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Rate of occupational accidents in the mining industry since 1950—a successful approach to prevention policy
Journal of Safety Research 33 (2002) 129 – 141 www.elsevier.com/locate/jsr
Special international report
Rate of occupational accidents in the mining industry since 1950—a successful approach to prevention policy Joachim Breuer, Eva-Marie Ho¨ffer*, Walter Hummitzsch Bergbau-Berufsgenossenschaft, Munscheidtstrasse 18, D-44789 Bochum, Germany Received 17 December 2001; accepted 19 December 2001
Abstract This paper deals with the decrease in the rate of accident insurance claims in the German mining industry over the last five decades. It intends to show that this process is above all the result of a prevention policy where companies and the body responsible for the legal accident insurance in the mining industry, the Bergbau-Berufsgenossenschaft (BBG), work hand in hand. A system like the German accident insurance scheme, combining prevention, rehabilitation, and compensation, enables successful and modern safety and health measures. D 2002 National Safety Council and Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Safety and health; Prevention; Accidents at work; Accident insurance; Statistics
1. Introduction Over the last 50 years, the risk of being injured in an occupational accident in the German mining industry has declined in a way that was not imaginable in former times. The number of registered accidents at work per 1,000 insured employees has fallen by 89.5% from its highest rate in 1958 (see Table 1). This positive trend is the result of joint efforts by the Bergbau-Berufsgenossenschaft (BBG) and the mining companies in the area of accident prevention.
* Corresponding author. E-mail address: [email protected] (E.-M. Ho¨ffer). 0022-4375/02/$ – see front matter D 2002 National Safety Council and Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. PII: S 0 0 2 2 - 4 3 7 5 ( 0 2 ) 0 0 0 0 9 - 9
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Table 1 Rates of the insured, reportable accidents, and new pensions in case of reportable accidents at work since 1950a Reportable accidents at work Insured
Absolute
1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973
571,367 594,784 620,972 637,364 634,650 637,845 660,295 661,678 653,609 608,008 614,457 586,421 550,705 522,474 502,302 481,357 441,986 381,246 340,514 321,782 313,524 314,647 289,779 273,198
140,195 151,450 156,971 164,122 146,253 141,115 137,831 156,230 186,970 147,190 144,577 145,589 130,616 124,779 116,828 109,941 88,077 60,115 55,046 62,572 62,902 52,858 43,232 40,625
245.37 254.63 252.78 257.50 230.44 221.24 208.74 236.11 286.06 242.09 235.29 248.27 237.18 238.82 232.59 228.40 199.28 157.68 161.66 194.45 200.63 167.99 149.19 148.70
New pension in case of accidents at work Per 1 million working hours b b b b b b b b b b b b b b
125.10 125.13 111.80 91.01 91.28 110.01 116.36 99.42 90.44 91.43
Absolute
Per 1000 of the insured
Per 1 million working hours
5583 6097 5824 6829 6790 7486 7568 7301 7331 7663 8280 7436 7593 6508 6039 5871 5501 4766 3602 3582 3299 3060 2920 2727
9.77 10.25 9.38 10.71 10.70 11.74 11.46 11.03 11.22 12.60 13.48 12.68 13.79 12.46 12.02 12.20 12.45 12.50 10.58 11.13 10.52 9.73 10.08 9.98
b b b b b b b b b b b b b b
6.47 6.68 6.98 7.22 5.97 6.30 6.10 5.76 6.11 6.14
J. Breuer et al. / Journal of Safety Research 33 (2002) 129–141
Year
Per 1000 of the insured
a b
262,891 263,097 257,067 249,943 243,520 240,631 243,497 246,966 244,130 238,867 228,766 224,246 221,127 213,553 203,966 193,888 182,664 303,183 259,309 223,627 202,663 191,538 169,297 151,928 139,606 130,814 114,171
38,596 37,998 32,862 32,692 30,922 29,078 29,217 30,267 27,506 24,017 21,540 21,203 19,505 16,609 13,682 14,943 13,145 20,178 18,288 13,585 11,993 10,689 7229 6036 5018 4265 3437
146.81 144.43 127.83 130.80 126.98 120.84 119.99 122.56 112.67 100.55 94.16 94.55 88.21 77.77 67.08 77.07 71.96 66.55 70.53 60.75 59.18 55.81 42.70 39.73 35.94 32.60 30.10
87.24 87.07 78.10 81.36 80.11 75.41 74.74 76.40 70.36 64.77 61.55 60.78 57.62 51.88 45.57 52.91 49.18 46.49 47.57 42.88 41.60 39.30 30.36 28.25 25.66 23.31 21.44
2454 2265 2431 2334 2172 2086 2140 2215 2249 2172 2037 2081 1912 1723 1677 1379 1242 1066 1184 1186 905 868 742 552 510 417 382
9.33 8.61 9.46 9.34 8.92 8.67 8.79 8.97 9.21 9.09 8.90 9.28 8.65 8.07 8.22 7.11 6.80 3.52 4.57 5.30 4.47 4.53 4.38 3.63 3.65 3.19 3.35
5.55 5.19 5.78 5.81 5.63 5.41 5.47 5.59 5.75 5.86 5.82 5.97 5.65 5.38 5.59 4.88 4.65 2.46 3.08 3.74 3.14 3.19 3.12 2.58 2.61 2.28 2.38
J. Breuer et al. / Journal of Safety Research 33 (2002) 129–141
1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
Data from Bergbau-Berufsgenossenschaft 2001. Working hours in the years between 1950 and 1963 were not included. 131
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J. Breuer et al. / Journal of Safety Research 33 (2002) 129–141
2. German accident insurance scheme To understand how this development corresponds with the prevention policy of the BBG, a general overview over the German legal accident insurance scheme follows. The German accident insurance scheme was the first of its kind in the world. Previously, compensation for an industrial accident had to be sought directly from the company itself. For the employer, this meant unforeseen and, in the case of severe accidents (in the mining industry, for instance) immense costs. The employees, on the other hand, were confronted with a system where they had to prove that the employer was at fault. The Accident Insurance Act of 1884 led to fundamental changes: Compensation could now be claimed from Berufsgenossenschaften, who assumed liability in place of the individual companies. This change promoted harmonious relations between employer and employees. From the beginning, Berufsgenossenschaften were responsible for accident prevention, rehabilitation, and compensation. An effective connection between prevention and rehabilitation was established and has always been the basis for the success of the system.
