An Epidemiological Study of Work- Related Accidents in a Construction Firm

The construction industries are considered as the high risk industries mainly because of their higher rate of accidents. The analytical data of the accidents play a significant role in risk management، safety promotion and preventive programs. The objectives of the present study was to describe the epidemiology of work related accidents and determine the distribution of accident based on personal factors، job groups، injured body part، unsafe actions and conditions in two sites of a construction firm in Tehran. This cross sectional study was carried out in a construction firm in Tehran in 2011. All accidents recorded in previous year were studied. The required information was extracted based on the study design. Descriptive statistic tests، t-test، and chi square statistic test were applied to analyze the data and investigate the relationship between factors related to the distribution and structure of accidents. From 915 recorded accidents، 47. 1% (431 accidents) were happened in site No. 1 and 52. 9% (484 accidents) were related to site No. 2. Contact with objects and caught in or between the equipment were the main reason for the injuries. The highest accident frequency was related to reinforcement bar benders. Most accidents were caused by workers unsafe acts. Finger injuries were the most common injury among the employees. Poor safety conditions were apparent in both sites and the studied firm can be classified as a high risk industry.