Descriptive Study of Occupational Accidents and their Causes among Electricity Distribution Company Workers at an Eight-year Period in Iran

Abstract

BackgroundOccupational accidents are unplanned events that cause damage. The socio-economic impacts and human costs of accidents are tremendous around the world. Many fatalities happen every year in workplaces such as electricity distribution companies. Some electrical injuries are electrocution, electric shock, and burns. This study was conducted in an electricity distribution company (with rotational 12-hour shift work) in Iran during an 8-year period to survey descriptive factors of injuries.MethodsVariables collected included accident time, age of injured worker, employment type, work experience, injury cause, educational background, and other information about accidents.ResultsResults indicated that most of the accidents occurred in summer, and 51.3% were during shift work. Worker negligence (malpractice) was the cause of 75% of deaths. Type of employment had a significant relationship with type of injuries (p < 0.05). Most injuries were electrical burns.ConclusionHigh rate of accidents in summer may be due to the warm weather or insufficient professional skills in seasonal workers. Shift workers are at risk of sleep complaints leading to a high rate of work injuries. Acquiring knowledge about safety was related to job experiences. Temporary workers have no chance to work all year like permanent workers, therefore impressive experiences may be less in them. Because the lack of protective equipment and negligence are main causes of accidents, periodical inspections in workshops are necessary.

Occupational Health and Safety Status in the Windhoek Construction Industry: A Namibian Perspective

“…Unlike with the current study [32] on the Tanzanian construction industry found out that less than half of the workers had completed primary education. Furthermore, the study conducted by Rahmani et al [26] on Iran's construction industry also noted that most of the participants 46.2% had diploma qualifications.…”

“…In addition, it was revealed by the study conducted in Taiwan, that 38% of workers in the construction industry do not use PPE correctly [25] which is a sign of ignorance or unsafe acts or lack of knowledge. Lack of PPE use was also reported as contributing to 54.5% accidents in the construction industry [26] as some employers do not provide PPE to their workers, while some work-Open Journal of Safety Science and Technology ers prefer not to use them even if they have been supplied by their employers [27]. Therefore, it is the employer's responsibilities to ensure that workers are supervised on wearing safety tools when performing jobs at construction sites, even though workers should be informed to take responsibility for their own health and safety especially by imposing punishment if they are not adhering to safety rules [28].…”

“…However, the current study results differ with [32] study in Tanzania where 90% of the participants indicated that wearing PPE affected productivity which possibly influenced them to choose not to wear PPE. In addition, a study [26] on Iran's construction industry shows that only one-third of the participants indicated Open Journal of Safety Science and Technology that they were using PPE every time when working.…”

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