Accidents in materials handling at building construction sites

Abstract

The aim of the study was to analyze factors influencing the occurrence of accident situations in the handling of materials. The study was started by collecting all the accident notification forms (a total of 442 forms) that pertained to accidents involving the handling of materials that had occurred in one large construction company during five years. The original accident reports sent by the construction company to the insurance companies between 1977 and 1981 were examined, and the accident reports which involved the accidents in materials handling at building construction sites were analyzed in detail. In all, 442 accident reports were analyzed. Each of the 442 accidents were classified according to the following: the construction phase; the work operation; the event causing the injury; the activity at the moment of the accident; the object causing injury; the part of the body injured in the accident; the type of injury; the period of disability; the accident compensation costs paid by the insurance company; and the occupation. The production method and type of building were obtained from the retrospective data on the construction project. The serious accidents (100 cases) investigated by the National Board of Labour Protection were analyzed.