* Occupational Injury and Hiness Classifi-
cation Manual, Bureau of Labor Statistics, De-
cember 1992. Unpublished document. The text of
the Manual is in the Internet World Wide Web
Cattp:/twww-bls.govjeshhome hts)

2 Method of Recording Basic Facts Re-
lating to the Nature and Occurrence of Work
Injuries, American National Standards Insti-
tute, ANSI Z16.2-1962, revised 1969.(Out of
print.)

3 See The International Classification of Dis-
eases, 9th Revision, Clinical Modification, Pub-
lic Health Service, Department of Health and
Human Services, 1989.

* Office of Management and Budget, Stan-
dard Industrial Classification Manual, 1987.

4 Alphabetical Index of Industries and Oc-
cupations, Bureau of the Census, Department of

—ENDNOTES—

Commerce, 1990. According to this coding
scheme some occupations are coded differently
depending on the industry of the employer. In-
dustry codes listed in the alphabetical index used
to code occupations are based on the Census in-
dustry classification, not the SIC system used in
BLS occupational safety and health programs.
BLS modified the alphabetic index to reflect SIC
rather than Census industry code links. The oc-
cupation codes and their associated titles have
not been modified.

© See the Census of Fatal Occupational Inju-
ries and the Survey of Occupational Injuries and
Iinesses news releases: USDL-95-288; USDL-
95-142; USDL-95-508.

"Notification of Approval of Standard,” Board
of Standards Review, American National Standards
Institute, New York, September 20, 1995.

23 Compensation and Working Conditions June 1996

‘The American National Standards Institute
(ANSD is a federation of manufacturers, trade
associations, technical societies, professional
‘groups, and consumer organizations that coordi-
nates efforts to create universal nationally-accepted
business and technical standards, Since 1918,
ANSI has adopted over 4,000 standards covering
‘various items from thread pitches for screws, nuts,
and bolts to computer specifications.

‘ANSI functions through commitices that spe-
cialize in a particular field. Job safety and health
matters, for example, are handled by the Z16
Committee, sponsored by the National Safety
Council. The Z16.2 Subcommittee handles mat-
ters relating to the recording of information on
occupational injuries and illnesses and was re-
sponsible for reviewing the BLS-developed sys-
tem and recommending its adoption.


Table 4. Number of nonfatal occupational Injuries and liinesses Involving days away from work’ by selected worker and

case cliaracteristic and occupation, 1993—Continued

Construction laborers
(Characterietic Al

‘occupations Number Percent
155,504 5,003 92
88,329 37 5a
40,704 15
960,447 19 4 35.6
615,010 13,718 25.1
105,881 1,931 35
518,703 10,938 200
192,634 4 7.9

92,405 2,074
114,540 1,758 32
440,016 13,691 25.1
144,693 3,518 64
114814 4379 80
600 14
177,205 3,640 67
19,007 473 09
eA 1,086 20
300,285 3,198 59
88,813 624 14
154,063 3,504 64
249,077 14,508 268
331,904 $385 99
340,159 8262 16.1
105,478 5,538 104
157,360 2822 52

99,990 -
352,542 9,654 WT
614,630 20,781 38.1
294,177 11,497 21.0
181,753 4375 80
846 2,513 48
111,266 a7 87
244,115 4,118 15
83,078 1,750 32
635,802 12,569 23.0
380,418 7,273 13.3
94,309 688 13
111,524 2,654 49
71,336 1,523 28
4,794 189 03
26,906 123 02
21,254 48 00
5,653 75 0.1
254,833 5,416 99

Days away from work include those which result in days away partment of Tr i mining contractors are ex-
from work with of without restricted work cluded from the coal, metal, and nonmetal mining

? Excludes farms with fewer than 11 employees.

* Data conforming to OSHA definitions for mining operators in coal,
‘metal, and nonmetal mining and for employees in railroad transportation
are provided to BLS by the Mine Safety and HealthAdministration, U.S.
Department of Labor, and the Federal Railroad Administration, U.S. De-

reaponsas, data may not sum 1 the tla. Dashes indicate data that
donot meet publication gui

SOURCE" Buraau of Labor Statistics, US. Department of Labor
‘April 1996.

