Assessment of the injury risk based on the results of psychophysiological testing of mine workers

Abstract

Abstract. As part of the labor protection management system used in the coal mines of the DTEK PAVLOGRADCOAL PJSC (PC), a number of procedures and methods aimed at improving the labor protection management system were developed and implemented. At the same time, injuries and accidents at these enterprises still remain at a fairly high level. At the PC coal mines the Standard “Methods of Selection of Employees by Levels of Management” was developed and introduced. The main procedure of the Standard is psycho-physiological testing (the PPT). As an example, the lists of professions and employee qualities – psychophysiological indicators for the PPT and professional selection – are given. The groups of jobs and the type of personality which corresponds or does not correspond to this or that group are presented. The test results identify potential risks – for example, performance losses as a result of the tasks fulfilling within the scope of job responsibilities. Depending on the results of the testing, an employee is referred to one of the four groups of vocational fitness. The groups 1, 2, 3+ assume admission to high-risk work / employment at the PC enterprises. Groups 3, 4 assume performance of actions according to the developed algorithm or refusal in employment at the PC enterprises. The injury employee data at the PC were analyzed. The averaged data show the largest number of injured is in the 2nd group, while the number of injured in the 1st, 3rd and 4th groups is almost the same. A comparison of per cent of injured and per cent of those who have been tested by the PPT in each group shows that the number of injured in the 2nd group is the highest in absolute terms though the relative number of injured is higher among the workers in the 1st and 4th groups. The ratio of % of injured to % of those who have been tested by the PPT in each group should be used for assessing the risk for the employee to be injured depending on the results of the PPT. It is established that the risk of injury is the highest for employees in the 1st and 4th groups according to the results of the PPT, and the lowest – for employees referred to the 3rd group. Keywords: labor protection, coal mine, risk assessment, injuries, psychophysiological testing of mine workers.