A COMPARATIVE-STUDY OF OCCUPATIONAL ACCIDENTS IN INDUSTRIES WITH ADVANCED MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY

Using automated machinery does not eliminate accident risks. This article describes the extent to which accidents occur working with advanced manufacturing technology (AMT); analyzes differences with respect to severity and part of the body injured between AMT accidents, other machine accidents and accidents not related to machinery; describes some characteristics of AMT accidents. Data come from two engineering plants. AMT accidents constituted a substantial proportion of the accidents, especially in machining workshops. Analysis of the injury severity revealed a scale where AMT accidents were the most serious, followed by other machine accidents, and then by all other accidents. The main conclusions: AMT accidents were a significant problem in these companies; special risk is attached to the operators' handling of production disturbances. (C) 1995 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.