THE ACCIDENT CONSEQUENCE TREE METHOD AND ITS APPLICATION BY REAL-TIMEDATA-COLLECTION IN THE FINNISH FURNITURE INDUSTRY

The identification of accident consequences is of great importance in cost calculations. Various classifications of consequences have been p ublished, but there is a need to develop them further. The Accident Co nsequence Tree (ACT) Method was developed on the basis of the fault tr ee method for calculating accident costs. With the aid of the conseque nce tree it is possible to identify the consequences that an accident causes to the injured person, the company and to the national economy. The consequence tree consists of 128 branches altogether. ?he ACT Met hod was applied to workplace accidents which were followed during the course of 12 months in 18 Finnish furniture factories of different siz es and production types. A real-time data collection system was organi zed. The foremen were trained to fill out the follow-up form. The fore men and injured persons were interviewed by the researchers. ?he 214 a ccidents registered were lost-time injuries; there were no permanent d isabilities. The accidents caused a total of 4300 identified consequen ces according to the ACT Method, on an average 20 consequences per acc ident. Every accident resulted in an injury, temporary disability, fut ure production loss, medical treatment, and loss of company productivi ty. Lost production time was the most notable consequence to the compa nies. The accidents caused 472 visits to health care centres, on avera ge 2.2 visits per accident Two accidents led to hospitalization. As th e material consisted only of temporary disabilities, this must be take n into account when generalizations are being made. Permanent disabili ties and fatalities do occur and they probably cause more losses. Theo retically an accident process should include one additional phase - a consequence phase. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd.