Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #115131

Maria T. Bulzacchelli, Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 624 North Broadway, 5th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21205, 410-366-1211, mbulzacc@jhsph.edu and Jon S. Vernick, JD, MPH, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, 624 N. Broadway, Room 594, Baltimore, MD 21205-1996.

In 1989, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) passed the Control of Hazardous Energy Standard, commonly referred to as the “Lockout/Tagout Standard,” to prevent injuries to workers performing maintenance on machinery or equipment. The standard requires employers in general industry to establish an energy control program and sets minimum criteria for energy control procedures, documentation, employee training, inspections, and characteristics of locks and tags. The overall objectives of this research project are to evaluate the effectiveness of the Lockout/Tagout Standard in reducing occupational injury rates and to explore why lockout/tagout-related injuries continue to occur post-standard. Data from the National Traumatic Occupational Fatalities Surveillance System for the years 1980-1998 are being used for an interrupted time-series analysis to determine the effect of the standard on rates of fatal machinery-related injury in the manufacturing industry, controlling for economic, demographic, and regulatory factors. Narrative text analysis of OSHA Accident Investigation Summaries for the years 1984-1997 is being performed to determine whether there has been any change in the circumstances surrounding lockout/tagout-related injuries pre- and post-standard. Information regarding activity at the time of the incident, cause of the incident, equipment characteristics, and safety procedures followed is being examined. The results of this project will provide information that policy makers can use to determine appropriate future policy actions regarding the safety of those who perform maintenance tasks on machinery in the workplace.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this session, participants will be able to

• Describe the impact of OSHA’s Lockout/Tagout Standard on machinery-related fatalities in the manufacturing industry;
• Identify potential policy actions to further prevent occupational injury fatalities during machinery maintenance;
• Discuss the strengths and limitations of using quasi-experimental methods for evaluating occupational safety regulations.

Keywords: Occupational Injury and Death, Evaluation

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.

Recorded presentation