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The construction industry contributes significantly to national economic growth and offers substantial opportunities for job creation; however, the industry has continually been plagued by workplace accidents. Moreover, employers may not realize the economic magnitude of workplace injury and ill health arising from construction activities. These accidents represent a considerable economic and social burden to employers, employees and to the society as a whole. Despite governments and organisations worldwide maintaining an ongoing commitment towards establishing a working environment free of injury and disease, a great deal of construction accidents continues to frequent our society. The purpose of this study is to conduct an analysis of a sample of 100 construction accident reports to establish, as far as practically reasonable, the total costs of limited types of construction accidents. Costs attributable to each of these accidents were classified either as direct or indirect costs. Through an exhaustive and time-consuming investigation of all available records from various sources and/or kept in various departments, the individual costs were correlated to the various direct and indirect categories.

This particular study is a combination of explanatory and collective case study approaches, whereby causal effects are determined or a course of events is examined from multiple cases. The preferred form of data collection is left to the researcher to decide (Yin, 2003). When a researcher is considering “how” or “why” questions, a contemporary set of events using primary and secondary documents, over which the researcher has little or no control, the case study approach is feasible (Yin, 2009).

The costs of construction accidents for the same sample of 100 construction analysed in this study has been estimated at a staggering R32,981,200. Of this total, R10,087,350 has been attributed to direct costs and R22,893,850 has been attributed to indirect costs. The costs of construction accidents are based on four cost components: sick pay, administrative costs, recruitment costs and compensation and insurance costs. It should be noted that the estimates of the costs to employers presented in this study are reflective of the activities and incidents of the reviewed organisation and may not necessarily represent another organisation. The costs of construction accidents values presented in this study reveal that construction accidents present a substantial cost to employers and to the society at large, inclusive of both the direct and indirect costs. It is therefore in the best interest of the employer to identify progressive and advanced approaches to more effectively manage construction health and safety, consequently society at large will benefit tremendously.

Given the high rate of construction accidents experienced, employers are not entirely mindful of the actual costs of construction accidents, especially when considering the hidden or indirect costs of accidents. Various safety research efforts have attempted to quantify the true costs of worker injuries; however, localised systematic information on cost of construction accidents at work is not readily available from administrative statistical data sources; therefore, this study was carried out to estimate the costs, like lost workdays or lost income, are clearly visible and can readily be expressed in monetary value; for a large part,0 however, economic consequences of accidents are somewhat hidden.

The idea that worker co‐operatives offer the possibility of increasing productivity without sacrificing workers' safety and health is investigated. Ten worker co‐operatives and four conventional capitalist firms in the Pacific Northwest plywood industry are studied. Co‐operatives have worse productivity and safety records than conventional firms. Lower productivity is due to the unexpected behaviour that emerges in co‐operatives relying heavily on hired labour. Higher levels of accidents are due to different reporting practices arising from different social relations in production. Co‐operatives tend to over‐report their accidents whereas conventional firms under‐report accidents.

Research shows that the risk of work-related disorders is higher among temporary agency workers than among other employees. The purpose of this paper is to describe the working conditions of temporary agency workers and explains which factors contribute towards work-related disorders for this group.

This paper is based on a survey responded to by 482 agency workers in Sweden. The dependent variable is the prevalence of work-related disorders. Independent variables include personal characteristics, job characteristics, employment characteristics and temporary agency work characteristics.

The study indicates several risk factors: holding a position as a blue-collar worker; being assigned to more physically demanding work tasks and having fewer opportunities to learn new things than client organization employees; lacking training for work tasks; and lacking clarity regarding which work tasks to do during an assignment.

The theoretical implications of this study are related to the dual employment-management relationship in temporary agency work where the temporary work agency and client organization follow different logics. The logic in the employment relationship is to contract temporary agency workers out to client organizations, thus there is no time for formal training. The logic in the management relationship lies in making temporary agency workers profitable as soon as possible, encouraging shortcuts in training and instruction; thus, temporary agency workers risk being left with a lack of clarity regarding what to do and how to do it.

