FACTORY ACCIDENTS

Dominion, Volume 19, Issue 45, 17 November 1925, Page 8

FACTORY ACCIDENTS

NEW ZEALAND STATISTICS FOR 1924 TIME LOST THROUGH INCAPACITY

As a result of an international conference of official statisticians at Geneva in 1923, under the auspices of the International Labour Office set up by the League of Nations,, the collection and compilation of statistics of industrial accidents is now being undertaken in virtually all countries, and figures are available in New Zealand in connection with the accidents which occurred during 1924 in factories (says the “Lyttelton Times”). During 1924 there were in New Zealand 1977 cases of "factory accidents,” injuries not likely to 'ncapacitate the injured person for at least forty-eight hours being excluded. These cases comprised nine deaths, eighty cases of permanent -artial disability for life, and 1890 cases of temporary disablement. There was no case of permanent total disability. The total period of incapacity in all these cases of temporary disability was 34,275 days, an average of over nineteen days per accident. The frequency of* accidents per 100,000 man-hours worked, that is, per total hours worked, counting one hour worked by one man as one unit, was 1.03 for all industries combined. It was highest in the meat freezing industry, the figure being 11.7. The next highest were, paper manufactuiing 2.5, joinery, 2 4 general engineering 1.6, foundry working 1.4, soap and starch manufacture, cliemical and manure works, and biscuit and confectionery works 1.3 each, woollen mills 1.2, sawmills 1.1. The jewellery and clothing trades were free from accidents, while other low frequency rates were recorded, in electric lighting 0.07, butter and cheese manufacture 0.15, and baking 0.18. Mere frequency rates are, however, an unsatisfactory measure of industrial hazards. In the electric lighting industry accidents are few, but such as they ’are usually prove fatal; in freezing works, on the other hand, there are man? accidents, but few are serious Therefore severity rates were worked out, time lost as the result of the accident being taken as a criterion of severity. In the case of ueatn tne time lost’is deemed to be the victim’s future expectation of working life. The total toll of accidents so computed was 249 048 days, an average of 120 days per accident. The electric-lighting industry came first- with 9545 days per accident, followed by retail butchering (1603), and brewing and aerated water manufacture (1010) The lowest figure was in soap and starch manufacture 1979 factory accidents during 1921, only 499 (just over a quarter) were due to machinery, as many as 64 per cent/ of which seem to be due to starting, operating or stopping machinery. _ As many as ninety-five accidents were due to falling objects, which were not being handled by the person injured. Seventy were due to poisonous, hot and corrosive substances, fortynine to the vagaries of animals, fortythree to striking against fixed objects. Of the remaining number, the remarkable total of 121, including one fatality, were due to sprains, strains and septie wounds gained in the course of slaughtering operations. Cuts and lacerations comprised the bulk of the injuries sufierea, 754 out of 1979, or 38 per cent, of the total. Of the total, eighty-six occurred to females. . • • One of the most interesting results of the investigation was the incidence of machinery acctdents in res P“t time of occurrence. Accidents due to adjusting machines, tool, or work. ros from three during the hours of 8 and 9 a.m., to eleven during the hour immediately preceding noon. Alter tne mid-day luncheon spell the number again rose from three between 1 o clock nnd 2 o’clock to nine from 4 to 5 p.nu As regards accidents due to starting and operating of machines, the maximum number, both morning and afternoon, occurs during the last hour but one of the normal working J 1 ® 1 ™??- There would appear to be a definite casual relation between the frequency of such accidents and the degree of the workers’ fatigue, which is further borne out bv an analysis of .the days of the week on which machinery accidents occurred during 1924: Monday, 19 per cent; Tuesday, 13 per cent., Wednesday, 17 per cent; Thursday 21 per cent; Friday, 20 per cent., Saturday, 10 per cent. Few hours are worked by most factories on Saturdays, and during 1924 an exceptionally large number ”>f public holidays fell on a Friday. The high figure on Mondays may be ascribed to slackness after the week-end spell.