Thirty-five Berufsgenossenschaften act as statutory accident insurance institutions for the industrial sector. The BBG is the body responsible for statutory
J. Breuer et al. / Journal of Safety Research 33 (2002) 129–141
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accident insurance in the mining industry. The categorization according to branches of industry enables solutions to be developed through close contact with working practices in the respective sector. Berufsgenossenschaften are selfadministrated bodies under public law. They afford equal representation to employers and employees. The professional experience of employees and the operational expertise of employers contribute to decisions, which are at all times geared to practical requirements and in accordance with common interests. Berufsgenossenschaften are exclusively funded by employer contributions.
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3. Facts/figures The BBG is responsible for prevention, rehabilitation, and compensation by all appropriate means in the mining industry. It is part of its work to observe trends in accidents at work and pensions in order to fulfil its tasks. The following data on accidents at work and new pension rates is taken from Table 1. The number of miners being injured in accidents at work declined in absolute terms from 140,195 in 1950 to 3,437 in 2000. An accident at work, in connection with this, is any reportable accident. In Germany, the employer is obliged to report within 3 days to the BBG if an accident occurs in their plant and if the injured is incapable of work for more than 3 days or if they die. For economic and political reasons, the German mining industry is in decline. In the last five decades, the number of insured employees dropped from 571,367 workers in 1950 to 114,171 workers in 2000. The workforce is only a sixth of what it was at its peak (661,678 workers in 1957). Against this background, it is obvious that the absolute figures of accidents at work from 1950 to 2000 have to be linked with appropriate standards of comparison. The average risk of being injured in an accident at work can be described using quotas. Two methods are used to establish quotas: 1. The number of accidents is set against a defined rate of working hours. 2. The number of accidents is set against a defined number of insured employees. The first method is risk related, in other words, it contains the risk of being injured while working at the plant. Working hours were not registered before 1964. Therefore, corresponding figures are only available for the period since 1964. The average risk for an insured employee fell from 125.10 in 1964 to 21.44 in 2000, (about 83%). Taking 1,000 insured employees as a basis, the quota describing the risk of being injured in an accident at work declined from 245.37 in 1950 to 30.10 in 2000 (88%). Compared with the first method, the quota per 1,000 insured employees declined from 1964 to 2000 by about 87%. The decline in accidents at work is also reflected in the new pensions rate. Injuries resulting in a degree of disability of more than 20% or death caused by an accident at work are compensated for by granting pensions. The BBG registers these pensions as ‘‘new pensions.’’ The rate of new pensions declined in absolute terms from 5,583 in 1950 to 382 in 2000. The quota of new pensions per 1,000 insured employees fell from 9.77 in 1950 to 3.35 in 2000, and since 1964 the quota related to 1 million working hours declined from 6.47 to 2.38 in 2000. In 1950, the new pensions rate was nearly three times higher than in 2000. As mentioned before, the BBG is part of the system of Berufsgenossenschaften. The number of reportable accidents in all branches of the industry in the year
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2000 reached 1.16 million and was on the lowest level since 1984. The reason for this general trend lies in the comprehensive system of prevention, rehabilitation, and compensation. The exploration, mining, and extraction of mineral resources is associated with numerous health risks throughout the world. This is why the mining profession, even with advanced mechanization, is one of the most dangerous professions of all. Therefore, risks in the mining sector, as well as in the construction or engineering industry, are different from those in other branches (e.g. health or administration). A comparison of accident quotas per 1 million working hours from 1991 to 2000 within related branches like the quarrying, engineering, and construction industries (see Fig. 1) shows that the accident quota in the mining branch decreased at an above-average rate. Fig. 1 also shows the accident quota per 1 million working hours from 1991 to 2000 compared to the average quota for all branches of industry. Whereas the accident quota in the mining industry in the first half of the 1990s was higher than the average quota in all sectors, since 1997 it has decreased at an above-average rate compared with all other branches of industry. Thus, the actual accident quota in the mining industry is lower than the quotas in related branches, as well as lower than the average quota in all branches.
