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NOTE: This document is provided for historical purposes only.
The authors ask you:
The Trucking Injury Reduction Emphasis (TIRES) Program has created a business and labor partnership in Washington State to systematically address the most common injuries in the trucking industry using an evidence-based approach to hazard identification and solution development. TIRES is conducting in-depth occupational safety and health surveillance in the Washington State trucking industry to identify work environments that put trucking industry workers at increased risk, identify potential risk factors for worker injury and death, and work with the industry to formulate and disseminate prevention strategies to those who could intervene in the workplace. Workers’ compensation data is being used to identify and monitor all reported work-related claims in this industry. Case follow-up, site visits and information dissemination will focus on four priority conditions and ways to prevent them. A steering committee made up of industry representatives reviews work and provides regular action plan guidance.
No other project of this type has been conducted within this important industry in the United States. Trucking is one of the most dangerous industries and has great potential for improvements in worker health and safety. This project aims to provide methods and materials designed for and with the industry that directly target the primary causes of the most serious and common injuries. The research results from this project may be applied across the US to the over two million affected workers. This may lead to tremendous improvements in worker health and safety, where there was a previous void.
In the U.S. trucking industry (NAICS 484), there were 42,300 lost day injuries in 2005, for a rate of 2.9 injuries per 100 full-time workers according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS, 2005a). This was more than two times higher than the private industry sector average of 1.4. For the trucking industry, injury rates for Motor Vehicle Crashes (MVC), Falls from elevation, and Overexertion incidents were each more than double the private industry average by type of incident.
Truck transportation has some of the highest rates and numbers of fatalities compared to other industries (BLS, 2005b). More truck drivers die on the job every year in the US than any other occupation. In estimating the cost of occupational injuries and illnesses (including indirect), Leigh et al. (2004) reported that trucking and courier services ranked first among 3-digit SIC codes for total costs of fatal and all non-fatal injuries and illnesses, $4.4 billion in 1993 representing 0.067% of the gross domestic product. These data demonstrate the tremendous injury burden that this industry bears and the need for research and prevention within the trucking industry.
The TIRES Project was initiated after approximately 18 months of background interviews, ride-alongs and site visits with different companies and organizations to learn about the industry. A detailed analysis of the state workers' compensation claims data was performed to obtain information on the types and causes of injuries happening within different sub-sectors. Two statewide surveys of trucking companies and truck drivers were conducted to assess perceived needs, hazards and solutions to injury issues from the management and worker perspectives.
Case follow-up interviews are currently being conducted with current time-loss claims to obtain detailed information on contributing factors and root causes of injuries that are not available from administrative data. Site visits are then conducted after the interviews by a safety engineer to assess system safety and to investigate root causes on-site. These data will be used to construct injury hazard trees that describe the most prevalent factors and causes that lead to the injuries in trucking. This information is being used concurrently to develop targeted educational material that is being used by the industry. The final results will culminate in program materials disseminated by a social marketing campaign designed to achieve the greatest possible impact within the industry.
The systematic assessment of injuries through administrative data analysis, case follow-up interviews, root-cause investigation site visits, and company program reviews, assure the products and findings produced from this project are both valid and practical. All project work is done in partnership with the industry, and under regular review of an industry steering committee. The committee meets three times a year to evaluate progress, guide current decision-making, and to recommend future direction.
The educational campaign and dissemination strategy for the TIRES project has been guided by a social marketing campaign determined in part by the CDCynergy process. A detailed analysis and evaluation was conducted that determined the most effective route of intervention that would make the best possible use of available resources.
The following specific accomplishments have been completed to date:
The results of work to date, conducted in partnership with industry partners, has led to the systematic identification of risk factors and prevention strategies. The information gained through field investigations, surveys, telephone interviews, and pilot testing will provide valuable information for anyone working on injury reduction in the trucking industry.
The injury risk factor identification, solution development and educational material development will continue until July 2009. Development of program materials and dissemination through a designed social marketing campaign will be conducted until July 2010.
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), (2005a), Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, US Department of Labor.
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), (2005b), Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, US Department of Labor.
Leigh J, Waehrer G, Miller T et al., (2004), Costs of Occupational Injury and Illness Across Industries, Scandinavian Journal of Work Environment and Health, 30(3), pp. 199-205.
The findings and conclusions in this poster are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Citations to Web sites external to NIOSH do not constitute NIOSH endorsement of the sponsoring organizations or their programs or products. Furthermore, NIOSH is not responsible for the content of these Web sites.
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