An evaluation of the occupational accidents among logging workers within the boundaries of Trabzon Forestry Directorate, Turkey


Enez K., TOPBAŞ M., Acar H. H.

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL ERGONOMICS, vol.44, no.5, pp.621-628, 2014 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 44 Issue: 5
  • Publication Date: 2014
  • Doi Number: 10.1016/j.ergon.2014.07.002
  • Journal Name: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL ERGONOMICS
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus
  • Page Numbers: pp.621-628
  • Keywords: Logging workers, Occupational accidents, Risk factors, INJURIES
  • Karadeniz Technical University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of occupational accidents among logging workers and the risk factors involved. Data for 378 out of 2994 members of 24 cooperatives engaged in logging in the study area were gathered using face-to-face questionnaires and anthropometric data via the free measurement method. The annual logging accident frequency rate was 30.4%, and the annual incidence of occupational accidents was 2052.9. The accident risk among workers using hookaroons was 2.14 times greater than the risk among those not using them. Five to six rest breaks a day increased the accident frequency rate by 0.37 times. The foot width, which was one of the variables among the measured anthropometric data, was observed to increase the accident risk 0.68 times. The likelihood of an employee suffering from an accident during the working year correlated with the handling of chainsaws, the use of hookaroons, smoking, the number of breaks taken while working, experience, shoulder and knee height, leg and arm length and hand and foot width.