Reporting and classification of loss of balance accidents

The main objective of the study was to assess how a classification system d esigned to code slip, trip and fall accidents (STF) could extract data prov ided in accident reports and the use of the system by the coder. Its specif ic aims were to evaluate the importance of loss of balance (LOB), other tha n that related to a slip-trip-fall event (STF), and the impact on statistic s of overlapping LOB events, as well as to characterize the nature of the d escriptive material, in particular as concerns the implicit nature of event s or circumstances reported. Two databases were constituted from an initial group of 1540 accident reports acquired from a large telecommunications co mpany. The classification system provided three codes to cover S, T, and F accidents, as well as 25 subcodes (S: 7; T: 6; F: 12) for classifying STF c ontext. The first database grouped together 378 accident descriptions coded S, T, or F, while the second grouped together 104 accident descriptions re porting an LOB but not coded ST or F. For the three main STF codes and 25 s ubcodes, all vocabulary or locutions referring explicitly or implicitly to these codes were identified. In 81% of the descriptions for the first datab ase, an S, T, or F corresponding to its resultant coding was identifiable ( S: 98%, T: 73%; F: 72%). The study shows that the coder was very reliable a nd consistent. However, the system as designed led to significant distortio ns. In particular, the subcodes led to misclassifications. Correspondence b etween the descriptive data and the subcodes was low for trip events (51%), average for slipping (75%), and almost perfect for fall events (96%). An L OB other than an STF was identified in 23% of the descriptions. Two differe nt LOB events were reported in 32% of the cases, A review of the second dat abase revealed that only 32% of the descriptions could have suited the prop osed classification system. The study showed that implicit data were used b y the coder. Overall, the combined analysis of both databases showed that s lipping events as well as other LOBs were underestimated and that a good nu mber failing events were falsely identified. The statistics appeared to be seriously flawed. A possible strategy for structuring LOB events is propose d. (C) 2000 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.