents (56), with manufacturing production (79) and

machine maintenance (74) ranking higher. The non-fatal accident profile is similar

with electrical activities reporting 8,965 accidents, which is lower than manufacturing

production (26,316) and machine maintenance (12,250) (see Figure 45 and Figure 46).


42. From 1996/97 to 2000/01, electrical related objects/movements (i.e. unintentional

contact with overhead lines (20) and direct contact with electricity/electrical discharge

(19)) report the second and joint third highest fatal accident numbers respectively.

Falls off moveable ladders reports the highest number (21). For non-fatal accidents,

electrical objects/movements do not really feature as significantly (see Figure 47 and

Figure 48).

43. From 2001/02 to 2008/09p, the low significance of electricity objects/movements in

relation to fatal accidents is evident, with overhead power lines (20) and other

electricity cables - including those trailing and buried in walls (20) ranking low

compared to the involvement in fatal accidents of objects/movements such as fork lift

trucks (33) and moveable ladders (28). For non-fatal accidents, other electricity cables

report the fourth highest number of total accidents (5,936), with other materials and

machinery reporting the highest number (11,519) (see Figure 49 and Figure 50).

44. These results potentially indicate further consideration should be given to

interventions that do not merely focus on contact with electricity, but also working at

height (ladder use), and working around fork lift trucks and machinery.

Age:

45. For fatalities from 1996/97 to 2008/09p, the 40 to 44 age group and those 50 to 59

have reported the highest number of fatal accidents (above 137 fatalities in each age

category) (see Figure 51).

46. For total non-fatal injuries from 1996/97 to 2008/09p, the pattern of accidents

increases from 16 years of age (7,443) up to a peak by the 35 to 39 age group

(22,930), and then decreasing thereafter. Within this, major injury accident numbers

are relatively consistent (over 4,000) from the 20 to 24 age group through to the 55 to

59 age group (see Figure 52).

47. It should be noted that these figures do not necessarily indicate that certain age groups

are more vulnerable to accident (since figures presented are frequencies rather than

calculated rates).

116

Employment status:

48. From 1996/97 to 2008/09p, around three quarters of all fatalities over the 13 years

have involved those classified as ‘employees’ (924), with ‘self-employed’ fatalities

constituting around 21% of all fatalities (250) (see Figure 53).

49. Similarly to the fatalities profile, most non-fatal accidents from 1996/97 to 2008/09p

have involved ‘employees’ (in fact nearly all accidents, 180,899), with the ‘self-

employed’ being involved in a comparatively minimal number of total accidents

(4,195) (see Figure 54). However, this may be partly explained by under-reporting of

non-fatals in the self-employed.

50. It should be noted that these figures do not necessarily indicate that certain types of

employment are more vulnerable to accident (since figures presented are frequencies

rather than calculated rates).

Monthly pattern:

51. From 1996/97 to 2008/09p, accumulatively most fatalities have been reported for

August (130), with relatively high numbers (above 100 in each month) for January,

and June through to November (see Figure 55).

52. From 1996/97 to 2008/09p, accumulatively most non-fatal injuries have been reported

for January, June, July and September through to November (all around 16,000

accidents in each month). December reports the lowest number of total non-fatal

injuries (11,419) (see Figure 56).

53. These findings may provide some indication regarding the best time to launch media

campaigns or timely reminders throughout the year in order to reduce accident levels

further.

Types of injury:

54. From 1996/97 to 2008/09p, fatal accidents due to contact with electrical sources

(leading to loss of consciousness and shock, etc.) report the joint fourth highest fatal

accident numbers (145) (see Figure 57).

55. From 1996/97 to 2008/09p, non-fatal injuries caused by electricity are relatively low

(4,183 total non-fatal injury), compared to strains (53,554) and fractures (37,169) (see

Figure 58).

Region:

56. From 1996/97 to 2008/09p, the highest number of fatal accidents have been reported

by the ‘East and South East’ region (243), followed closely by the ‘Midlands’ (222), a

picture which is similar to the non-fatal injury profile whereby the ‘East and South

117

East’ (36,630) report the highest total accident level, followed by the ‘Midlands’


57. At the local authority level from 1996/97 to 2008/09p, highest fatality numbers are

reported by Manchester (21), followed by Sandwell and Birmingham (both 16). The

non-fatal accident profile is similar, with Birmingham recording the highest total

accident number (3,736), followed by Leeds (3,005). Manchester also records the

fourth highest number of non-fatal accidents (2,275) (see Figure 61 and Figure 62).