Work‐related musculoskeletal disorders following patient contact represent a major concern for health care workers. Unfortunately, research and prevention have been hampered by difficulties ascertaining true prevalence rates owing to under‐reporting of these injuries. The purpose of this study is to determine the predictors for under‐reporting work‐related musculoskeletal injuries and their reasons.

Multivariate analysis using data obtained in a survey of Veterans Administration employees in the USA was used to determine underreporting patterns among registered nurses, licensed practical nurses and nursing assistants. Focus groups among health care workers were conducted at one of the largest Veterans Administration hospitals to determine reasons for under‐reporting.

A significant number of workers reported work‐related musculoskeletal pain, which was not reported as an injury but required rescheduling work such as changing shifts and taking sick leave to recuperate. The findings indicate that older health care workers and those with longer service were less likely to report as were those working in the evening and night shifts. Hispanic workers and personnel who had repetitive injuries were prone to under‐reporting, as were workers in places that lack proper equipment to move and handle patients. Reasons for under‐reporting include the time involved, peer pressure not to report and frustration with workers' compensation procedures.

This study provides insights into under‐reporting musculoskeletal injuries in a major US government organization. The research indicates that current reporting procedures appear to be overtly cumbersome in time and effort. More flexible work assignments are needed to cover staff shortfalls owing to injuries. Health education on the detrimental long‐term effects of ergonomic injuries and the need for prompt attention to injuries should prove useful in improving rates of reporting.

Provides details of repetitive stress injury together with examples from the workplace. Predicts a substantial increase in the number of legal claims in this area. Outlines future potential changes in the law to ensure ergonomic safety. Gives suggestions of ways to minimize liability claims and proffers questions for employers to ask themselves.

The subject of occupational safety and health (OSH) is increasingly gaining the interest of policy makers and researchers in European countries given that the economic and social losses from work‐related injuries and diseases are quite substantial. Under this light, this paper aims to present an overview of the Greek legislation framework regarding OSH issues, and the current status of empirical research on the subject in Greece. In addition, the paper seeks to identify the knowledge gaps and methodological shortcomings of the existing literature in order to contribute towards future research in the OSH field in Greece.

The authors conducted an extensive literature review of numerous publications, reports and institutions' databases.

The results suggest that empirical up to date research in Greece is rather inadequate, mainly because of the absence of econometric methods to validate the findings. The available Greek databases indicate that while the number of working accidents has decreased over time, the severity seems to be increasing. Males are more prone to accidents, diseases and negative working conditions. Work‐related stress is an aspect of occupational problems that has been the subject of many Greek studies.

Although the legal framework is quite adequate, there is a need for both prevention strategies and enforcement of the existing safety regulations. Furthermore, a substantial research gap is observed in Greece. Therefore, more systematic research is needed on the determinants of injuries and on their effects on job participation and productivity.

The paper presents a detailed review of the current state of research regarding OSH issues in Greece.

Agriculture remains the largest sector of Nigerian economy, generating employment for about 70 per cent of the population. With the ever‐increasing market demand for agricultural products, mechanisation of most farm operations is gradually on the increase. This new development has brought about an increase in the cases of accidents through the use of farm tractors.

This study was carried out in the south‐western part of Nigeria to investigate the safety measurement, effectiveness, and its contributions to farm tractor usage in the State. The study identified various causes of farm tractor accidents, consequences and different classes of farm tractor‐related accidents. The effectiveness of each accident prevention method and frequency of use were investigated and put into consideration in the data analysis.

It was revealed through the analysis that the use of safety protective wear gave the highest contribution (24.05 per cent) to total accident prevention on farms while the use of orientation training and seminars gave the least contribution (8.30 per cent) with the lowest frequency of use than the other methods.

The results of this study serve as baseline information for tractor manufacturers regarding the inclusion of certain parts in new or proposed tractor designs with particular peculiarity to Nigerian farmers.

This paper gives an estimation of the magnitude of farm tractor accidents in relation to the Nigerian farming situation and proposes remedial actions.