Compensation and Working Conditions June 1996 28



Table 2. Fatal occupational injuries in the construction industry by event or exposure , 1994

Construction industry
' Total (percent)
Event or exposure (aunbes) General | Heavy, | Space
uilding | construct} trade
contractors] on | contractors
Total . 1027 | 100.0 | 1000 | 1000
‘Transportation incidents .. 265 222 aia | 205
Highway 129 138 138 17
Collision between vehicles, mobile equipment . 63 79 45
‘Moving in same direction 10 - 16
Moving in opposite directions, oncoming 19 26 -
Moving in intarsection .. " 18 16
Vehicle struck stationary object or equipment ‘on side of road 22 16 18
Noncatision 3 a7 17
“Jack-knited oF overtumed--no collision 34 28 69
‘Nonhighway (farm, industrial premises)... : 44 - a4
Colision between vehicles or mobile equipment 5 - -
Noncolision accident... 38 - 73
Fall from moving vehicle, mobile equipment 5 - -
Fall om and stuck by viel, mb equipment 9 - 24 -
OveRUINED a1 - 45 1
Aircratt a 10 26 - 7
Worker struck by vehicle, mobile equipment 69 42 170 32
Worker struck by vehicle, mobile equipment in roadway 32 - 10.1 a
Worker struck by vehicle, mobile equipment on side of road... 9 - 20 8
Worke stuck by vice, mobile equipment in parking lt oF nenoed area 20 24 28 15
Water vehicle ..... 8 - 16 -
Assaults and violent acts 28 53 12 25
Homicides | 45 42 - 8
Shooting... 13 37 - 7
Sel-nficted injury 2 - - 15
Contact with otigcts and eaipment 183 159 aia 174
Struck by object... 74 13 74
‘Struck by faling object... s4 48 73 46
Struck by flying object 7 - 18 -
Struck by swinging or sipping object " - - 15
Struck by roling, sliding objects on floor or ground level 6 - - 7
Caught in or compressed by equipment or objects 33 32 28 34
‘Caught in running equipment or machinery... oo u 16 - 12
Compressed or pinched by roling, siding, of shiting objects 8 - 12 7
Caught in or crushed in collapsing materials SE) 63 48 63 63
Excavation or trenching cave-in 39 18 61 36
Caught in or crushed in collapsing structure 21 26 - 24
380 418 81 39.1
316 38.1 73 382
Fal trom tor, dock F groundiave " 18 - 14
Fall trom laddee.... a7 79 12 49
Fall from r00f ...- 108 118 - 139
Fall from scaffold, staging 68 80 - a5
Fall from bulking girders or other structural steel 25 24 16 29
Fall from nonmoving vehicle 9 - - 12
Fallon same level on 10 32 -
Exposure to harmful substances or environments | 184 122 243 al
Contact with electric current .. ee 140 9s 18.4 142
Contact with electric current of machine, 1001, appkance, light fixture 13 - - 7
Goniat with wring transormers. or one olctieal carpenent 45 26 36 52
Gontact with overhead power lines et 42 ag 52
Contact with temperature extremes an — 13 - 28 10
Exposure to environmental heat to - 20 ‘
Exposure io caus, noxious, of alergenic substances 18 16 24 10
Inhalation of substance 9 - 16 7
‘Onygen deticiency 15 = 36 7
Browning, submersion 9 - 24 8
Fires and explosions ..... 34 26 36 34
Fires~unintended or uncontroied 16 - 28 15
Fie i residence, buking, oF the tuturo 5 = 42 -
Explosion conf 18. 26 - 19
Explosion : 8 - - 10
* Based on the 1982 BLS Occupational Injury and lliness Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet
Classification Structures. publication erteria.
NOTE: Totals for major categories may include ‘SOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of
subcategories not shown separately, Percentages may not Labor, in. cooperation. with State and Federal agencies,
‘add to totals because of rounding. Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, 1994.

25 Compensation and Working Conditions June 1996



Table 1. Fatal occupational injuries by industry and major event or exposure, 1994

