TABLE 8.-LENGTH OF TIMe employed IN THE ESTABLISHMENT: PER CENT OF PERSONS KILLED OR INJURED, BY DURATION OF EMPLOYMENT IN THE ESTABLISHMENT PREVIOUS TO THE ACCIDENT. [Source: Amtliche Nachrichten des Reichs-Versicherungsamts, 1910. I Beiheft, I Teil. Gewerbe-Unfallstatistik für das Jahr 1907, pp. 328 to 337.] TABLE 9.-LENGTH OF TIME EMPLOYED IN THE OCCUPATION: PER CENT OF PERSONS KILLED OR INJURED, BY DURATION OF EMPLOYMENT IN THE OCCUPATION PREVIOUS TO THE ACCIDENT. [Source: Amtliche Nachrichten des Reichs-Versicherungsamts, 1910. I Beiheft, I Teil. Gewerbe-Unfallstatistik für das Jahr 1907, pp. 328 to 337.] LENGTH OF TIME THE INJURED PERSON HAD BEEN AT WORK ON THE DAY OF THE ACCIDENT. In order to disclose what, if any, relation exists between the number of hours which the injured person had been at work on the day of the accident and the frequency of accidents, Table 10 shows the number of persons killed and injured classified by the number of hours they had been at work on the day of the accident. As was the case in the tables showing the length of time employed in the establishment and in the occupation, it would be necessary to know the total number of persons employed the respective number of hours per day in order to compute an accurate rate; this information is not available. Table 10 presents the proportion of injured persons instead of the rate per 1,000 persons in each period of time. Taking the total number of injured persons, Table 10 shows that these were distributed throughout the day as follows: The most conspicuous fact in these figures is that the expected increase in the proportion of accidents in the last few hours of the day does not appear; in fact, the proportion of accidents occurring from the seventh to the eighth hour of work is practically the same as that occurring from the first to the second hour of work. It is customary to allow about 15.minutes for afternoon lunch (Vesperpause) at 4 o'clock or later; and probably this intermission is responsible for the decrease noted beginning with the eighth hour of work. While the last 4 hours of work do not show an increase in the proportion of accidents, the first 5 hours do show such an increase to a marked degree. The proportion of all accidents occurring to persons at work less than 1 hour was 4.94 per cent; the increase in the next group, those who had been employed 1 to 2 hours, is quite marked; after the second hour the increase is uninterrupted until the end of the fifth hour, when the maximum for the day is reached with 12.20 per cent of all the injured persons. At this point the noon recess evidently influences the number of accidents, though in the various industries and in the various localities the custom regarding the time of the noon meal differs greatly. It is of interest to note that other investigations as to the time of day when the accidents occur show substantially the same results as those above cited. In the Report on Condition of Woman and Child Wage-earners in the United States the accidents in cotton textile mills (Vol. I) and in establishments engaged in the metal trades (Vol. XI) are distributed throughout the day in practically the same proportion as is stated above. In explanation of the increasing proportion of accidents during the first 4 or 5 hours, the report (Vol. I, p. 396) suggests that at the beginning of the day the worker in the factory gradually increases his speed in order to increase his output, but such increased exertion soon becomes accompanied by increase of fatigue, lack of care, etc., and naturally results in a higher accident rate. In the afternoon the sense of fatigue overcomes the desire for increased output and is also accompanied by the feeling that, since a certain amount of work has been accomplished, a lessening of effort is permissible. This suggested explanation is apparently based on the experience of factory employees and especially of piece-rate workers. It is worthy of note that practically the same tendency to an increase of accidents during the first 4 hours of work occurs in industries where piecework can prevail to only a limited extent, such as in the operation of gas and water works (association 19) and in the operation of the State railways. TABLE 10.-NUMBER OF HOURS OF WORK PRECEDING THE ACCIDENT: PER CENT OF PERSONS KILLED OR INJURED, BY NUMBER OF HOURS OF WORK ON DAY OF ACCIDENT. [Source: Amtliche Nachrichten des Reichs-Versicherungsamts, 1910. I Beiheft, I Teil. Gewerbe-Unfallstatistik für das Jahr 1907, pp. 329 to 335.] Per cent of injured persons who had been at work Total port- Less hrs. hrs. 10 hrs. and over. TABLE 10.-NUMBER OF HOURS OF WORK PRECEDING THE ACCIDENT: PER CENT OF PERSONS KILLED OR INJURED, BY NUMBER OF HOURS OF WORK ON DAY OF including insti- C. PUBLIC AUTHORI TIES. Establishments of 2, 137 5.24 7.58 9.03 9.55 11.04 7.53 5.15 7.67 10.80 10.15 16. 26 121 3.30 9.90 15.70 16.53 12. 40 11.57 7.44 7.44 5.79 5.79 4.14 8.09 8.06 7.75 7.38 9.87 1.28 11.54 12.82 10.27 8.97 |