The purpose of this paper is to seek to extend the work of Robson (1991, 1992) by exploring the accounting implications of the way in which subsets of non-financial accounting numbers are constructed. In particular, the study investigates whether the different procedures for organising subsets of a set of accounting data may lead to different conclusions about (the same) reality.

The empirical analysis focuses on the procedures by which organisations translate work-related injury outcomes to accounting numbers. First, existing procedures are problematised within their institutional context. This highlights complementary elements of translation and neo-institutional theory that together explain how institutional factors might operate to constrain the problematising process. An empirical analysis of workers’ compensation data covering a ten year period is then conducted to calculate and contrast performance using two competing logics of accounting for injury.

The findings demonstrate that different representations of reality may result not only from accounting choices as to “what” is measured, but also from accounting choices as to “how subsets of measured data are organised”. Specifically, different ways of organising injury data into subsets led to different representations of the reality of overall injury performance. The evidence further suggests taken-for-granted assumptions and institutionalised practices may prevent adequate problematisation of the underpinning logic that guides the procedures for organising translations of work-related injury and illness to accounting numbers.

The results suggest the existing logic of accounting for injury fails to recognise the financial or non-financial complexity of non-fatal injury outcomes. “Lost time injury” measures are revealed as neither valid nor reliable measures of injury (or safety) and therefore inappropriate for informing the occupational health and safety (OHS) decisions of managers, boards and external stakeholders. These findings reveal an urgent need for change in injury accounting practice and, in turn, raise serious concerns about the increasingly institutionalised global template for external disclosure of OHS performance information.

This paper takes a novel look at the construction of social performance measures and suggests further attention to the construction of accounting subsets is warranted. In demonstrating serious problems in accounting logic that underpin existing, and deeply institutionalised, measurement and reporting practices, the findings reinforce the need to routinely re-problematise accounting practices. Failure to critically review those accounting translations that underpin decision-making may prove a fatal mistake.

This pragmatic research paper aims to unravel the smart vision-based method (SVBM), an AI program to correlate the computer vision (recorded and live videos using mobile and embedded cameras) that aids in manual lifting human pose deduction, analysis and training in the construction sector.

Using a pragmatic approach combined with the literature review, this study discusses the SVBM. The research method includes a literature review followed by a pragmatic approach and lab validation of the acquired data. Adopting the practical approach, the authors of this article developed an SVBM, an AI program to correlate computer vision (recorded and live videos using mobile and embedded cameras).

Results show that SVBM observes the relevant events without additional attachments to the human body and compares them with the standard axis to identify abnormal postures using mobile and other cameras. Angles of critical nodal points are projected through human pose detection and calculating body part movement angles using a novel software program and mobile application. The SVBM demonstrates its ability to data capture and analysis in real-time and offline using videos recorded earlier and is validated for program coding and results repeatability.

Literature review methodology limitations include not keeping in phase with the most updated field knowledge. This limitation is offset by choosing the range for literature review within the last two decades. This literature review may not have captured all published articles because the restriction of database access and search was based only on English. Also, the authors may have omitted fruitful articles hiding in a less popular journal. These limitations are acknowledged. The critical limitation is that the trust, privacy and psychological issues are not addressed in SVBM, which is recognised. However, the benefits of SVBM naturally offset this limitation to being adopted practically.

The theoretical and practical implications include customised and individualistic prediction and preventing most posture-related hazardous behaviours before a critical injury happens. The theoretical implications include mimicking the human pose and lab-based analysis without attaching sensors that naturally alter the working poses. SVBM would help researchers develop more accurate data and theoretical models close to actuals.

By using SVBM, the possibility of early deduction and prevention of musculoskeletal disorders is high; the social implications include the benefits of being a healthier society and health concerned construction sector.

Human pose detection, especially joint angle calculation in a work environment, is crucial to early deduction of muscoloskeletal disorders. Conventional digital technology-based methods to detect pose flaws focus on location information from wearables and laboratory-controlled motion sensors. For the first time, this paper presents novel computer vision (recorded and live videos using mobile and embedded cameras) and digital image-related deep learning methods without attachment to the human body for manual handling pose deduction and analysis of angles, neckline and torso line in an actual construction work environment.