58. With HSE insight into the resources available in different regions and cities, it may be

useful to compare any areas that report high accident levels with comparable regions

and cities that report lower levels. This exercise could yield further information into

best practice in certain areas that could be applied to other areas, particularly those

with high accident levels.

Objective 3: Produce a report that contains analyses of the electricity-related

accident data; identify the key issues; and identify key priority areas for

intervention.

59. This report directly addresses Objective 3.

60. The overall approach taken in this report is to use the RIDDOR accident data to

develop a profile of key electricity-related risks and thus help HSE develop prioritised

interventions supported by a preliminary evidence base.

61. It is recommended that the ‘direct contact’ and ‘electrical based’ data sets are primarily

used for future HSE policy development work.

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7. RECOMMENDATIONS

The purpose of this study was to provide a preliminary evidence base for developing policy, not

to develop that policy. Nevertheless, outline recommendations have emerged from the study,

and it is suggested that the following areas be addressed in order to reduce the risks associated

with electricity-related accidents.

7.1 GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS

Based on the work undertaken in this project, the following general recommendations are

presented as a means of improving health and safety in relation to electricity-related accidents:

1. This report is one source of evidence to supplement existing knowledge and expertise

in the HSE. Its findings should be considered in relation to existing knowledge and

guidance around some of the identified risk areas in this report.

2. Some caution should be exercised when interpreting the figures for the ‘all related’

data set, as this data set does contain a number of accidents that are only indirectly

related to electricity. It is therefore recommended that any HSE policy development

work is primarily based upon the ‘direct contact’ and ‘electrical related’ data sets, as

these contain accidents assigned electricity-related RIDDOR codes only.

3. It may be that further work is needed, such as a detailed analysis of notifier comments

and investigation reports, and workshops to drill further into the potential reasons

behind the statistics. For individuals whose roles involve working with or around

electricity, what might they perceive the risk issues to be? What might motivate them

to work more safely? Developing the evidence base will provide HSE with the means

to develop prioritised interventions, suited to the target population, and supported by a

full audit trail.

4. Whilst accidents resulting from direct contact with electricity give rise to significant

cost impact to Great Britain, they are not always the most frequently occurring. Slips,

trips, low and high falls, and handling/sprain injuries also feature prominently. The

risks associated with these accidents should therefore be addressed in conjunction with

those risks associated with contact with electricity.

5. Demographic differences in the cities and regions of GB may need to be studied more

closely given the differential levels of electricity-related accidents suggested from the

results of this study. It may be useful to compare regions of similar size, but with a

big difference in accident levels, to understand what practices are being carried out

that could be affecting accident levels. Distilling best practice could then be

transferred to other areas of the country.

119

8. REFERENCES

1 BOMEL Limited. (2010). Identifying the incidence of electricity-related accidents in Great

Britain. HSE Research Report 771. Sudbury, UK: HSE Books.

120

APPENDIX 1 CREATION OF THE ELECTRICITY DATA SET

A1.1 INTRODUCTION

This chapter addresses Objective 1, which is to:

Develop an electricity-related accident data set from ‘supply to switch’ to provide a


The main source of data is the RIDDOR accident data as provided by HSE to GL Noble Denton

under its confidential support arrangements. The analysis and results are show in Chapters 3, 4

and 5.

In this chapter, the RIDDOR accident reporting system is introduced, followed by a description

of how the RIDDOR data is incorporated within the RIDDOR Data Tool developed by GL

Noble Denton. The definitions used to develop the electricity-related accident data set are

described along with the validation checks undertaken on the data.

In considering the analyses of the RIDDOR data it is important to appreciate the uncertainties

associated with that data, this is because RIDDOR reports are made by people from a variety of

backgrounds, some of whom may have had either very specific health and safety training or

little or no health and safety training.

A1.2 RIDDOR ACCIDENT REPORTING

Reporting of the fatal, major or minor (over three days away from work) injury accidents to

workers associated with workplace activities is a statutory requirement of RIDDOR2. This

chapter provides a brief overview of the RIDDOR data as collected by HSE and subsequently

processed and analysed by GL Noble Denton. Detailed information is provided in References

2, 3 and 4.