Event or exposure?
(percent)
Exposure
1 SIC . Contact
Industry cove! | Numbe Transpor-| Assauits | with eeetan | Fires anc
Percent | tation |andviolent| objects | Falls pean | Fires ane
incidents | acts and enon. | sions
equipment me
Total ... . 6588 | 100.0 418 19.9 15.4 10.0 97 at
Private industry . 5,923 | 1000 405 19,7 16.4 10.4 10.1 27
Agriculture, forestry and fishing 847 | 1000 537 668 198 72 113 9
Mining . 100 | 1000 at - 33.9 et 150 "7
CONBENUCHION oe nrnonnenn 1.027 | 1000 25.8 27 178 321 79 33
General building contractors .. 15 189] 100.0 222 53 159 418 122 26
Residential building construction 152 a2 | 1000 220 98 18.3 329 15.9 -
Single-family housing construction 1521 50 | 1000 180 120 200 320 180 -
Residential construction, n.2.¢. . 1822 19 | 1000 - - 26.3 263 - -
Nonresidential building construction 184 9 | 1000 208 - 146 479 104 42
Industria! buildings and warehouses . 1541 37 | 1000 108 - 162 459 135 108
Nonresidentia! building construction, n.e.c. 1542 43 | 1000 292 - 167 458 83 -
Heavy construction, except DuIKGING 0. nsasonne 16 247 | 100.0 413 - ant at 243 36
Highway and street construction... {161 76 | 1000 658 - 66 - 132 79
Heavy construction, except highway sonnvon) 162 166 | 1000 295 - 2d 102 30.1 -
Bridge, tunnel, and slevated highway ..... 1622 20 | 1000 55.0 - = 25.0 = -
Water, sewer, and utility lines ee 1623 2 | 1000 189 - 28.9 4 38.9 -
Heavy construction, ne. 1629 56 | 1000 375 - 286 - 25.0
Special trades contractors a .n. 7 591 | 1000 205 25 174 38.1 17.41
Plumbing, heating and air-conditioning 7 71 | 1000 296 58 225 239 14.1 -
Painting and paper hanging .. . 172 40 | 1000 125 = - 625 150 -
Electrical work ocr “| 173 78 | 1000 154 st 7 231 462 -
Masonry, stonework, tile setting, and plastering 174 53 | 1000 34.0 - - 528 78 -
Masonry and other stonework... oun] 749 18 | 1000 = - - 733 - -
Plastering, drywall, and insulation... 1742 26 | 1000 346 - - 538 - -
Terrazzo, tte, marble, mosaic work 1743 10 | 1000 80.0 - - = -
Carpentry and tloor work . 175 31 | 1000 226 - - 548 161 -
Carpeniry Work... svn 1751 ze | 1000 214 - - 87.4 179 -
Roofing, siding, and sheet metal Work. vseccoweeen| 176 82 | 1000 90 - 56 674 148 -
Concrete work snes 17 34 | 1000 26.5 - 35.3 118 147 -
Water well Qing... nsnosninsivonnsnnnerncnnn 178 8 | 1000 ~ - - - 625 -
Miscellaneous special rade
CONFACOES -nvnnenrnernnntn 179 1ez | 1000 198 - 308 324 99 55
Structural steel erection... oneinnee| 1704 52 | 1000 15 - 115 692 - -
Excavation work nmanennninnaninecnne| 786 47 | 1000 362 - 532 - - -
Wrecking and demaition work sooo] 9795, 22 | 1000 - - 50.0 36.4 - -
{Installing building equipment, n.e.c. 1796 12 | 1000 - - = 333 - -
‘Special trade contractors, nan 1799 46 | 1000 196 - 239 152 239 130
Manufacturing... Jntunntinennnnn 787 | 1000 313 70 386 66 103 56
‘Transportation and public utiles 944 | 1000 674 13.8 ar 30 62 7
Wholesale trade . ze3 | 1000 50.6 a7 20.4 82 74 a7
Retail trade ... 797 | 1000 188 69.9 a4 29 26 14
Finance, insurance, and real estate... .osesnnnnes 112 | 1000 30.3 366 $4 80 a9 -
Services 844 | 1000 419 29.5 al 90 10.0 24
Other or nonclassifiable .. 116 | 1000 49.1 20.7 129 - 724 -
66s | 1000 513 209 69 Al 63 65
208 | 1000 59.3 15 72 87 87 105
1172 | 1000 66.1 188 = 80 45 =
333 | 1000 a4 279 at 72 72 60
9221 121 | 100.0 421 545 - - - -
2 ‘Standard industrial Classification Manual, 1987 Edition. ‘separately. Percantages may not add to totals because of rounding.
Based on the 1982 BLS Occupational Injury and tines Classification Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication cteria,
Structures. Includes other events and exposures, such as bodily reaction, in A.0.¢. = not elsewhere classified

addition to those shown separately.