4. Prevention policy The positive trend reflected in the accident and new pension quotas described previously is possible by virtue of the joint efforts by companies and the BBG. To understand this cooperation, a short survey on the German system of safety and health follows. In Germany, several parties cooperate to ensure health and safety at work: employers, state authorities, and Berufsgenossenschaften. According to the EU directive on Safety and Health at Work and the National Health and Safety Act, the main and central responsibility for this task lies with the employer. In the mining industry, prevention activities are monitored by the mining authority and the BBG. Whereas the task of the mining authority is concentrated exclusively on control, supervision is only a part of the prevention activities of the BBG. These activities include advice, research, initial and further training, as well as public information. Today these tasks are the basis for a successful prevention policy. Instructions alone are not sufficient to guarantee effective protection at work. In Germany, companies are obliged to study and evaluate the actual risk in the plant on the basis of risk assessments carried out according to EU regulations and the national Health and Safety Act. Thus, they can eliminate specific risks and take suitable safety measures in advance. By means of risk analysis, the employer can establish existing hazards and foresee future ones. Risk analysis offers the possibility of avoiding risks by appropriate organization and planning. The following example demonstrates the effect of risk analysis in the mining industry: If an analysis reveals excessively long
136 J. Breuer et al. / Journal of Safety Research 33 (2002) 129–141
Figure 1. Reportable accidents per 1 million working hours—comparison of related branches.
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transport routes in the mining industry, a new planning system and more flexible shifts can prevent risks to health due to physical stress. It must be ensured, however, that the new shift times are then adhered to. In the long run, systematic procedures can avoid hazards to a great extent. Short-term solutions frequently result in a selective reduction of risks only. For example, a miner stumbled on the way to the shift and was injured. The investigation showed that the lack of lighting, an uneven path, and inadequate attention had caused this accident. Lighting and a warning sign were installed immediately. No further accidents occurred in this case. However, accidents due to stumbling continued to pose a problem. These examples demonstrate that well-planned safety precautions have the following advantages: fewer malfunctions in the operational process, better quality of products, and a better work climate. The BBG supports these activities. It is known as a partner in providing special programs and services for the plants (e.g. the detailed program for education, training, and advise: see Illustrations 5 and 6).
In the last five decades, prevention policies have changed due to new technical and environmental approaches in the German mining branch. Whereas in former times, attention was focussed on technical and environmental
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improvements, today human behavior is the focus of interest. Constant technical progress has led to a high standard in the German mining technology, known as one of the best in the world. Due to the high level of safety techniques, new approaches to accident prevention can only achieve an incremental effect. Safety concepts are therefore especially relevant. It has been proven that effective work safety can only be realized by including all essential factors—technology, environment, human behavior, and organization of operational processes. Investigations in the mining industry show that the awareness of risks has a great influence on the occurrence of an accident. The probability of accidents increases as the subjective awareness of risk decreases. Miners have developed a high awareness of falling rocks and avoided this danger by correct behavior. Nevertheless, their activities in objectively less dangerous areas are prone to higher accident rates. The awareness of hazards is therefore of outstanding importance. This approach can be realized in a systematic and organized work safety system by safety circles in which awareness is trained. In addition, mining companies achieve a high level of work safety by a phased program of education and training, personal development, and responsibility. Safety at work has to be understood as a joint task on each hierarchical level. The BBG offers consultants, as well as training services, for the plant management (i.e., by means of the mentioned program for education, training, and advise). This ensures the transmission of relevant information. On this basis, the companies create their own concepts tailored to their specific requirements.
