Identification of areas of intervention for public safety policies using multiple correspondence analysis

Abstract

Analysis of accident reports has been a useful tool in occupational safety research. According to European Statistics on Accidents at Work framework (ESAW), important variables related to the main circumstances of accidents are being gathered in Europe. The purpose of this paper is to present a method for analysis of accident databases that are coded according to the ESAW and based on Multiple Correspondence Analysis. The method proposed considers the implicit conceptual relationship between the exposure and accident variables in order to identify main areas for public policy intervention. This method is presented by analyzing specific working processes using a dataset of the accidents that were reported in the Andalusian manufacturing over a ten-year period. The method presented allowed easy identification of the main associations candidates for public intervention programs. Each could be object to further detailed research before designing the intervention program. This method could help policy makers when identifying areas for public intervention.