In the period 1996/7 to 2000/01, RIDDOR forms, once completed, were sent to the local HSE

offices, where the information on them was coded with reference to HSE guidance5

on coding,

and entered into the central HSE FOCUS database by trained clerical staff. As of April 2001, a

central Incident Contact Centre (ICC) was established where dedicated staff deal with hard

copy, web and telephone notifications, as well as coding and entry of all RIDDOR report forms.

The fields available for analysis are summarised in Table 61. Those fields that have changed

with the introduction of the ICC system are denoted in bold. Those fields marked with an

asterisk in Table 61 were not completed in the FOCUS database when the reports were received

from the local authority enforced sectors in the period 1996/97 to 2000/01 as they ran a different

coding scheme. In April 2002, the Standard Occupation Classification (SOC 2000) was

adopted. For the 2002/03 data and beyond, the occupations of those injured at work were

recorded using the SOC 2000 system.

At the 1 April 2001 juncture when the ICC system was activated, a new scheme for coding

accident agents and work processes was also introduced and the categorisation of accident kinds

was modified slightly. It is understood there is no clear mapping between agents and work

121

processes for the pre- and post-ICC schemes and therefore the data sets are presented separately

throughout this report. Although accident kinds, ‘high fall, ‘low fall’ and ‘fall’ remain, the

guidance on coding falls has apparently been clarified so that a fall initiated by a ‘trip’ (e.g.

when getting out of a vehicle or on stairs) is now coded as a ‘slip or trip’ as opposed to a fall.

As such, it may be anticipated that the number of recorded falls in 2001/2 would reduce even if

the control of risks did not alter. Caution must therefore be exercised in interpreting trends and

changes from 1996/7-2000/01 to 2001/02-2008/09p in terms of accident numbers and rates.

Table 61 RIDDOR accident/injury data available for analysis

Field Description

Accident Kind Kind of accident e.g. slip, fall, drown

Age group Age of injured person

Agent* Agent associated with the kind e.g. ladder, fragile roof etc. (The agent contains a

direct reference to the accident kind in the pre-ICC data i.e. ‘Fall vehicle’, but not

in the 2001/02-2008/09p data)

Area HSE area office (old type areas 1-21 excluding 4)

Body Part Site on body of injury e.g. back, leg

Casualty Name Name of the injured party

Client Employees UK Number employed by client in UK

Client Name Name of client

Client No Client identification number

Client Function Status of the client e.g. private company, NHS

Date Date of accident

Employment Status Employment status of injured person e.g. employee

Event No Serial number of the accident

FMU Unit No Field management unit enforcing in HSE office

Gender Gender

HSE Year Year in which the accident occurred

inc_role Role of the client at location e.g. designer, landlord

Total Workers Site Number employed by client at particular location

Incumbent No Incumbent (client at location) identification number

Industrial Workers Site Number of industrial workers employed by client at location

Injury Nature Nature of injury e.g. fracture, burn

InternalID Unique System ID for this entry

inv_no Investigation number

Investigated Flag to indicate if investigation required

Local authority Name of local authority

Location Type Type of location e.g. fixed, quarry, roadside

Notifier Comments Narrative provided by the person notifying the accident

Occupation* Occupation of injured person

Originator HSE Directorate/Division or local authority identification field

Region HSE region (7 regions)

Report type Accident report type e.g. fatal, major, over 3-days

Severity F = Fatality, M = Major injury accident, O = Over 3-days accident

SIC92 Industry Industry classification

SIC92 Sector Industry Classification Group e.g. Agriculture, Construction, Extraction/Utility,

Manufacturing or Services

Work Process* Work process taking place at time of accident

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A1.3 GL NOBLE DENTON RIDDOR DATA TOOL

Fatal, major and over 3-day injury accident records from FOCUS were supplied to GL Noble

Denton in separate electronic files for each of the 13 years from 1996/97 to 2008/09p, together

with ‘look-up’ tables cross-referencing the FOCUS codes to short and long descriptions as

contained in the HSE coding systems.

The RIDDOR data as supplied by HSE were processed by GL Noble Denton using the

following steps in accordance with Reference 3:

The raw accident data and updated look-up tables as received from HSE were

imported into a Microsoft Access database.