5. Prevention through financial incentives The German accident insurance system with its combination of prevention, rehabilitation, and compensation is characterized by another indirect method to encourage prevention. Economic incentives offered by the financial system of the BBG are of particular relevance. The success or failure of preventive measures is reflected by requests for supplements or rebates. The BBG uses a combined method of supplements and rebates. The supplement/rebate procedure balances contributions between companies according to the incidence of accidents in each individual company. The success or failure of prevention measures thus has a direct impact on the contributions of the individual companies.
6. Conclusion/outlook Does a decrease in accidents at work and new pensions lead to cost savings? The BBG calculated the costs that it would have spent if the accident rate had been constant for the period from 1988 to 1998. In this case, as Table 2 shows, the BBG would have spent DM 93,668,152.52 more.
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The example of prevention policy in the German mining branch and its positive impact on accident rates demonstrates that planned and organized safety and health at the workplace combines advantages for the health of the employees and cost-saving effects for the employer.
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Table 2 Cost-saving effects, pensions 1988 – 1998a Year
DM
1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 Total
0.00 1,799,811.80 3,228,162.76 5,470,582.08 7,218,179.00 8,359,079.16 9,941,253.19 11,626,348.78 13,133,427.96 15,600,595.54 17,290,721.24 93,668,152.52
a
Data from Bergbau-Berufsgenossenschaft 2001.
However, this trend has to be continued by a prevention policy corresponding to actual requirements in the field of occupational safety and health. What are the challenges facing prevention policy in the mining branch today? As mentioned before, the mining profession is one of the most dangerous professions in the world. Therefore, all efforts have to be concentrated on the reduction of severe accidents at work. In this context, human behavior is the focus of interest. This encompasses the whole company from top management through all hierarchical levels. All preventive measures aiming at motivation, education, training, and advise will gain in importance more as ever before. Against the background of the shrinking German mining industry, there exists another challenge, too. Due to the decline of coal mining and the corresponding cuts in the workforce, employees see few prospects for themselves and fear they might lose their jobs. These circumstances are an additional obstacle to safety motivation.
7. Annotation/further information All statistical data, illustrations, and further information were furnished by BBG, Bochum, Germany, 2001. Information on the BBG can be found on the internet at hhttp://www.bergbau-bg. dei, and on Berufsgenossenschaften, in general, at hhttp://www.hvbg.dei.
Further Reading Hauptverband der Gewerblichen Berufsgenossenschaften (1995). A comprehensive service. Sankt Augustin, Germany: Hauptverband der Gewerblichen Berufsgenossenschaften (booklet). Hauptverband der Gewerblichen Berufsgenossenschaften (2001). Annual report 2000. Sankt Augustin, Germany: Hauptverband der Gewerblichen Berufsgenossenschaften.
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Bergbau-Berufsgenossenschaft (2001). Annual report Bergbau-Berufsgenossenschaft 2000. Bochum, Germany: Bergbau-Berufsgenossenschaft. Hauptverband der Gewerblichen Berufsgenossenschaften (1995). Financing of Berufsgenossenschaften in Germany. Sankt Augustin, Germany: Hauptverband der Gewerblichen Berufsgenossenschaften (booklet). Breuer, J. Ho¨ffer, E.-M. (2000). Social security in mining—a world-wide overview. Bochum, Germany: ISSA Mining Section. Dr. Joachim Breuer, jurist, is the General Director of the Bergbau-Berufsgenossenschaft, Bochum, the statutory accident insurance institution for miners in Germany. Since 1998 he is the President of the Mining Section of the International Social Security Association (ISSA Mining Section). His special interests are to promote and to improve social security in the mining industry, particularly in the field of prevention, through world-wide co-operation. In this context he worked out a world-wide study on social security in mining, which has been published in 2000. From the beginning of summer 2002, Joachim Breuer is going to be the General Director of the Hauptverband der gewerblichen Berufsgenossenschaften, Germany, the central organization of the statutory accident insurance institutions in industry and trade. Eva-Marie Ho¨ffer, jurist, is head of the Department for International Affairs, Bergbau-Berufsgenossenschaft, Bochum. This includes in particular the field of accident insurance (prevention, rehabilitation and compensation) on European and international level. At the same time Eva-Marie Ho¨ffer works for the ISSA Mining Section. She is the co-author of a world-wide study on social security in mining, published by the ISSA Mining Section. Dr. Walter Hummitzsch, mathematician, is the head of the Department Statistics/Analysis, Bergbau-Berufsgenossenschaft, Bochum. He is in particular responsible for test calculation, prognosis, statistics evaluation and class of risk.
