Investigating slips, trips and falls in the New Zealand dairy farming sector

The effect of tread patterns on slip resistance of footwear outsoles based on composite materials in icy conditions

INTRODUCTION

Falls on icy surfaces are the leading cause of injuries for outdoor workers. Footwear outsole material and geometrical design parameters are the most significant factors affecting slips-and-falls. Recently, composite materials have been incorporated into outsoles to improve traction, yet the best design parameters are not fully understood.

METHOD

In this effort, based on Taguchi orthogonal array design, 27 outsole prototypes were fabricated with different tread pattern features using our patented composites and tested in a simulated winter condition.

RESULTS

An analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that surface area (p = 0.041, Contribution = 15.63%) was the only factor significantly affecting the slip-resistance of our prototypes. The best performance was observed for the maximized surface area covered by our composite material with circular and half circular plugs laid obliquely, mostly in the forefoot area.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

These findings suggest that some tread design features of composite-based footwear have a great role in affecting slip-resistance properties of composite-based footwear.

A taxonomy of surface mining slip, trip, and fall hazards as a guide to research and practice

Slips, trips, and falls (STFs) are the second leading cause of non-fatal injuries and can lead to fatal incidents in the mining industry. Hazard identification is an essential first step in remediating STF hazards and creating a safer work environment. Previous research has identified industry-specific risk factors for STFs, evaluated exposures to those risk factors, and developed taxonomies of the hazards for the construction and farming sectors. In comparison, ErgoMine-a mobile device application-based ergonomics audit tool-is the only systematic evaluation tool that covers STF hazards in the mining industry. However, ErgoMine was not specifically developed to address STF hazards. This paper describes the development of a taxonomy that helps identify STF hazards at surface mining sites and provides recommendations to address these hazards to inform future evaluation tools. The objective was to develop a taxonomy that was self-explanatory, observable, repeatable, and solution oriented. In addition to current regulations, standards and guidelines were used to develop the taxonomy to ensure the focus was beyond basic compliance. A detailed description of how the STF hazard taxonomy was created for walkways, stairways, and fixed ladders is provided, along with two specific applications of its use. The STF hazard taxonomy can be used to develop tools like checklists and ergonomics audits to identify and remediate slip, trip, and fall hazards at surface mining facilities, thereby improving worker safety.

Analysis method for revealing human and organisational factors of occupational accidents with movement disturbance (OAMDs)

Slips, trips and other movement disturbances account for 20 to 30% of recorded occupational accidents (OAs). The causal representations of these accidents hamper their prevention. An analysis method dedicated to occupational accidents with movement disturbance (OAMDs) has been developed to change these representations. In France, the causal tree method (CTM) is very commonly used for analysing OAs. An initial version of an OAMD analysis method, which overcomes the problems encountered when analysing these accidents using the CTM, has been developed. This OAMD analysis method was reviewed by six targeted prevention officers and as a result some proposals have been discarded and this initial version has been transformed into three additional CTM modules. The purpose of these modules is to identify human and organisational factors and provide a formal representation of damage caused, beyond bodily injuries. Practitioner summary: A method for analysing occupational accidents triggered by a slip, a trip or any other movement disturbance has been developed in consideration of the practices and constraints in companies. In particular, this method allows us to highlight the human and organisational factors involved in the accident situation. Abbreviations: OA: occupational accident; OAMD: occupational accident with movement disturbance; CTM: causal tree method.

Burden associated with nonfatal slip and fall injuries in the surface stone, sand, and gravel mining industry

Slips, trips, and falls (STFs) pose a significant financial burden to employers and account for over 33% of the total nonfatal workers' compensation cost in the United States. Previous analyses documenting the burden of STF incidents in the mining industry have focused on occupational fatalities or STFs during equipment ingress, egress. There is limited information on the burden of nonfatal STF incidents in the mining industry and most of it is outdated. Hence, to increase awareness and highlight the importance of STFs in the mining industry, this analysis documents the burden associated with nonfatal STF incidents at surface stone, sand, and gravel (SSG) mines from 2008 through 2017. In this time frame, nonfatal STF incidents occurred at a rate of 62 per 10,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees per year. Pits had a higher prevalence of injuries, but plants had a higher incidence rate. In addition, nonfatal STF incidents at surface SSG mines led to approximately 23,800 total days lost per year with an estimated cost to the mining industry of $17.5 million per year. Assessed violations that are not related to reported injuries but are related to STF hazards identified during Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) inspections cost the mining industry approximately $3 million per year from 2013 through 2017. Based on the data analyzed in this study, falls to the lower level pose a higher burden in terms of cost; however, falls to the same level have a higher number of incidents and incidence rate.

