Typical accidents encountered by assembly workers: six scenarios for safety planning identified using multivariate methods.

This study highlights the most typical accidents encountered by assembly workers employed in a variety of different workshops at a large automobile and truck factory in Sweden. Following site visits and the collection of data from accident registers, statistics on 28 accident characteristics were compiled on the basis of the 145 accidents involving assemblers in 1986 and 1987. For data treatment, two statistical methods complemented one another: the factorial analysis of correspondence (FAC) and the hierarchical ascendant classification (HAC). Six typical accident profiles were extensively portrayed, quantified, and illustrated graphically: overexertion; falls and stumbling; injuries related to the handling of tools; superficial wounds to the (left) hand; cuts/pinches from moving machine parts and the handling of objects; miscellaneous blows from work pieces. The distribution of these types of accidents across the workshops was studied. It is emphasized that the search for typical accident patterns using multivariate statistical methods helps to structure and define the accident problems of a target group and therefore provides benefits for the evaluation of the need for preventive measures.