Special international report
Rate of occupational accidents in the mining industry since 1950—a successful approach to prevention policy Joachim Breuer, Eva-Marie Ho¨ffer*, Walter Hummitzsch Bergbau-Berufsgenossenschaft, Munscheidtstrasse 18, D-44789 Bochum, Germany Received 17 December 2001; accepted 19 December 2001
Abstract This paper deals with the decrease in the rate of accident insurance claims in the German mining industry over the last five decades. It intends to show that this process is above all the result of a prevention policy where companies and the body responsible for the legal accident insurance in the mining industry, the Bergbau-Berufsgenossenschaft (BBG), work hand in hand. A system like the German accident insurance scheme, combining prevention, rehabilitation, and compensation, enables successful and modern safety and health measures. D 2002 National Safety Council and Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Safety and health; Prevention; Accidents at work; Accident insurance; Statistics
1. Introduction Over the last 50 years, the risk of being injured in an occupational accident in the German mining industry has declined in a way that was not imaginable in former times. The number of registered accidents at work per 1,000 insured employees has fallen by 89.5% from its highest rate in 1958 (see Table 1). This positive trend is the result of joint efforts by the Bergbau-Berufsgenossenschaft (BBG) and the mining companies in the area of accident prevention.
* Corresponding author. E-mail address: [email protected] (E.-M. Ho¨ffer). 0022-4375/02/$ – see front matter D 2002 National Safety Council and Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. PII: S 0 0 2 2 - 4 3 7 5 ( 0 2 ) 0 0 0 0 9 - 9
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Table 1 Rates of the insured, reportable accidents, and new pensions in case of reportable accidents at work since 1950a Reportable accidents at work Insured
Absolute
1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973
571,367 594,784 620,972 637,364 634,650 637,845 660,295 661,678 653,609 608,008 614,457 586,421 550,705 522,474 502,302 481,357 441,986 381,246 340,514 321,782 313,524 314,647 289,779 273,198
140,195 151,450 156,971 164,122 146,253 141,115 137,831 156,230 186,970 147,190 144,577 145,589 130,616 124,779 116,828 109,941 88,077 60,115 55,046 62,572 62,902 52,858 43,232 40,625
245.37 254.63 252.78 257.50 230.44 221.24 208.74 236.11 286.06 242.09 235.29 248.27 237.18 238.82 232.59 228.40 199.28 157.68 161.66 194.45 200.63 167.99 149.19 148.70
New pension in case of accidents at work Per 1 million working hours b b b b b b b b b b b b b b
125.10 125.13 111.80 91.01 91.28 110.01 116.36 99.42 90.44 91.43
Absolute
Per 1000 of the insured
Per 1 million working hours
5583 6097 5824 6829 6790 7486 7568 7301 7331 7663 8280 7436 7593 6508 6039 5871 5501 4766 3602 3582 3299 3060 2920 2727
9.77 10.25 9.38 10.71 10.70 11.74 11.46 11.03 11.22 12.60 13.48 12.68 13.79 12.46 12.02 12.20 12.45 12.50 10.58 11.13 10.52 9.73 10.08 9.98
b b b b b b b b b b b b b b
6.47 6.68 6.98 7.22 5.97 6.30 6.10 5.76 6.11 6.14
J. Breuer et al. / Journal of Safety Research 33 (2002) 129–141
Year
Per 1000 of the insured
a b
262,891 263,097 257,067 249,943 243,520 240,631 243,497 246,966 244,130 238,867 228,766 224,246 221,127 213,553 203,966 193,888 182,664 303,183 259,309 223,627 202,663 191,538 169,297 151,928 139,606 130,814 114,171
38,596 37,998 32,862 32,692 30,922 29,078 29,217 30,267 27,506 24,017 21,540 21,203 19,505 16,609 13,682 14,943 13,145 20,178 18,288 13,585 11,993 10,689 7229 6036 5018 4265 3437
146.81 144.43 127.83 130.80 126.98 120.84 119.99 122.56 112.67 100.55 94.16 94.55 88.21 77.77 67.08 77.07 71.96 66.55 70.53 60.75 59.18 55.81 42.70 39.73 35.94 32.60 30.10
87.24 87.07 78.10 81.36 80.11 75.41 74.74 76.40 70.36 64.77 61.55 60.78 57.62 51.88 45.57 52.91 49.18 46.49 47.57 42.88 41.60 39.30 30.36 28.25 25.66 23.31 21.44
2454 2265 2431 2334 2172 2086 2140 2215 2249 2172 2037 2081 1912 1723 1677 1379 1242 1066 1184 1186 905 868 742 552 510 417 382
9.33 8.61 9.46 9.34 8.92 8.67 8.79 8.97 9.21 9.09 8.90 9.28 8.65 8.07 8.22 7.11 6.80 3.52 4.57 5.30 4.47 4.53 4.38 3.63 3.65 3.19 3.35
5.55 5.19 5.78 5.81 5.63 5.41 5.47 5.59 5.75 5.86 5.82 5.97 5.65 5.38 5.59 4.88 4.65 2.46 3.08 3.74 3.14 3.19 3.12 2.58 2.61 2.28 2.38
J. Breuer et al. / Journal of Safety Research 33 (2002) 129–141
1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
Data from Bergbau-Berufsgenossenschaft 2001. Working hours in the years between 1950 and 1963 were not included. 131
132
J. Breuer et al. / Journal of Safety Research 33 (2002) 129–141
2. German accident insurance scheme To understand how this development corresponds with the prevention policy of the BBG, a general overview over the German legal accident insurance scheme follows. The German accident insurance scheme was the first of its kind in the world. Previously, compensation for an industrial accident had to be sought directly from the company itself. For the employer, this meant unforeseen and, in the case of severe accidents (in the mining industry, for instance) immense costs. The employees, on the other hand, were confronted with a system where they had to prove that the employer was at fault. The Accident Insurance Act of 1884 led to fundamental changes: Compensation could now be claimed from Berufsgenossenschaften, who assumed liability in place of the individual companies. This change promoted harmonious relations between employer and employees. From the beginning, Berufsgenossenschaften were responsible for accident prevention, rehabilitation, and compensation. An effective connection between prevention and rehabilitation was established and has always been the basis for the success of the system.