The data were validated and any anomalies were resolved in conjunction with HSE

statisticians.

The GL Noble Denton RIDDOR Data Tool was updated to include all accidents

notified between 1996/97 and 2008/09p.

Analyses of the accident data were carried out using Excel spreadsheet Pivot Tables

and Charts contained in the RIDDOR Data Tool.

In updating the database and Data Tool, reference was made to the HSE manual6

covering the

new accident kind, agent and work process codings.

Figure 63 shows the layout of the GL Noble Denton RIDDOR database. There are three main

tables in the database, containing the information on:

Accidents/Injuries

Investigations

Reports

The primary table used for this study is the Accidents/Injuries table. The data contained in this

table are summarised in Table 61. The database tables contain the numerical FOCUS codes

rather than the text descriptions. The associated look-up tables shown in Figure 63 provide

access to the text descriptions required for meaningful analyses.

It is important to note that inv_no (investigation number) is the field linking the principal tables.

Furthermore, the term ‘event’ is misleading in that each person injured constitutes an ‘event’

even when there are multiple injuries resulting from an accident.

123

Figure 63 Data table relationships in the GL Noble Denton RIDDOR database

In addition to the RIDDOR codes, the following narratives are available for analysis:

Investigation summary reports – These are available for all years between 1996/97

and 2008/09p.

Notifier comments - Summaries provided by the person notifying the accident. These

are only available from 2001/02 onwards.

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A1.4 DEFINITION OF THE ELECTRICITY DATA SET

The full RIDDOR database contains over 1.9 million accident records for the period 1996/97 to

2008/09p. In order to carry out a meaningful analysis of the electricity-related accidents, all of

the relevant accident data in the RIDDOR database needs to be collected together. As there

may be electricity-related accidents that were not coded as relating to electricity, the following

two-prong approach was used to identify these incidents:

Identify all those accidents with electricity-related RIDDOR codes by searching for

one or more of the codings for industries, accident kinds, occupations, work processes,

and agents that correspond to those identified for the electricity-related accidents.

Identify those accidents where either the notifier comment or the investigation

summary report contains a term (or ‘keyword’) relating to electricity.

The accident data identified in the two separate approaches was initially combined into one data

set, which encompassed all accidents related to electricity. Two further subsidiary data sets

were also created for more focused analysis. In total three data sets were created and analysed

in this report, as follows:








occupations such as electrical engineers, electroplaters, etc.). For a full list of the

RIDDOR categories under this definition, please refer to Table 62 to Table 66 in this

appendix.


data set (as described in Chapter 5), containing the ‘electrical based’ accidents

described above (i.e. all accidents assigned an electricity-related RIDDOR code) and

accidents brought in because their associated accident narrative (i.e. the notifier

comment or investigation report) contains an electricity related keyword (e.g. ‘spark’,

‘plug’, ‘socket’, etc.). For a full list of the keywords used under this definition, please

refer to Table 67 in this appendix.

In order to validate the main electricity data set (termed ‘all related’) and ensure the appropriate

accident records were included, a number of measures were taken. These included:

Conducting a visual check on the data and graphs to assess whether the trends being

illustrated were as expected. For example, initially, ‘distribution networks’ was one of

the keywords used to build up the ‘all related’ electricity data set. However, further

125

investigation revealed there to be a significant number of accidents involving postal

workers (mail collection, delivery and sorting). Subsequently, ‘distribution network’

was deselected from the data set definition.

Conducting a check on a sample of the notifier comments and investigation reports to

ensure that electricity-related accidents were being included in the ‘all related’ data

set. This also served the purpose of identifying potential keywords to be included in

the data set definition.

A1.4.1 Identifying accidents with electricity-related RIDDOR codes

Accidents with electricity-related RIDDOR codes were identified by searching the RIDDOR

fields: industries, accident kinds, occupations, work processes and agents. The individual codes

used to select the accident records for inclusion in the electricity data sets (as agreed with HSE)

are provided in Table 62 to Table 66. Each of these codes has a marker against it in the

RIDDOR accident database indicating that it is part of the electricity data sets. A query is used

within the database to select only those accident records where one or more of the codes in

Table 62 to Table 66 are present and these accidents are assigned an electricity ‘switch’.