Farm injury resulting in hospital admission: a review of farm work and non-farm work-related injury

ABSTRACT INTRODUCTIONOccupational health on farms is important because farms are not only workplaces where agriculture workers are vulnerable to high injury and fatality rates, they are also homes where families and visitors undertake a variety of activities that can result in injury. AIMTo profile and describe injuries requiring hospital admission that occurred on farms, both for injuries related to farming activities and injuries unrelated to farm work in the Midland region of New Zealand. METHODSA review of anonymised prospectively collected Midland trauma registry data from 1 July 2012 to 30 June 2018 was undertaken. Cases include unintentional injuries occurring on a farm. Non-major injuries are included to better quantify the trauma burden. RESULTSIn total, 2303 hospital admissions met the study criteria. Non-major injury accounted for 93.1% of events and 45.0% of injuries occurred during farming activities. Five people died in hospital; all injured while undertaking farm work. Males made up 84.8% of farm work and 70.9% of non-farm work injuries. Horse riding had the highest number of injuries, with off-road motorcycles, livestock, falls and quad bike injuries comprising the most common injury activities and mechanisms. Farming-related major injuries commonly involved quad bikes, non-traffic vehicles and motorcycles. Farmers in the Districts of Waitomo, Rotorua, Waipa and Taupō had the highest standardised hospitalisation rates. DISCUSSIONThe nature of farms and farming exposes people to different risks from the risks people in urban areas are exposed to. Injury prevention efforts should remain on work-related farming injuries, but also encompass the high number of injuries that are not related to farm work but happening on farms.

State of science: occupational slips, trips and falls on the same level

Occupational slips, trips and falls on the same level (STFL) result in substantial injuries worldwide. This paper summarises the state of science regarding STFL, outlining relevant aspects of epidemiology, biomechanics, psychophysics, tribology, organisational influences and injury prevention. This review reaffirms that STFL remain a major cause of workplace injury and STFL prevention is a complex problem, requiring multi-disciplinary, multi-faceted approaches. Despite progress in recent decades in understanding the mechanisms involved in STFL, especially slipping, research leading to evidence-based prevention practices remains insufficient, given the problem scale. It is concluded that there is a pressing need to develop better fall prevention strategies using systems approaches conceptualising and addressing the factors involved in STFL, with considerations of the full range of factors and their interactions. There is also an urgent need for field trials of various fall prevention strategies to assess the effectiveness of different intervention components and their interactions. Practitioner Summary: Work-related slipping, tripping and falls on the same level are a major source of occupational injury. The causes are broadly understood, although more attention is needed from a systems perspective. Research has shown preventative action to be effective, but further studies are required to understand which aspects are most beneficial.

Estimating Occupational Illness, Injury, and Mortality in Food Production in the United States: A Farm-to-Table Analysis

OBJECTIVES

The study provides a novel model and more comprehensive estimates of the burden of occupational morbidity and mortality in food-related industries, using a farm-to-table approach.

METHODS

The authors analyzed 2008 to 2010 US Bureau of Labor Statistics data for private industries in the different stages of the farm-to-table model (production, processing, distribution and storage, and retail and preparation).

RESULTS

The morbidity rate for food system industries was significantly higher than the morbidity rate for nonfood system industries (rate ratio = 1.62; 95% confidence interval = 1.30 to 2.01). Furthermore, the occupational mortality rate for food system industries was significantly higher than the national nonfood occupational mortality rate (rate ratio = 9.51; 95% confidence interval = 2.47 to 36.58).