Thirty-five Berufsgenossenschaften act as statutory accident insurance institutions for the industrial sector. The BBG is the body responsible for statutory
J. Breuer et al. / Journal of Safety Research 33 (2002) 129–141
133
accident insurance in the mining industry. The categorization according to branches of industry enables solutions to be developed through close contact with working practices in the respective sector. Berufsgenossenschaften are selfadministrated bodies under public law. They afford equal representation to employers and employees. The professional experience of employees and the operational expertise of employers contribute to decisions, which are at all times geared to practical requirements and in accordance with common interests. Berufsgenossenschaften are exclusively funded by employer contributions.
134
J. Breuer et al. / Journal of Safety Research 33 (2002) 129–141
3. Facts/figures The BBG is responsible for prevention, rehabilitation, and compensation by all appropriate means in the mining industry. It is part of its work to observe trends in accidents at work and pensions in order to fulfil its tasks. The following data on accidents at work and new pension rates is taken from Table 1. The number of miners being injured in accidents at work declined in absolute terms from 140,195 in 1950 to 3,437 in 2000. An accident at work, in connection with this, is any reportable accident. In Germany, the employer is obliged to report within 3 days to the BBG if an accident occurs in their plant and if the injured is incapable of work for more than 3 days or if they die. For economic and political reasons, the German mining industry is in decline. In the last five decades, the number of insured employees dropped from 571,367 workers in 1950 to 114,171 workers in 2000. The workforce is only a sixth of what it was at its peak (661,678 workers in 1957). Against this background, it is obvious that the absolute figures of accidents at work from 1950 to 2000 have to be linked with appropriate standards of comparison. The average risk of being injured in an accident at work can be described using quotas. Two methods are used to establish quotas: 1. The number of accidents is set against a defined rate of working hours. 2. The number of accidents is set against a defined number of insured employees. The first method is risk related, in other words, it contains the risk of being injured while working at the plant. Working hours were not registered before 1964. Therefore, corresponding figures are only available for the period since 1964. The average risk for an insured employee fell from 125.10 in 1964 to 21.44 in 2000, (about 83%). Taking 1,000 insured employees as a basis, the quota describing the risk of being injured in an accident at work declined from 245.37 in 1950 to 30.10 in 2000 (88%). Compared with the first method, the quota per 1,000 insured employees declined from 1964 to 2000 by about 87%. The decline in accidents at work is also reflected in the new pensions rate. Injuries resulting in a degree of disability of more than 20% or death caused by an accident at work are compensated for by granting pensions. The BBG registers these pensions as ‘‘new pensions.’’ The rate of new pensions declined in absolute terms from 5,583 in 1950 to 382 in 2000. The quota of new pensions per 1,000 insured employees fell from 9.77 in 1950 to 3.35 in 2000, and since 1964 the quota related to 1 million working hours declined from 6.47 to 2.38 in 2000. In 1950, the new pensions rate was nearly three times higher than in 2000. As mentioned before, the BBG is part of the system of Berufsgenossenschaften. The number of reportable accidents in all branches of the industry in the year
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2000 reached 1.16 million and was on the lowest level since 1984. The reason for this general trend lies in the comprehensive system of prevention, rehabilitation, and compensation. The exploration, mining, and extraction of mineral resources is associated with numerous health risks throughout the world. This is why the mining profession, even with advanced mechanization, is one of the most dangerous professions of all. Therefore, risks in the mining sector, as well as in the construction or engineering industry, are different from those in other branches (e.g. health or administration). A comparison of accident quotas per 1 million working hours from 1991 to 2000 within related branches like the quarrying, engineering, and construction industries (see Fig. 1) shows that the accident quota in the mining branch decreased at an above-average rate. Fig. 1 also shows the accident quota per 1 million working hours from 1991 to 2000 compared to the average quota for all branches of industry. Whereas the accident quota in the mining industry in the first half of the 1990s was higher than the average quota in all sectors, since 1997 it has decreased at an above-average rate compared with all other branches of industry. Thus, the actual accident quota in the mining industry is lower than the quotas in related branches, as well as lower than the average quota in all branches.