‘SOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, in cooperation,
NOTE: Totals for major catagories may include subcategories nat shown _with Stale and Federal agencies, Census oi Fatal Occupational Inuies, rose

Compensation and Working Conditions June 1996 24



‘Table 4. Number of nonfatal occupational injuries and Ilinesses Involving days away from work’ by selected worker
and case characteristic and occupation, 1993

Construction laborers
Characteristic al
occupations Number Percent
2,252,501 54,579 100.0
1,490,416 52,864 96.9
735,570 1,325 24
2 = =
889 2 00
95,791 3,068 56
319,708 10,922 20.0
724,355 20,004 385
566,429 11,695 214
323,503 4,372 80
148,249 1,524 28
21,604 167 03
278, 16,859 309
410,126 13,508 247
754,874 14,800 271
598,044 5,916 10.8
210,655 3,496 64
1,250,071 32,872 60.2
195,780 5,170 95
192,304 7,117 13.0
33,230 O7
9,156 517 09
872,051 8520 15.6
44,826 19 0.0
21,000 =
204,769 53,060
583,841 103
232,999 69
160,934 63
408,590 53
60,159 1
535,386 eat
366,054 8,045 147
291,760 6,772 124
467,001 10,545 19.3
301,941 6811 125
256,319 5,785 10.8
Cases involving 21-30 days -. 142,301 4,102 75
Cases involving 31 or more days 427,215 12,520 22.9
Median days away from work .. 6 7
959,163 20,322 372
136,478 5,468 10.0
202, 6,570 12.0
211,179 4,930 9.0
97,718 654 12
15,667 641 12
1" 285 0s
41,019 229 04
25, 243 04
73,181 1,965 36
13,379 469 09
26,969 666 12
127,555 2,419 44
58,385 1,163 24
411,799 10,856 199

See footnotes at end of table

27 Compensation and Working Conditions June 1996



Using the BLS
Occupational Injury

and IIIness

Classification
System as a Safety

and Health

Management Tool sy euy roscano, JANICE WINDAU,
AND DINO DRUDI

ears in the making, the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) Occupational Injury

and Illness Classification System enables safety and health professionals and

other data users to better monitor work injuries, illnesses, and fatalities; pro-
mote safer work practices; develop new safety equipment; assess and improve work-
place standards; and better use scarce resources.

The Occupational Injury and
Illness Classification System
(OIICS) developed by BLS provides
a set of procedures for selecting and
recording facts relating to an
occupational injury, illness, or
fatality.' Uniformly coded data
provide safety and health profession-
als and policy analysts with informa-
tion to develop programs designed to
reduce hazards in the workplace.

Description of OlICS

OIICS classifies selected charac-
teristics of individual injury and
illness incidents. This information
generally comes from administrative
records such as employer logs and

Guy Toscano and Dino Drudi are economists
in the Office of Safety, Health, and Working Con-
ditions, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Janice Windau
is an epidemiologist in the same office. Telephone
(202) 606-6175.

workers’ compensation reports.
While viewing these reports sepa-
rately may give researchers a general
idea of the types of hazards faced by
workers, they will not produce the
data on such key factors as hazard-
ous equipment and exposures needed
to systematically develop and set
priorities for injury prevention
efforts. Recognizing the shortcom-
ing of reviewing cases individually,
standardized coding is used to
uniformly classify similar events and
circumstances resulting in serious
injury and disease.

OIICS includes the following five
classification structures that describe
the injury or illness and how it
occurred: Nature of injury or illness,
part of body affected, source of injury
or illness, event or exposure, and
secondary source of injury or illness.

19 Compensation and Working Conditions June 1996

With the exception of secondary
source, these categories are ulti-
mately based on the American
National Standards Institute (ANSI)
Z16.2.? OLICS is also designed to
be as compatible as possible with the
International Classification of
Diseases, 9th Revision, Clinical
Modification (ICD-9 CM), which is
widely used in the medical commu-
nity?