Table 62 Industries selected in the definition of electricity-related accidents

SIC 92 code Industry Description

29.710 ELEC DOM APPLS Manufacture of electric domestic appliances

31.100 ELEC MOTOR/GENS Manufacture of electric motors, generators and

transformers

31.200 ELEC DIST/CONT Manufacture of electricity distribution and control

apparatus

31.300 INS WIRE/CABLE Manufacture of insulated wire and cable

31.400 ACCUM/CELL/BATTS Manufacture of accumulators, primary cells and batteries

31.500 LIGHTING

EQUIPMENT

Manufacture of lighting equipment and electric lamps

31.610 ELEC EQP ENG/VEH Manufacture of electrical equipment for engines and

vehicles not elsewhere classified

31.620 OTH ELEC EQPT Manufacture of other electrical equipment not elsewhere

classified

32.100 VALVES/TUBES Manufacture of electronic valves and tubes and other

electric components

32.202 RADIO/ELEC GOODS Manufacture of radio and electronic capital goods

33.201 ELEC INST/APPLS Manufacture of electronic instruments and appliances for

measuring, checking, testing, navigating and other purposes

except industrial process control equipment

33.301 EL PROC CON EQPT Manufacture of electronic industrial process control

equipment

40.100 ELECTRICITY Production and distribution of electricity

40.101 ELEC GENERATION Electricity generation

126

SIC 92 code Industry Description

40.102 ELEC TRANS/SUPPL Electricity transmission, distribution and supply

40.110 ELEC’Y PROD’N Production of electricity

40.120 ELEC’Y TRANSM Transmission of electricity

40.130 ELEC’Y TRADE Distribution and trade in electricity

45.310 INST ELEC WIRING Installation of electrical wiring and fitting

51.430 WSALE ELEC APP

_ELEC

Wholesale of electrical household appliances and radio and

television goods

51.431 WSALE RECORDS Wholesale of gramophone records, audio tapes, compact

discs and video tapes and of the equipment on which these

are played

51.439 WSALE ELEC APP

_OTHR

Wholesale of radio and television goods; wholesale of

electrical appliances not elsewhere classified

52.450 RET ELEC APPLS Retail sale of electrical household appliances and radio and

television goods

52720 REP ELEC GOODS Repair of electrical household goods

Table 63 Accident kind categories selected in the definition of electricity-related accidents

Reference Accident kind Description

Pre ICC

13 VOLT Contact with electricity or electrical discharge

ICC

1310 ELECTRICITY Contact with electricity or electrical discharge

Table 64 Occupation categories selected in the definition of electricity-related accidents

Reference Occupation Description

pre-SOC 2000

52 ELECTRIC FITTER

89 ELECTRIC/GENERAT

91 ENGINE/ELEC

302 SCIENTIFIC/ELEC

529 OTH ELECTRICAL

post-SOC 2000

2123 ELECTRICAL ENG Electrical engineers

2124 ELECTRONIC ENG Electronics engineers

3112 ELEC TECHNICIANS Electrical/electronic technicians

5233 AUTO ELECTRICIAN Auto electricians

127

5241 ELECTRIC FITTER Electricians, electrical fitters

5249 ELEC ENG NEC Electrical/electronics engineers n.e.c.

8118 ELECTROPLATERS Electroplaters

8131 ASSEMBLER ELEC Assemblers (electrical products)

Table 65 Work process categories selected in the definition of electricity-related accidents

Reference Work process Description

pre-ICC

3224 ELEC DIST GRND Electricity Distribution

3225 ELEC GEN GRND Electricity Generation

3312 ELECTRICAL Construction: Finishing processes-all electrical work

5060 PLATING Plating (including electrolytic process)

8600 GENERATION Generation (inc electricity; conventional, nuclear power

and combined heat and power systems. Also gas

production both on and off shore

ICC

531 ELECTRICAL Electrical

Table 66 Agent categories selected in the definition of electricity-related accidents

Reference Agent Description

pre-ICC

MMTSPARK SPARK-

DISCHARGE

Electro-discharge

VO VOLT Contact with electricity or electrical discharge

VODOMESTIC DOMESTIC Domestic type equipment

VOHANDTOOL HANDTOOL Handtools or Hand Lamps

VONETWORK NETWORK Other Network maintenance inc substations

VOOHLINES OHLINES Overhead lines (unintentional contact)

