In Norway, 30 men and one woman were killed at work last year. "The number of work-related deaths in the last five years has been at a historically low level, but now, unfortunately, we are seeing a tendency to increase again," says Norwegian Labor Inspectorate director Trude Vollheim.
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- Serious accidents in the workplace can and should be prevented. Systematic work in the work environment is a key condition for success in this. It should be safe to go to work in Norway, says Vollheim.
Preliminary data from the Norwegian Labor Inspectorate show 31 deaths related to work on land in 2021, divided into 30 accidents. In the ten-year period 2011-2020, the average is 35 occupational deaths per year.
- The number of work-related deaths in the last five years has remained historically low, but continues to increase with time from 25 deaths in 2016 to 31 deaths in 2021. This should be taken seriously, says Trude Vollheim, director of the Norwegian Inspectorate Work.
Four industries stand out
Also in 2021, we see that it is the four industries with the highest number of work-related injuries that are at the top of the statistics:
- Construction activities: 9
- Transport and storage: 7
- Industry: 6
- Agriculture: 5.
27 out of 31 accidents at work occurred in these industries last year.
As in 2020, the coronavirus pandemic has left its mark on working life and parts of working life have been shut down. On the other hand, this does not appear to have a major impact on employment in these four industries. There is therefore no reason to expect any major changes in the statistics on accidents at work as a result of a pandemic.
Most deaths are related to work in construction
Construction is one of the most accident-prone industries, both in terms of the number of accidents and the number of deaths at work. We also see this in 2021 when construction is the industry with the highest number of workplace deaths. In the ten-year period 2011-2020, an average of 8 workers per year died in this industry, and therefore the number remains stable.
In the case of nine fatal accidents the course of events is very diverse. Two types of accidents are common: four workers died from compression/entrapment and three died from falls. Two of the nine industry dead were foreign workers.
Despite the fact that the overall number of occupational deaths has decreased in the last ten years, we do not see this in the construction industry. In this industry, this number has remained stable over the past ten years. Given that much of the industry is doing well and systematically to prevent major accidents, far too many people are killed at work. It's important to do systematic prevention work at all levels in the industry to avoid these accidents, says Trude Vollheim.
Seven deaths related to work in transport and storage
Seven people died in the inland transport industry in 2021. This is the same as in 2020, two more than in 2019. Six of the seven accidents are motor vehicle accidents and one employee has been crushed under a vehicle. Three of the seven people killed in the industry are foreign workers.
Increase in the number of occupational deaths in the manufacturing industry
Six workers died in industry in 2021, the highest number since 2017, which also killed six workers. By comparison, two and three workers died in the industry in 2020 and 2019. The six deceased workers are evenly distributed in different parts of the industry, three in the metal industry, one in the food industry, one in the paper industry and one in the manufacture of machinery and equipment. One of the dead in the industry was a foreign worker.
Five occupational deaths in agriculture
In 2021, five workers died in agriculture, split into four accidents. This is the same level we've seen in recent years, with six fatalities in 2020 and four in 2019. Two of the accidents were crushing accidents, one was an accident, and in one incident two people died as a result of a suspected bull attack. All five killed in agriculture were Norwegian workers.
Systematic work in the field of health, environment and safety (HMS) is crucial to prevent accidents at work in the company
The employer is primarily responsible for the working environment at the workplace. It also ensures systematic conduct HMS courses at all levels in the company. Staff themselves must contribute to the implementation of HMS measures and attend organized courses.
The Arbeidstilsynet conducts regular examinations to identify the causes of accidents. Complex causal relationships exist, often with a combination of several different underlying causes. We can see that the shortcomings in the systematic work in the field of HMS are repeated in the causal analyzes. Prevention requires companies to have good and comprehensive security management, in which the key elements are both risk assessment and implementation of the necessary measures, company management, work planning and employee training.
Pictured: Trude Vollheim, director of the Norwegian Labor Inspectorate
Source: Arbeidstilsynet
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