Nature of injury or illness
describes the physical characteristics
of the injury or illness; part of body
identifies the part of the body
directly affected by the nature;
source identifies the object or
substance that directly inflicted the
injury or illness; event or exposure
describes the manner in which the
injury or illness was inflicted by the
source; and secondary source identi-



Table 3. Fatal occupational injuries in the construction industry by occupation and major event or exposure, 1994

Event or exposure?
(percent)
Exposure
Occupation? Number Contact to harmful
Assaure yawn Fotis | Sudstanc- | Fires and
anor) ects ‘is |" esor | explosions
environ-
equipment monte
1,027 | 100.0 258 a7 17.8 324 179 33
‘Managerial and professional specialty .... 54 | 1000 37.0 - wa 33.3 93 -
Executive, administrative, and managerial . 51 | 1000 373 - 118 33.3 98 -
Managers and administrators, n.e.c. 45 | 1000 356 - 133 356 - -
Technical, sates, and administrative support 10 | 1000 60.0 - - - - -
‘Technicians and related support occupations e | 1000 68.7 - = = = =
Precision production, craft, and repale 557 | 1000 167 34 138 411 224 23
Mechanics and repairers . 46 | 1000 26.1 - 239 283 152 -
Vehicle and mobile equipment mechanics, repairers,
aNd SUPETVISOES nn - . 14 | 1000 35.7 - 286 286 - -
Electrical and electronic equ epairers 12 | 1000 ~ - = ~ 333 -
Miscellaneous mechanics and repairers 16 | 1000 - - 25.0 a5 = -
Elevator installers and repairers . 7 | 1000 - - ~ m4 - =
‘Construction trades 499 | 1000 18.0 13.2 419 228 24
Supervisors, construction occupations ..... | 100 | 1000 29.0 20 240 170 -
Supervisors, carpenters and related workers 5 | 1000 - - 80.0 - -
Supervisors, ne. 73 | 1000 308 244 167 192 -
Construction trades, except supervisors 399 | 100.0 128 11.0 464 243 25
Brickmasons, stonemasons, and apprentices 11 | 1000 - - ~ 545 ~ -
Carpenters and apprentices 7 |} 100.0 at - 182 519 182 -
9 | 100.0 - - - 556 - -
67 | 1000 11.9 - - 209 59.7 -
3 18 | 1000 - - - 50.0 50.0 -
Painters, construction and maintenance 32 | 1000 - - - 59.4 25.0 -
Plumbers. pipeliters, steamfiters, and apprentices 33 | 1000 24.2 - 273 182 - tat
Insulation workers... | 6 | 1000 - - ~ 667 - =
Rooters ..... : s3 | 1000 a4 - - nz 84 -
Structural metal workers 45 | 1000 89 - 156 644 - -
Drillers, 41TH arcane 7 {| 100.0 - - - - m4 -
Precision production occupations 11 | 1000 - - - 636 - -
Precision metal working occupal 14 | 1000 - - 636 - -
Shoot metal workers .. 5 | 1000 - - 80.0 - ~
Operators, fabricators, and laborers ... 400 | 1000 362 15 242 200 132 48
Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors 26 | 1000 - 23.1 269 182 192
Fabricators, assemblers, and hand working
‘occupations .. . 22 | 1000 - - 273 273 182 227
Wolders and cutters 21 | 1000 = - 286 238 190 238
Transporation and material moving occupatios 124 | 1000 58.1 - 266 56 56
Motor vehicle operators . so | 1000 760 - 140 - - -
Truck drivers ..... _ 43 | 1000 755 - 143 ~ - -
Material moving equipment operators 70 | 1000 457 - 35.7 - - 10.0
rating engineers .... _ 29 | 1000 44.8 - 345 - - ~
Excavating and loading machine operators | 97 | 1000 412 - 52.8 - -
‘Grader, dozer. and scraper operators .... : 15 | 1000 48.7 - - - - -
Industrial truck and tractor equipment operators 4 | 1000 | 1000 - - - - -
Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers 250 | 1000 28.0 16 232 280 164 28
Helpers, construction and extractive occupations .. 1 | 1000 375 - = 375 - -
Helpers, construction trades... 16 | 1000 375 = - 375 = -
Construction laborers nn 231 | 1000 273 17 23.4 277 169 30
1 Based on the 1990 Occupational Classification System developed by separately. Percentages may not add to totals because of rounding.
the, Bureau of the Consus. Dashes indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria.
2 Based on tho 1992 BLS Occupational Injury and lines Classification N.8.¢. = not elsewhere classified.
Structures. Includes other events and exposures, such as bodily reaction, in
Addition to those shown separately. SOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, in
‘cooperation with State and Federal agencies, Consus of Fatal Occupational
NOTE: Totals for major categories may include subcategories not shown _injuries, 1994,

Compensation and Working Conditions June 1996 26



used to identify, verify, and profile
fatal work injuries. The fatality
census uses multiple data sources
such as death certificates, workers’
compensation reports and claims,
Occupational Safety and Health
Administration files, and news
articles to compile the most complete
count of fatal work injuries possible.
Information such as the type of
incident and machinery or equip-
ment involved; nature of injury and
part of body affected; occupation,
age, race, and sex of the worker; the
location of the incident; and industry
of the employer is coded for each
fatal injury. Summary data tables
are released approximately 8 months
after the end of the reference year.
Data are available for all 50 States
and the District of Columbia starting
with 1992.