4. Prevention policy The positive trend reflected in the accident and new pension quotas described previously is possible by virtue of the joint efforts by companies and the BBG. To understand this cooperation, a short survey on the German system of safety and health follows. In Germany, several parties cooperate to ensure health and safety at work: employers, state authorities, and Berufsgenossenschaften. According to the EU directive on Safety and Health at Work and the National Health and Safety Act, the main and central responsibility for this task lies with the employer. In the mining industry, prevention activities are monitored by the mining authority and the BBG. Whereas the task of the mining authority is concentrated exclusively on control, supervision is only a part of the prevention activities of the BBG. These activities include advice, research, initial and further training, as well as public information. Today these tasks are the basis for a successful prevention policy. Instructions alone are not sufficient to guarantee effective protection at work. In Germany, companies are obliged to study and evaluate the actual risk in the plant on the basis of risk assessments carried out according to EU regulations and the national Health and Safety Act. Thus, they can eliminate specific risks and take suitable safety measures in advance. By means of risk analysis, the employer can establish existing hazards and foresee future ones. Risk analysis offers the possibility of avoiding risks by appropriate organization and planning. The following example demonstrates the effect of risk analysis in the mining industry: If an analysis reveals excessively long
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Figure 1. Reportable accidents per 1 million working hours—comparison of related branches.
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transport routes in the mining industry, a new planning system and more flexible shifts can prevent risks to health due to physical stress. It must be ensured, however, that the new shift times are then adhered to. In the long run, systematic procedures can avoid hazards to a great extent. Short-term solutions frequently result in a selective reduction of risks only. For example, a miner stumbled on the way to the shift and was injured. The investigation showed that the lack of lighting, an uneven path, and inadequate attention had caused this accident. Lighting and a warning sign were installed immediately. No further accidents occurred in this case. However, accidents due to stumbling continued to pose a problem. These examples demonstrate that well-planned safety precautions have the following advantages: fewer malfunctions in the operational process, better quality of products, and a better work climate. The BBG supports these activities. It is known as a partner in providing special programs and services for the plants (e.g. the detailed program for education, training, and advise: see Illustrations 5 and 6).
In the last five decades, prevention policies have changed due to new technical and environmental approaches in the German mining branch. Whereas in former times, attention was focussed on technical and environmental
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improvements, today human behavior is the focus of interest. Constant technical progress has led to a high standard in the German mining technology, known as one of the best in the world. Due to the high level of safety techniques, new approaches to accident prevention can only achieve an incremental effect. Safety concepts are therefore especially relevant. It has been proven that effective work safety can only be realized by including all essential factors—technology, environment, human behavior, and organization of operational processes. Investigations in the mining industry show that the awareness of risks has a great influence on the occurrence of an accident. The probability of accidents increases as the subjective awareness of risk decreases. Miners have developed a high awareness of falling rocks and avoided this danger by correct behavior. Nevertheless, their activities in objectively less dangerous areas are prone to higher accident rates. The awareness of hazards is therefore of outstanding importance. This approach can be realized in a systematic and organized work safety system by safety circles in which awareness is trained. In addition, mining companies achieve a high level of work safety by a phased program of education and training, personal development, and responsibility. Safety at work has to be understood as a joint task on each hierarchical level. The BBG offers consultants, as well as training services, for the plant management (i.e., by means of the mentioned program for education, training, and advise). This ensures the transmission of relevant information. On this basis, the companies create their own concepts tailored to their specific requirements.
