Johnny Dyreborg

Factors contributing to the differences in work related injury rates between Danish and Swedish construction workers

Comparison of Danish and Swedish national occupational injury statistics shows that the reported LTI-rate, or number of reported lost-time injuries per million working hours, for Danish construction workers is significantly higher than the reported LTI-rate for Swedish construction workers. In terms of injury prevention it is important to identify injury risk factors that contribute to the observed differences in LTI-rates. In the present Oresund Link case study Danish and Swedish workers worked in cross-national work gangs, carried out the same types of tasks and utilized the same reporting procedures for occupational injuries. Thus, factors that usually confound comparisons between countries were eliminated in this study. Furthermore, factors at company level were to a great extent excluded in the study design, which therefore provided a unique opportunity to investigate the importance of injury risk factors at group and individual level for Danish and Swedish workers. LTI-rates and injury risk factors were compared for Danish and Swedish workers during the construction of the combined rail and road link across the 16-km wide sound, Oresund, between Denmark and Sweden. The comparison showed that the LTI-rate of the Danish construction workers was approximately fourfold the LTI-rate of the Swedish construction workers. Factors at the micro-level (group and individual level) e.g. differences in education and experience, training and learning, and attitude were important for the explanation of the significant difference in LTI-rates between Danish and Swedish construction workers. The study also indicated that comparison of national data on LTI-rates should be carried out with great caution.

Disability retirement among workers involved in large construction projects

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence of disability pension among workers engaged in the construction of the Øresund Link or the Copenhagen Metro, representing high levels of safety management. METHODS The study subjects (n = 1,808) were followed for disability retirement. Age standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) were calculated and compared with SIRs of disability pension established in a previous study of workers engaged in the construction of the Great Belt Link (N = 5,882), representing a low level of safety management. RESULTS Compared with all economically active men, the age SIR of disability retirement was 2.22 (95% CI = 1.61, 2.98) among the study subjects and 2.29 (95% CI = 1.9, 2.67) among workers at the Great Belt Link. CONCLUSION No significant progress was found in the incidence of disability pension among the study subjects despite substantial improvements in safety management compared with the Great Belt Link.

Protocol for a mixed-methods study on leader-based interventions in construction contractors' safety commitments

Background Owing to high injury rates, safety interventions are needed in the construction industry. Evidence-based interventions tailored to this industry are, however, scarce. Leader-based safety interventions have proven more effective than worker-based interventions in other industries. Objective To test a leader-based safety intervention for construction sites. The intervention consists of encouraging safety coordinators to provide feedback on work safety to the client and line management. The intention is to increase communication and interactions regarding safety within the line management and between the client and the senior management. It is hypothesised that this, in turn, will lead to increased communication and interaction about safety between management and coworkers as well as an increased on-site safety level. Setting A group-randomised double-blinded case study of six Danish construction sites (three intervention sites and three control sites). The recruitment of the construction sites is performed continuously from January 2010 to June 2010. The investigation of each site lasts 20 continuous weeks. Methods Confirmatory statistical analysis is used to test if the safety level increased, and if the probability of safety communications between management and coworkers increases as a consequence of the intervention. The data collection will be blinded. Qualitative methods are used to evaluate if communication and interactions about safety at all managerial levels, including the client, increase. Outcome measures (1) The proportion of safety-related communications out of all studied communications between management and coworkers. (2) The safety level index of the construction sites.

Night work, long work weeks, and risk of accidental injuries. A register-based study

Objectives The aims of this study were to (i) investigate the association between night work or long work weeks and the risk of accidental injuries and (ii) test if the association is affected by age, sex or socioeconomic status. Methods The study population was drawn from the Danish version of the European Labour Force Survey from 1999-2013. The current study was based on 150 438 participants (53% men and 47% women). Data on accidental injuries were obtained at individual level from national health registers. We included all 20-59-year-old employees working ≥32 hours a week at the time of the interview. We used Poisson regression to estimate the relative rates (RR) of accidental injuries as a function of night work or long work weeks (>40 hours per week) adjusted for year of interview, sex, age, socioeconomic status (SES), industry, and weekly working hours or night work. Age, sex and SES were included as two-way interactions. Results We observed 23 495 cases of accidental injuries based on 273 700 person years at risk. Exposure to night work was statistically significantly associated with accidental injuries (RR 1.11, 99% CI 1.06-1.17) compared to participants with no recent night work. No associations were found between long work weeks (>40 hours) and accidental injuries. Conclusion We found a modest increased risk of accidental injuries when reporting night work. No associations between long work weeks and risk of accidental injuries were observed. Age, sex and SES showed no trends when included as two-way interactions.

Industry and Injury Related Hospital Contacts: A Follow-up Study of Injuries among Working Men in Denmark

Industry and Injury Related Hospital Contacts: A Follow‐up Study of Injuries among Working Men in Denmark: Betina Holbæk Pedersen, et al. National Research Centre for the Working Environment, Denmark

Precarious work among young Danish employees- a permanent or transitory condition?

ABSTRACT There is broad agreement that precarious work is a growing problem, and that it is highly prevalent among young employees. The financial crisis in 2008 has reinforced the need for knowledge about how precarious work affects young employees. This paper explores how the concept of precarious work may apply differentially to different groups of young people at work and whether this challenges the term ‘transition’, which until now has been one of the core elements within contemporary youth research. We examine discursive representations of precarious work, vulnerability and risks among young Danish employees aged 18–24 in the healthcare sector, the metal industry and retail trade captured in 46 interviews involving 74 participants. Results are discussed taking into consideration the Nordic welfare model with an active labour marked policy. We conclude that precarious work is not, in fact, simply a characteristic of young employees’ work as such, but rather it is related to their position in the labour market and the type of jobs in which they are employed. While some are in transition, others are at risk of being trapped in precarious and risky working conditions.