CONCLUSIONS

This is the first use of the farm-to-table model to assess occupational morbidity and mortality, and these findings highlighting specific workplace hazards across food system industries.

Work-related injuries and fatalities on dairy farm operations-a global perspective

Agriculture is among the most hazardous sectors for workers globally, and dairy farming has been associated with a high risk of injury among workers in several countries. The purpose of this paper is to provide an update on what is known about modern dairy farms and related injuries and fatalities in different regions of the world. As in other sectors of agriculture, fatalities appear to be associated with heavy equipment usage, whereas injuries occur at higher rates with animal production, specifically cattle and milk production. Dairy farming is associated with higher rates of injury as compared with other industrial sectors, but a lack of work-related injury reporting continues to be an issue in several countries. Worker fatality associated with heavy equipment use is not a new observation (e.g., tractors); however, manure-handling systems, livestock handling, and quad bike operation continue to be associated with worker injuries and fatalities on modern farms. Opportunities exist for improvement of safety-related equipment to reduce injury and fatality risk during worker interactions with large animals and farm equipment.

Organisational factors of occupational accidents with movement disturbance (OAMD) and prevention

Workplace design and upkeep, or human factors, are frequently advanced for explaining so-called Occupational Slip, Trip and Fall Accidents (OSTFAs). Despite scientific progress, these accidents, and more broadly Occupational Accidents with Movement Disturbance (OAMDs), are also commonly considered to be "simple". This paper aims to stimulate changes in such perceptions by focusing on organisational factors that often combine with other accident factors to cause movement disturbance and injury in work situations. These factors frequently lead to arbitration between production and safety, which involves implementation of controls by workers. These controls can lead to greater worker exposure to OAMD risk. We propose a model that focuses on such controls to account specifically for the need to confront production and safety logics within a company and to enhance the potential for appropriate prevention action. These are then integrated into the set of controls highlighted by work organisation model developed by the NIOSH.

Analysing factors related to slipping, stumbling, and falling accidents at work: Application of data mining methods to Finnish occupational accidents and diseases statistics database

The utilisation of data mining methods has become common in many fields. In occupational accident analysis, however, these methods are still rarely exploited. This study applies methods of data mining (decision tree and association rules) to the Finnish national occupational accidents and diseases statistics database to analyse factors related to slipping, stumbling, and falling (SSF) accidents at work from 2006 to 2007. SSF accidents at work constitute a large proportion (22%) of all accidents at work in Finland. In addition, they are more likely to result in longer periods of incapacity for work than other workplace accidents. The most important factor influencing whether or not an accident at work is related to SSF is the specific physical activity of movement. In addition, the risk of SSF accidents at work seems to depend on the occupation and the age of the worker. The results were in line with previous research. Hence the application of data mining methods was considered successful. The results did not reveal anything unexpected though. Nevertheless, because of the capability to illustrate a large dataset and relationships between variables easily, data mining methods were seen as a useful supplementary method in analysing occupational accident data.

Differentiating slip-induced falls from normal walking and successful recovery after slips using kinematic measures

Slip-induced falls are prevalent and serious in occupational settings. Fall detection can minimise the adverse consequences caused by falls. However, a limitation in the existing fall detection research is that the fall indicators were predetermined without any theoretical and experimental basis. This study aimed to determine the optimal fall indicators for fall detection research by experimentally examining a comprehensive set of kinematic measures. The body kinematic measures were compared among normal walking, successful recovery after slips and slip-induced falls. We identified the kinematic measures that differ between falls and the selected non-fall activities (i.e. successful recovery and normal walking), especially at the early stage of loss-of-balance due to slips. Findings obtained from this study can enhance the understanding of kinematic differences between slip-induced falls and non-fall activities, and such knowledge is particularly useful for developing fall detection models.

PRACTITIONER SUMMARY

Slips have been reported to be a major cause of accidental falls. Findings from this study can help determine the kinematic measures that can effectively and efficiently differentiate slip-induced falls from successful recovery and normal walking. Such knowledge can help develop effective strategies to prevent slip-induced falls.