VOPLANT PLANT Industrial plant, vessels or equipment

VOSTUNNING STUNNING Simulation or stunning equipment

VOSWITCH SWITCH Switchboards

VOTEST TEST Research or test equipment

VOUGCABLES UGCABLES Underground Cables (unintentional contact)

ICC

05.02 ENERGY

SYSTEM

Systems for energy

accumulators

and storage, including batteries,

05.03 OVERHEAD LINE Overhead lines

128

05.04 UGROUND

CABLE

Underground electricity cables

05.05 OTH ELEC CAB Other electricity cables including trailing, buried in walls

05.80 OTHER ENERGY

SYS

Other known not in list

05.90 NOT K ENERGY

SYS

Not known

A1.4.2 Identifying accidents with electricity-related RIDDOR keywords in their narratives

The list of keywords used to search within the notifier comments and investigation reports to

identify the electricity-related accidents are given in Table 67. The asterisk in the keywords

indicates its use as a ‘wildcard’. Thus, ‘cabl*’ indicates that the search will not only identify the

word ‘cable’ but also related words with the same prefix such as ‘cables’ and ‘cabling’.

Similarly, fuse* will detect related words such as ‘fuses’, ‘fuse-box’ and ‘fusing’. The

underscore before ‘amp’ and ‘arc*’ ensures that the search only brings up records made up of

the actual word. For instance, ‘_amp’ does not produce words such as lamp or clamp which

contain the letters ‘amp’.

129

Table 67 List of keywords used for searching investigation reports and notifier comments to identify electricity-related accidents

Original list of keywords Extra keywords provided by HSE

Cabl* *Charge

Fuse* Plumb*

-Electr Exposed

Wir* 3rd

Volt* Third

Trunking Live

Transform* Overhead

Generat* Maintenance

Power Member of public

Substation MOP (Member Of Public)

Socket Insulat*

Plug Phase

Shock Flash*

Batter* Circuit

Switch gear Breaker

UPS (Uninterrupted power supply) Isolat*

Wind power Extension lead

Photovoltaic *meter

Turbine MCB (Miniature Circuit Breaker)

Portable appliance RCD (Residual Current Device)

PAT (Portable appliance testing) RCBO (Residual Circuit Breaker with Over-

current protection)

Current MCCB (Moulded Case Circuit Breaker)

_amp* PCB (Printed Circuit Board)

Static Bond*

Tower Energis*

Pole _arc*

Station Spark*

Earth Switch*

Mains

130

A1.5 APPENDIX 1 REFERENCES

2 HSE. (1995). The reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations

1995, RIDDOR, SI No 3163, HMSO.

3 BOMEL Limited. (2004). Improving health and safety in construction Phase 2 – Volume 2:

RIDDOR Accident Data Analysis Tool. HSE Research Report 232. Sudbury, UK: HSE Books.

4 HSE. (1996). Guide to the Reporting of Injuries, Disease and Dangerous Occurrences

Regulations 1995. Sudbury, UK: HSE Books.

5 HSE. (n.d.). FOCUS Data Handbook, Version 2.0.

6 HSE. (2001). Contact Centre Coding Guidance, Version 1.1.

131

Published by the Health and Safety Executive 03/11



This report analyses RIDDOR based electricity-related accidents covering all industries and is intended to be an update (and standalone report) to the previous HSE research report ‘Identifying the incidence of electricity-related accidents in Great Britain’.

Using certain selection criteria, the full RIDDOR database from 1996/97 to 2008/09p was searched to identify three categories of electricity accident:

a) ‘direct contact’ with electricity; b) ‘electrical based’ accidents; and c) ‘all related’ accidents.

Analysis was carried out using RIDDOR fields such as ‘HSE year’, ‘work process’ and ‘agent’. A number of findings were revealed, including electrical fitters (including electricians) reporting the greatest number of fatalities and non-fatal injuries, with many of the accidents related to contact with electricity (or electrical discharge). However, a number of other accidents were not related to direct contact with electricity, such as handling strains/sprains and high falls. It is proposed that the results of this report constitute an updated evidence base indicating possible priority areas for intervention by the HSE.

This report and the work it describes were funded by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Its contents, including any opinions and/or conclusions expressed, are those of the authors alone and do not necessarily reflect HSE policy.

RR842

www.hse.gov.uk

www.hse.gov.uk

prepared by gl noble denton for the health and safety

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