The Survey of Occupational
Injuries and IIlnesses is based on a
scientifically selected sample of
business establishments in the
private sector. The survey profiles
workers and case characteristics of
serious nonfatal workplace injuries
and illnesses resulting in lost
worktime as well as frequency
counts and incidence rates by
industry. Incidence rates are
released about 11 months after the
end of the calendar year. Worker
and case characteristics are pub-
lished approximately 14 months
after the end of the calendar year.
Unlike the fatality census, the self-
employed, government workers, and
workers on small farms are excluded
from the scope of the survey of
nonfatal injuries. These differences
may affect comparisons of data for
fatal and nonfatal workplace events.

Background

At the outset of the redesign of
the occupational safety and health
Statistics program in 1989, BLS
chartered a classification structures
team to review and revise the coding
system it had been using to classify

workers’ compensation data col-
lected under the Supplementary Data
System. The team consisted of BLS
staff, as well as safety and health
experts from other Federal and
participating State agencies. In
anticipation of the new data require-
ments for occupational injuries and
illnesses and because of increased
demand by users for more detailed
information, the team recognized
that a new, comprehensive, detailed
coding scheme would be needed.

After research and testing, the
team recommended definitions, rules
of selection, numerical codes, and
code descriptions for nature of injury
or illness; part of body affected;
source of injury or illness; event or
exposure (previously known as “type
of accident or exposure”); and a
classification termed secondary
source of injury or illness. The
Standard Industrial Classification
(SIC), 1987 version, would continue
to be used for industry, and a
modified version of the Bureau of
Census 1990 Occupational Classifi-
cation System would be used to code
workers’ occupations. Starting with
1992 occupational injury and illness
data collection, the new classifica-
tion structures were implemented by
BLS and participating State agen-
cles,

After BLS had implemented
OIICS, the ANSI Z16.2 subcommit-
tee, independently of BLS, initiated
steps to consider the new system as
the national standard. In February
1995, the ANSI Z.16.2 subcommittee
submitted the Occupational Injury
and Illness Classification System
(nature, part, source, event, second-
ary source, SIC industry, and
occupation) to its membership for
consideration. The membership
voted to adopt the BLS system for
recording information on occupa-
tional injuries and illnesses. Then,
on September 11, 1995, the ANSI
Board of Standards Review approved
the OIICS as the American National

Standard for Information Manage-
ment for Occupational Safety and
Health (ANSI Z16.2-1995).’

A number of other organizations
have either adopted the BLS system
or are considering adopting it. The
Environmental Protection Agency
has adopted the OIICS and has
already developed an automated
system using it to categorize on-the-
job injuries and illnesses affecting its
employees. The system is expected
to be available on CD-Rom and via
the Internet later this year. In
addition, many State workers’
compensation agencies as well as the
Canadian Association of Workers’
Compensation Boards have adopted
the OIICS. The International
Labour Organization is also consid-
ering it.

Summary

The BLS Occupational Injury and
Itiness Classification System will
enable safety and health profession-
als and other data users to better
monitor work injuries and illnesses,
educate workers about hazards
associated with various jobs,
promote safer work practices
through enhanced job safety train-
ing, develop new safety equipment,
assess and improve workplace safety
standards, target research, and better
use scarce resources. To evaluate
their own programs, employers,
unions, and industry groups will be
able to more readily compare their
own safety and health experiences
with national trends.

As with any major statistical:
system revision, experience will
point to areas where fine-tuning will
be needed. Such enhancements are
essential to maintain a high quality
classification system. The agencies
involved in developing the Occupa-
tional Injury and Illness Classifica-
tion System will continue to devote
Tesources to improving the system to
assure it continues to serve the
purposes for which it was created.

Compensation and Working Conditions June 1996 22



Case 2.A crane operator whoworked
for a structural steel erection
company was electrocuted
when he raised the crane
boom hitting a high voltage
line.

Characteristic Category Code

Nature of injury Electrocution 0930

Part of body Body system 5000

Source ofinjury Crane, _ 3430

Event or Contactwith 3130

exposure overhead
powerlines

Secondary Powerlines, 4415

source: transformers.