Work-related musculoskeletal discomfort of dairy farmers and employed workers

Background

Dairy farming is physically demanding and associated with a high frequency of musculoskeletal disorders (MSD). This study investigated and compared work-related MSD, ergonomic work factors and physical exertion in farmers and employed farm workers on dairy farms in Sweden.

Methods

The study comprised 66 dairy farmers, and 37 employed dairy farm workers. A modified version of the general Standardised Nordic Questionnaire was used for analyses of perceived MSD in nine different parts of the body. Perceived physical discomfort was assessed using questions concerning ergonomic work factors. A rating scale was used for analyses of perceived physical exertion. Information about participant demographics was also collected. The response rate amounted to 70%.

Results

The most frequently reported MSD in farmers and farm workers were located in the lower back (50% and 43%, respectively) and the shoulders (47% and 43%, respectively). MSD were also frequently reported in the neck (33%) among farmers, and in the hands/wrist (41%) among farm workers. MSD in the elbows (23%) and feet (21%) were significantly more frequently reported by farmers than farm workers (5%). Female farmers and farm workers both reported significantly higher frequencies of MSD in the neck (48% and 56%, respectively) and hands/wrists (44% and 61%, respectively) than their male colleagues (24% and 5%; 10% and 21%, respectively). In addition, female farm workers had significantly higher reported frequencies of MSD in the upper and lower back (39% and 61%, respectively) than their male counterparts (5% and 26%, respectively). Milking was perceived as a weakly to moderately physically demanding work task. Repetitive and monotonous work in dairy houses was the ergonomic work factor most frequently reported as causing physically discomfort among farmers (36%) and farm workers (32%), followed by lifting heavy objects (17% and 27%, respectively). Female workers had significantly more reported discomfort from repetitive and monotonous work than their male counterparts (50% and 16%, respectively).

Conclusion

Despite the technical developments on modern dairy farms, there is still a high prevalence of MSD and discomfort from ergonomic work factors, particularly among female workers.

Cattle associated trauma--a one year prospective study of all injuries

AIM

To prospectively study all types and frequency of injuries resulting from direct contact with cattle in an occupational setting.

METHODS

Prospective evaluation of all injuries due to direct contact with cattle presenting to the Emergency Department (ED) of a rural District General Hospital over a one year period.

RESULTS

Injuries related to cattle were a common reason for presentation to the ED. Some clear patterns of injury were noted. Injuries to the upper extremity were particularly common, especially the hand and wrist and were associated with particular activities and mechanisms. Truncal injuries were less common but do have the potential for serious morbidity and mortality as noted in previous studies.

CONCLUSIONS

Injuries related to direct contact with cattle are common. We noted an as yet unreported common pattern of injury to the hands of workers kicked whilst handling cattle at milking time. We also noted the previously recognized potential for serious injury due to more proximal body trauma whilst working with large animals. Whilst there is some work available pertaining to injury prevention in this industry, our study demonstrates a need for further work to be done to minimize and prevent future injuries.

A 4-year intervention to increase adoption of safer dairy farming work practices

BACKGROUND

Traumatic and musculoskeletal injury rates have been high in dairy farming compared to other industries. Previous work has shown that social marketing efforts can persuade farm managers to adopt practices that reduce injury hazards compared to traditional practices if the new practices maintain profits.

METHODS

The intervention disseminated information to 4,300 Northeast Wisconsin dairy farm managers about three safer and more profitable production practices (barn lights, silage bags, and calf feed mixing sites) using information channels that these managers were known to rely on. We evaluated rolling, independent, community-based samples, at baseline and then again after each of four intervention years. We also evaluated samples from Maryland's 1,200 dairy farms after the second through the fourth year of the intervention. Maryland dairy managers read many of the same nationally distributed print mass media that we used in the intervention and so were a "partially exposed" comparison group.

