The main causes of occupational injuries

We often come across the concept of “work-related injury”. What is it and for what reasons it occurs, let's try to figure it out below.

What is work injury

Occupational injuries are a phenomenon that covers a list of specific injuries. Workers get these injuries at work, they are caused by neglect of compliance security. Production trauma is a case that occurred on the territory of the enterprise. We will consider the causes of work-related injuries below, since there are several of them. This phenomenon not only harms the health of the employee, but in some cases entails his transfer to another job, loss of working capacity (for a short or long time), as well as death.

Actions of managers in case of industrial injury

Employers are required to provide and create safe working conditions. If an accident occurs, the head of the enterprise must arrange for assistance to the victim before the doctor arrives, and take certain measures to prevent a similar situation. Any person working in the administration of the enterprise (deputy directors, department managers, foremen, foremen) is obliged to immediately inform the director, as well as the union, about the incident. Within three days, the accident occurred is investigated together with the senior inspector labor protection and safety experts.

In the event of such a situation, an accident statement in the form N-1 (2 copies) is drawn up at the enterprise and sent to the head. After the approval of this document, it is certified by the seal of the company. The second copy is stored for 45 years with all the details of the investigation of work-related injuries at work or school.

Causes of Work Injury

Occupational injuries differ depending on the causes of the occupational injuries.

Specialists studied these causes and determined that there are several. An accident at work resulting in injury to workers can occur for one reason and for several at once. The following is a classification of the causes of work-related injuries. They are:

• technical;
• organizational;
• economic;
• sanitary-hygienic.

Injuries due to lack of work organization

Labor organization provides the head. It is he who determines the complexity of the work performed, the deadline for its completion and the risks to the health of workers. The organizational causes of work-related injuries are as follows:

• employees do not comply with safety regulations - most often this is the usual negligent attitude to themselves and others, or rush;
• low level of production and labor discipline - this reason arises due to the insolvency of the head when he does not correspond to his position or has little experience in organizing subordinates;
• poor organization of activities - there may be a lack of competence of both workers and a manager, a rush in completing a task, a lack of necessary means and equipment for work;
• lack of control over the production process - negligent attitude of the management to the production process;
• performance of work by an unqualified specialist is a lack of personnel, which is why an untrained person must perform a complex and responsible task.

Technical causes of work-related injuries

The main condition for combating injuries at work is considered a systematic analysis of the causes. To understand them, they identify methods of analysis of the causes of occupational injuries that specialists resort to.

The manifestation of technical causes is the result of structural oversights of the mechanism, poor lighting or defective protective equipment. Such phenomena may occur suddenly when the mechanism malfunctions, or they occur during the gradual failure of machines and automation. In addition, the technical reasons for the occurrence of injuries at work include the imperfection of the ongoing technological process - the lack of automatic notification of a problem, loading of raw materials into the machine for grinding by hand, and so on.

Environmental impact on industrial accidents

The environment has a direct impact on the manufacturing process. With temperature changes, a high dust content in the air, high humidity, the working capacity of a worker can change for the worse. This results in quick fatigue, employee endurance is reduced, attention to work is reduced, which can lead to an industrial accident. Frost, snow, hail, rain, heat and other weather events affect the state of the employee, in which a person can make dangerous mistakes in work. For example, fog or ice can cause a collision of trains on the factory track of the railway.

Economic reasons

Industrial injuries may be related to economic reasons. This includes delayed payment of wages, low wages, uneven activity, willingness to perform overtime work, part-time work at several enterprises.

Thanks to the analysis of many accidents, it can be said that the main causes of work-related injuries caused by the worker are the appearance at work with poor health or intoxication, neglect of safety rules, and underestimation of risk. To avoid this kind of situation, you need to monitor your health, undergo a medical examination and responsibly approach the performance of your work, even with inappropriate pay.

The psychological factor of the occurrence of injuries at work

Industrial injuries can occur even against the background of unpleasant emotions as a result of unwillingness to work. Psychological causes dangerous situation in production are divided into three types:

1. The disturbed motivational part of human actions. In this case, he does not want to carry out actions that would ensure safety. Under the influence of stress, a person may either not notice a health threat or deliberately ignore it. The effect of such causes can be a long-term process or even permanent, if you do not resort to measures to eliminate them. The first step should be a consultation with a psychologist.
2. The approximate part of human activity is violated, which manifests itself in ignorance of methods and norms for ensuring safety.
3. The performing part is violated - not following the rules of the instruction and safety precautions due to various psychophysiological characteristics of the worker (poor coordination of movement, low vision and others).

Measures to prevent injury

Activities aimed at preventing and eliminating the causes of industrial accidents are divided into two types:

• technical;
• organizational.

Technical measures are achieved by ensuring industrial sanitation and the implementation of safety measures.

Occupational sanitation activities:

1. The formation of a comfortable microclimate due to ventilation, heating.
2. Thermal insulation of buildings and technological equipment.
3. Installation of lighting, in accordance with regulatory documents.
4. Ensuring the correct mode of work and rest - the absence of part-time jobs and additional overtime for work.

Safety precautions:

1. Creation and implementation of safe equipment.
2. Mechanization and automation of technology processes.
3. The use of safety systems that allow you to warn a person from an accident.
4. Convenient location of equipment - it is positioned so that the employee does not waste time bridging the distance between him, and also does not put himself at risk if working conditions are difficult.
5. Implementation of an automatic control system, process control.

Organizational activities include:

1. Proper organization of the workflow and location.
2. Supervision and control over the state of labor protection - is achieved with the help of specially trained inspectors who must constantly fulfill their responsibilities to verify working conditions in the workplace.
3. Compliance with the laws of the Labor Code.
4. The introduction of safe methods of work organization.
5. Advocacy of basic labor protection rules.
6. Organization of transport tests and technical inspections.

To determine the true cause of the temporary loss of human performance, an analysis of the causes of occupational injuries is carried out. There are special commissions to investigate the situation and form a package of documents.

What professions are at risk for work-related injuries?

There is a list of professions that involve a greater risk of occupational diseases or occupational injuries, unlike others.

Such professions include:

• miners;
• law enforcement officers;
• builders;
• Journalists
• power engineering;
• lifeguards;
• collectors;
• teachers and others.

A selection of these professions suggests that occupational diseases can occur not only at the physical level, but also at the psyche level. Among the risky professions in production, there are: miners, electricians, steelworkers, drilling rig drivers, railway track installers.

Any injury at work is investigated very carefully and checked for authenticity, since further payments to the victim and a fine to the head depend on this.