Industry Structural 1791

steel

Case 3.A bricklayer working for a
masonry contractor devel-
opedcarpal tunne) syndrome
from repeatedly using a
trowel to scoop mortar while
laying bricks.

Characteristle Category Code

Nature of injury + Carpal 1241

tunnel
syndrome

Part of body Wrist 3200

Source of injury Bodily motion 5620

of position

Event or Repetitive 2320

exposure use of tools

Secondary Trowel 134

source

Industry Masonry, 1741

stone setting

Occupation Bricklayer 563

A management Information
system

Coding information on occupa-
tional injuries and illnesses permits
creation of a database that policy
analysts and safety and health
professionals can use to develop
employee safety awareness and
training programs to prevent
recurrence of serious injuries.

The two BLS programs using
OIICS are the Census of Fatal
Occupational Injuries and the Survey
of (Nonfatal) Occupational Injuries
and Illnesses. Both of these pro-
grams are Federal-State cooperative
systems whereby participating State
agencies assist in collecting and

classifying the data. While State
agencies participating in the fatality
census code the OIICS characteris-
tics for all in-scope fatalities, States
participating in the survey of
nonfatal injuries and illnesses code
only those cases that result in 1 or
more lost workdays.

Tables 1-4 show the types of data
that can be generated for analysis
using the coded information from
the 1994 Census of Fatal Occupa-
tional Injuries and the 1993 Survey
of Occupational Injuries and
Illnesses. Construction industries
and occupations are highlighted in
these tables to illustrate the system’s
use as a management tool for
studying occupational injuries and
illnesses to develop prevention
strategies.

Table 1 presents fatality data by
industry division and major event or
division level event categories.
Detailed industries are shown for
construction illustrating the hierar-
chical format of the SIC structure,
The table shows the general types of
incidents involved in fatalities to
workers in the various construction
industries. For example, data under
heavy construction (SIC 162)
include data for the subcategory
water, sewer, and utility lines (SIC
1623). Almost 40 percent of the
fatalities in this four-digit SIC
resulted from exposure to harmful
substances or environments, the
division-level event category which
includes contacts with electricity,
temperature extremes, exposures to
toxic substances, and exposure to
oxygen-deficient environments.

Table 2 lists these and other
detailed event and exposure catego-
nies for fatalities in the 2-digit SICs
in construction, illustrating the
specific ways in which construction
workers were killed. Such informa-
tion can be used to set priorities for
prescriptive measures in the 2-digit
construction industries. For ex-
ample, falls to lower levels resulted
in 316 fatalities in the construction
industry in 1994 and almost 40
percent of the fatalities for workers

21 Compensation and Working Conditions June 1996

in the general building and special
trades industries.

Similar analysis of fatal work
injuries can be performed for
occupation. Table 3 shows major
fatal events for workers in various
occupations in the construction
industry.

Table 4 presents data for nonfatal
occupational injuries and illnesses
involving days away from work for
construction laborers. Besides the
case characteristics coded in accor-
dance with OIICS, the table shows
the demographic characteristics of
injured workers (sex, age, race), the
length of time the worker had been
with the employer, and the length of
time it took the worker to recuperate
from the injury. The table shows, for
example, that about 10 percent of
lost workday injuries sustained by
construction laborers are fractures
and that the median number of days
it took for recuperation from these
fractures was 20 days away from
work. Hence, measures taken that
prevent fractures could result in
significant cost and time savings to
employers. Further analysis of the
injury data for fractures to construc-
tion laborers by specific event and
exposure category may lead to
measures that will assist in this
effort.

Data sources

The two data series used in the
above analysis are drawn from two
Bureau of Labor Statistics pro-
grams—the Census of Fatal Occupa-
tional Injuries and the Survey of
Occupational Injuries and Illnesses.
Data from both programs are used
by employers, workers, and safety
and health specialists in efforts to
prevent job-related injuries and
illnesses,

The Census of Fatal Occupational
Injuries compiles a systematic,
verifiable count of fatal work injuries
as well as detailed information on
how these events occurred. Because
studies have shown that no single
data source captures all worker
deaths, multiple data sources are



fies other objects or substances, if any,
that contributed to the event or
exposure. The same code list is used
for both source and secondary source.

