RESUMO
BACKGROUND: "Safe Workplace"-a simplified and educational version of the Finnish building construction methodology involving safety walkarounds where a number of safety indicators are inspected and evaluated-is in widespread use in the Danish construction sector to evaluate physical safety standards proactively at construction work sites. METHODS: Data from the construction of the Copenhagen Metro were analyzed to determine the method's ability to predict injury risk related to joint responsibilities and individual worker responsibilities. RESULTS: A statistically significant association between the risk level as measured by the Safe Workplace methodology and injury risk was found. The relative risk of injury increased with the number of safety indicators violated and was elevated for safety indicators reflecting both individual and joint safety responsibility. The observed injury risk was not elevated in the post-safety walkaround period for safety indicators of individual responsibility, but the joint responsibility indicators retained an elevated injury risk level. CONCLUSIONS: The data support the hypothesis that safety walkarounds both predict and prevent injuries. Safety indicators of individual responsibility are more likely to be corrected than those of joint responsibility.
Assuntos
Acidentes de Trabalho/prevenção & controle , Materiais de Construção/efeitos adversos , Doenças Profissionais/prevenção & controle , Exposição Ocupacional/efeitos adversos , Gestão da Segurança , Caminhada , Acidentes de Trabalho/estatística & dados numéricos , Dinamarca/epidemiologia , Humanos , Doenças Profissionais/epidemiologia , Saúde Ocupacional , Modelos de Riscos Proporcionais , Risco , Medição de Risco , Fatores de Risco , Responsabilidade Social , Local de Trabalho/normas , Local de Trabalho/estatística & dados numéricos , Ferimentos e Lesões/epidemiologia , Ferimentos e Lesões/prevenção & controleRESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To investigate incidences of disability retirement among men who had been employed at the construction of a large traffic link in Denmark, which involved long working hours and long distances between home and work place. METHODS: Men aged 20-54 years at baseline who had been engaged in the construction of the Great Belt Link (n = 5882) were followed-up for disability retirements from 1996 to 2000. Age-standardized incidence ratios (SIR) were calculated and compared with those of other construction workers (n = 117,157). All economically active men in Denmark were used as the standard population. RESULTS: The SIRs for the two groups were 2.29 (95% confidence intervals (CI): 1.95-2.67) and 0.98 (95% CI: 0.93-1.03), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The Great Belt construction workers had an elevated risk for disability retirement compared with other construction workers and with economically active men in general.
