Assessing the coding reliability of work accidents statistical data: How coders make a difference.

INTRODUCTION: This study assesses the reliability of the coding procedure for a set of variables belonging to the European Statistics of Accidents at Work (ESAW). The work focused on the Portuguese data and experience with the system. In Portugal, this task has been systematically carried out by GEP (the governmental Cabinet for Strategy and Planning), here defined as the "reference group" or "expert group." However, it is anticipated that this coding task will be performed by non-expert people, since paper-forms will be replaced by e-forms, similarly to what happened in a few EU countries. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to: (a) assess the current situation, that is, to quantify reliability of data coded by GEP (reference group), and (b) assess the impact on the reliability level when the coding is carried out by non-experts (two different groups of coders). METHODS: The study comprises the estimation of both intercoder and intracoder reliability for a set of 8 nominal variables. The assessment applies 3 reliability coefficients calculated by 3 software packages. RESULTS: The results reveal that the expert group (GEP) holds good to excellent reliability (inter- and intracoder agreements), between 68-98%, while there is a considerable "loss of reliability" (-5% to -39%) when the coding process is transferred to other people, without special training or knowledge in this task. CONCLUSIONS: This work gives quantified evidence that reliability of coding accident data is substantially affected by the coders' profile. Moreover, certain variables, regardless of the coder, systematically hold a higher level of coding reliability than others, suggesting that certain codes may need improvement. Future studies should assess coding quality across the EU countries using the ESAW protocol. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Directions for improving the quality of accident data and related statistics; data that is used by researchers and governmental decision-makers to derive prevention strategies.

An overview of occupational accidents notification systems within the enlarged EU.

This paper describes a comparative analysis of the official forms used for reporting occupational accidents within the EU-27 member states. The comparison is based on two analysis grids (coding schedule) created to that effect, which incorporate a set of evaluation criteria and an interpretation key. The results obtained in the analysis allowed for attention to be drawn to the relevant attributes of such forms in terms of their content and format/structure. It also revealed the main similarities and differences between each country, providing a complete assessment of the 27 member states. The discussion gives account of the level of implementation of the "new" Eurostat variables within the European Statistics of Accidents at Work (ESAW). Furthermore, the study shows that certain formats (structure of information fields) appear to facilitate completeness of the information collected. It has also demonstrated that the European harmonisation process is still far from completion, although the newcomer states seem to be adjusting quickly to the process. The findings of this study may bring useful insights to national authorities and European policy-makers, or to employers/enterprises wishing to implement their internal procedures aligned with the ESAW methodology. The scientific community is another interest group, whose research relies on official statistics, preferably comparable across all countries.

The added value of the new ESAW/Eurostat variables in accident analysis in the mining and quarrying industry.

INTRODUCTION: This paper presents a study on the causes and circumstances of occupational accidents in the Portuguese Mining and Quarrying (M&Q) activity sector. METHOD: To this effect, it uses national accident data (2001-2003), giving particular attention to the newly implemented harmonized ESAW/Eurostat variables. The study begins with a broad description of the M&Q sector and identifies its "typical accident." A series of accident pyramids are used to discriminate between causal patterns of fatal and non-fatal accidents. The causation mechanisms of the "typical accidents" (fatal and non-fatal) are established by examining the statistical dependency between pairs of modalities of two key variables: the Contact and the Deviation. RESULTS: The results obtained by this method revealed certain details of the cause-effect mechanism that were unknown before, which also facilitate prioritizing preventive strategies. The study highlights the benefits of the new Eurostat variables for the production of accident statistics. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: The consistent adoption of harmonized classifications has a potentially positive impact on several communities: researchers will find it easier to compare their studies; the national authorities can plan more target-oriented preventive strategies; and the individual organizations may use this instrument to facilitate benchmarking of their performance indicators.