Each classification structure has
four levels of detail for recording the
characteristics of the injury or
illness—a very general grouping
called the division level, the 2-digit
major group level, and the more
detailed 3- and 4-digit levels. This
hierarchical arrangement accommo-
dates variations in the level of detail
available on reporting forms, For
example, a delivery truck involved in
a crash injuring the driver could
variously be identified on the
reporting form and subsequently
coded as to source as a delivery truck
(code 8251), a truck (code 8250), a
highway motor vehicle (code 8200),
or just a vehicle (code 8000).

Such a hierarchical arrangement
enables classification system users to
code some or all data element
categories at either full detail, or some
less detailed level of aggregation,
Consistent with their needs. More-
over, researchers can readily tabulate
data at a less detailed level of aggre-
gation than the level at which the data
are coded, if this would enhance data
presentation or otherwise better fulfill
their research needs.

Because of the varied occupa-
tional injury and illness data needs
BLS is called upon to fulfill, BLS
and its participating State agencies
code occupational injury and illness
data at full detail. A nonparticipat-
ing State workers’ compensation
agency wishing to adopt OIICS, but
due to administrative or research
requirements not wishing to code at
full detail, would, however, be able
to use the system to code at a more
general level. For example, a
workers” compensation agency only
interested in knowing the general
class of vehicles involved in motor
vehicle incidents could code vehicles
to the 3-digit level. Thus, all trucks
would be coded using a single source
code (8250). Were the agency
interested in detailed information for
tractor-trailer trucks, and wished to

lump all other trucks together, it could
retain the 4-digit code for tractor-
trailer trucks (code 8254), and place
all other types of trucks into the not
elsewhere classified category (code
8259), and use truck, unspecified
(code 8250) when source documents
are unclear as to the type of tuck
involved in the incident.

Altematively, the agency could
code to the level of detail provided on
the source document and then tabulate
to a general or summary level. This
flexibility allows subsequent users of
the data to perform more detailed
studies than originally planned.

Rules of selection, code descrip-
tions, alphabetical indices, and edit
criteria help ensure that data
available for analysis are uniformly
coded as well as useful for develop-
ing prevention strategies. The
concept of the rules of selection
originated with the ANSI Z16.2-
1962 system. These rules along with
the code descriptions instruct coders
how to select the correct category
when the incident appears to fit into
more than one code category. To
illustrate: a trucker dies of bums
after his semitrailer truck crashes
into a bridge abutment and bursts
into flames. Would this case be coded
as a fire or as a highway crash?
According to the mules of selection and
code descriptions for event, the
incident is classified as a highway
crash because the nules of selection
State that transportation incidents take
Precedence over fires.

Edit criteria were developed to
ensure the accuracy of the coded data.
These criteria not only screen for valid
numeric codes, but also check for
inconsistencies between characteris-
tics. For example, data records are
screened to ensure that the part of
body is not coded toe when the nature
of injury and illness is classified as an
intracranial injury.

Industry of worker

The industry describes the kind of
business in which the injured
worker’s employer is engaged. The
establishment is classified according

to the Office of Management and
Budget’s Standard Industrial
Classification (SIC) Manual, 1987
Edition.‘ That system is the stan-
dard for classifying industries among
Federal and State governmental
agencies, trade associations, and
Private research organizations.
Codes are assigned based on the
primary activity performed by the
establishment.

The SIC Manual’s hierarchical
arrangement of categories with
detailed code descriptions served as
the model for the O1/CS Manual.

Occupation of worker

The occupation describes the type
of job held by the worker at the time
of the injury. The occupation coding
structure is adapted from the Bureau
of the Census 1990 Occupational
Classification System, which is used
in the BLS occupational safety and
health program, and includes
approximately 500 individual
occupations grouped under major
categories.’ For example, under
construction trades a coder would
find categories for carpenters (code
567), roofers (code 595), and 28
other construction trade occupations.

Case scenarios using OIICS

The coding of the following three
cases exemplifies the use of BLS’s
new system for classifying occupa-
tional injuries and illnesses.

Case 1. A carpenter who worked for
a general contractor building
single family homes, received
a concussion when struck by
abrick that fell from a scaf-

fold above him.
Characteristics Categoy Code
Nature of injury Concussion 0620
Part of body Brain 0110
Source of injury Brick 41
Event or Struck by 0210
exposure falling object
‘Secondary Scaffold 6460
‘source
Industry General 1521
contractor—
single
houses
Occupation Carpenter 567

Compensation and Working Conditions June 1996 20