ANALYSIS OF THE ACCIDENTS RATE CHANGES IN INDUSTRY SECTORS USING THE METHODOLOGY OF RANKING

Abstract

The accident rate is a key indicator of work safety performance in particular sectors of industry in Poland. The proposed methodology for ranking respective sections of the Polish Classification of Activities (PKD) sections is applied to assess changes in accident rates in Poland before the COVID-19 epidemic, during the state of epidemic and immediately after that period. The analysis uses data for the years 2018 – 2024 furnished by Statistics Poland (GUS), covering three periods: before the epidemic (2018 – 2019), during the state of epidemic (2020 – 2022) and in the period that followed (2023 – 2024). All accident rate indicators recalled in the study are expressed per 1,000 workers, including the total number of injured persons, the number of fatalities and those injured in severe accidents, and the number of days of work incapacity. Finally, an all-embracing accident rate was calculated and a ranking of PKD sections was compiled, enabling a comparison of risk levels and their changes over time. The results indicate a varied risk profile across the analyzed sectors. The most significant decrease in the total accident rate was found for the ‘Agriculture, forestry, hunting and fishing’ section, whilst the largest increase is reported in the ‘Mining and quarrying’ sector. However, the increase reported in the mining sector should be interpreted in the context of major mining accidents that occurred in 2022, which clearly indicates that the observed changes cannot be directly attributed to the COVID-19 epidemic. In several sectors, including Water supply; wastewater and waste management; and Land reclamation, a growing trend in the total accident rate was observed throughout the entire period, with this sector demonstrating the highest rate of increase. A comparative study of changes in the total accident rate over the analysed periods does not indicate the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on accident rates in the Polish industry. Nevertheless, the analysis fully attested to the adequacy of the proposed methodology for assessing changes in risk levels at various stages of business operations. The ranking method can become a useful tool for cross-sector comparisons, for monitoring changes in risk levels over time, and for identifying sectors that require an in-depth analysis of root causes of accidents and targeted preventive measures.