RESULTS

The intervention to disseminate information about the innovations was successful. In comparisons before and after the intervention, Wisconsin managers reported getting more information about calf sites from public events and equipment dealers, about silage bags from other farmers and equipment dealers, and about barn lights from public events, other farmers, equipment dealers, consultants, and electrical suppliers. Wisconsin managers also reported getting more information than Maryland managers from public events for barn lights and silage bags. During years three and four, the intervention managed to sustain, but not improve, earlier increases in adoption and awareness from the first 2 years. After adjusting for farm manager and operation variables, intervention years was associated with increased Wisconsin manager adoption of two of three practices in comparisons between the baseline and the fourth intervention year: barn lights (odds ratio = 5.58, 95% confidence interval = 3.39-9.17) and silage bags (OR = 2.94, CI = 1.84-4.70). There were similar results for awareness of barn lights and the calf feeding sites. Compared to Maryland managers, Wisconsin managers reported greater awareness of barn lights.

CONCLUSIONS

Disseminating information to managers through information channels that they usually consulted was associated with increased reports of getting information and with greater adoption and awareness of safer, profit-enhancing work practices in a high hazard industry.

The role of latent and active failures in workplace slips, trips and falls: an information processing approach

The vast majority of the published workplace slips, trips and falls (STF) literature is exceedingly narrow in its focus and often ignores wider systems issues in workplace STF aetiology. There is little recognition within the published literature of the importance of latent failures or the upstream organisational and cultural contexts within which workplace STF occur. This is unfortunate, as a systems approach to workplace STF analysis, that is inclusive of latent design and work organisation factors that often shape worker behaviour patterns related to STF risk (e.g. rushing, risk taking), is fundamental to the development of effective prevention measures. The aims of this paper are to provide an understanding of workplace STF causation that is cognisant of the potential role of both active and latent failures in STF causation. The paper presents an ergonomics model for workplace STF analysis that highlights information processing in STF aetiology, the STF incident process and the interaction between latent and active failures in STF causation. The paper draws upon ergonomics research conducted in a range of occupational contexts to illustrate the key features of the model as it applies to workplace STF. Implications of the model for analysis and prevention of STF are discussed.

Studying work practices: a key factor in understanding accidents on the level triggered by a balance disturbance

Accidents on the level (AOL) rank second amongst the most numerous and serious occupational accidents with days lost in France and are a major health and safety problem in every sector of activity. The case study described in this paper was conducted at a metallurgical company with 300 employees. The aims of this work were dual: 1) to extend the general knowledge required for preventing these accidents; 2) to propose prevention measures to this company. Existing data on company occupational accidents were gathered and analysed to identify a work situation that appeared likely to cause AOL. This work situation was analysed in detail. Several risk factors were identified within this work situation, by way of interviews with 12 operators. These risk factors concerned various dimensions of the work situation, particularly its physical dimension (e.g. templates structure) and organisational dimension (e.g. parts availability). Interviews were conducted, focusing on risk factors perceived by operators and involving allo-confrontations based on accounts of four AOL occurring in this situation. Allo-confrontations were interviews confronting operators with a risk occupational situation that was accidental for one of their colleagues, the latter being absent from the interview. Results highlighted the fact that the work practices implemented are key factors in understanding these accidents. This study underlines the role of work practices in AOL causality and prevention. It also provides explanations associated with various work situation dimensions involving adoption of more or less safe work practices. AOL are serious and frequent in occupational situations. Injury claims analysis and interviews in an industrial company emphasise the specific characteristics of an occupational situation and of prevention actions forming the basis of an intervention. The need for a better understanding of factors affecting work practice is highlighted in relation to research.

Slip, trip and fall injuries in potato, sugar beet and open field vegetable production in Finland

STF injuries are common in agriculture. The purposes of this study were to assess the magnitude of STF injuries, to identify contributing factors and to propose preventive actions to reduce injuries in potato, sugar beet and open field vegetable production in Finland. The material consisted of 1648 injury claim records and 22 interviews. The analysis showed 45% (n = 740) of the non-fatal injuries were STFs or jumps. Phrase analysis of injury descriptions provided further insight into the characteristics of STF injuries. The current findings suggest interventions should focus on making access paths (e.g. stairs, ladders, platforms) safer, minimising the need for mounting and dismounting equipment, decreasing manual material handling, improving contamination control and housekeeping in working areas and improving the safety of traffic areas and farmyards.