Using safety alerts as hazard surveillance for mechanized logging systems
Abstract
One of the key tasks in a safety program is to perform a job hazard analysis which involves the identification and description of serious hazards for specific jobs and tasks. A number of sources including operator’s manuals, safety manuals, and FRA safety alerts are useful in that task. Injury or accident surveillance data can also provide key information in prioritizing hazards according to frequency and seriousness. Bureau of Labor Statistics data are available for both the logging industry (NAICS 1133) and the logging occupation (SOC 45-2000), but so few cases are recorded that only general hazard information is available and there is no available data for activity at the time of injury. Several analyses of workers compensation claims have provided more information relative to activity and the type of operation (mechanized, partially mechanized, and non-mechanized). Those data are difficult to accumulate and updates are infrequent. This paper analyzes trends from data reported in Safety Alerts.