DEKRA Organizational Safety and Reliability released results of their study examining incidents across utility organizations, and found that these workers face a higher serious injuries and fatalities (SIF) exposure rate than other industries like mining or construction.

The 2018 Utilities Sector SIF Study examined 1,060 recordable incidents across 11 utility organizations representing electric, gas and water.

The utilities sector has a 32 percent exposure rate, seven points higher than the all-industry SIF rate of 25 percent. Water workers have the highest SIF exposure rate of all the utilities studied, 42 percent, followed by electric workers who face a 32 percent SIF exposure rate and 29 percent for gas.

Almost two thirds (60 percent) of SIF exposures can be attributed to just two exposure categories – motor vehicle incidents or “line of fire”/struck by incidents. Other SIF events include contact with biohazard materials, serious falls or an accident involving powered equipment.

Interestingly, the study found evidence that sites with higher scores in things like management credibility, perceived organizational support, organization value for safety, procedural justice and leader-member exchange had lower SIF rates. A safety culture at work may mitigate risks.

Senior Vice President at DEKRA Don Martin said that there are steps to take to reduce SIF rates, such as educating senior leadership on exposures and to determine what the organization’s exposure rate might be. He also suggests that organizations intervene in existing processes and implement safety rules, training and incident handling systems.

Read the release from DEKRA.