5. Prevention through financial incentives The German accident insurance system with its combination of prevention, rehabilitation, and compensation is characterized by another indirect method to encourage prevention. Economic incentives offered by the financial system of the BBG are of particular relevance. The success or failure of preventive measures is reflected by requests for supplements or rebates. The BBG uses a combined method of supplements and rebates. The supplement/rebate procedure balances contributions between companies according to the incidence of accidents in each individual company. The success or failure of prevention measures thus has a direct impact on the contributions of the individual companies.
6. Conclusion/outlook Does a decrease in accidents at work and new pensions lead to cost savings? The BBG calculated the costs that it would have spent if the accident rate had been constant for the period from 1988 to 1998. In this case, as Table 2 shows, the BBG would have spent DM 93,668,152.52 more.
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The example of prevention policy in the German mining branch and its positive impact on accident rates demonstrates that planned and organized safety and health at the workplace combines advantages for the health of the employees and cost-saving effects for the employer.
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Table 2 Cost-saving effects, pensions 1988 – 1998a Year
DM
1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 Total
0.00 1,799,811.80 3,228,162.76 5,470,582.08 7,218,179.00 8,359,079.16 9,941,253.19 11,626,348.78 13,133,427.96 15,600,595.54 17,290,721.24 93,668,152.52
a
Data from Bergbau-Berufsgenossenschaft 2001.
However, this trend has to be continued by a prevention policy corresponding to actual requirements in the field of occupational safety and health. What are the challenges facing prevention policy in the mining branch today? As mentioned before, the mining profession is one of the most dangerous professions in the world. Therefore, all efforts have to be concentrated on the reduction of severe accidents at work. In this context, human behavior is the focus of interest. This encompasses the whole company from top management through all hierarchical levels. All preventive measures aiming at motivation, education, training, and advise will gain in importance more as ever before. Against the background of the shrinking German mining industry, there exists another challenge, too. Due to the decline of coal mining and the corresponding cuts in the workforce, employees see few prospects for themselves and fear they might lose their jobs. These circumstances are an additional obstacle to safety motivation.
7. Annotation/further information All statistical data, illustrations, and further information were furnished by BBG, Bochum, Germany, 2001. Information on the BBG can be found on the internet at hhttp://www.bergbau-bg. dei, and on Berufsgenossenschaften, in general, at hhttp://www.hvbg.dei.
Further Reading Hauptverband der Gewerblichen Berufsgenossenschaften (1995). A comprehensive service. Sankt Augustin, Germany: Hauptverband der Gewerblichen Berufsgenossenschaften (booklet). Hauptverband der Gewerblichen Berufsgenossenschaften (2001). Annual report 2000. Sankt Augustin, Germany: Hauptverband der Gewerblichen Berufsgenossenschaften.
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Bergbau-Berufsgenossenschaft (2001). Annual report Bergbau-Berufsgenossenschaft 2000. Bochum, Germany: Bergbau-Berufsgenossenschaft. Hauptverband der Gewerblichen Berufsgenossenschaften (1995). Financing of Berufsgenossenschaften in Germany. Sankt Augustin, Germany: Hauptverband der Gewerblichen Berufsgenossenschaften (booklet). Breuer, J. Ho¨ffer, E.-M. (2000). Social security in mining—a world-wide overview. Bochum, Germany: ISSA Mining Section. Dr. Joachim Breuer, jurist, is the General Director of the Bergbau-Berufsgenossenschaft, Bochum, the statutory accident insurance institution for miners in Germany. Since 1998 he is the President of the Mining Section of the International Social Security Association (ISSA Mining Section). His special interests are to promote and to improve social security in the mining industry, particularly in the field of prevention, through world-wide co-operation. In this context he worked out a world-wide study on social security in mining, which has been published in 2000. From the beginning of summer 2002, Joachim Breuer is going to be the General Director of the Hauptverband der gewerblichen Berufsgenossenschaften, Germany, the central organization of the statutory accident insurance institutions in industry and trade. Eva-Marie Ho¨ffer, jurist, is head of the Department for International Affairs, Bergbau-Berufsgenossenschaft, Bochum. This includes in particular the field of accident insurance (prevention, rehabilitation and compensation) on European and international level. At the same time Eva-Marie Ho¨ffer works for the ISSA Mining Section. She is the co-author of a world-wide study on social security in mining, published by the ISSA Mining Section. Dr. Walter Hummitzsch, mathematician, is the head of the Department Statistics/Analysis, Bergbau-Berufsgenossenschaft, Bochum. He is in particular responsible for test calculation, prognosis, statistics evaluation and class of risk.