Designing out accidents - first understand the problem.
This paper describes a comprehensive accident data base which covers consumer products associated with accidents in and around the home. Each year data on some 50 000 to 60 000 cases distributed among 800 different products or features of the home are recorded and available for access. In addition to annual published summaries, analyses of specified data sub-sets are readily available. Such analyses can include case-listings which frequently provide considerable insight into the accidents. However, in more complex accidents these case listings may be inadequate, hence a facility has been incorporated in the data collection system to allow selected cases to be recontacted so that more details can be obtained and the product examined, if it is available. Two examples where this facility has been used (accidents involving tins and tin openers and accidents involving buggies) are discussed in relation to the methodologies involved and the preliminary results which have been obtained.
Warne
C A
CA
Consumer Safety Unit, Department of Trade, Millbank Tower, London SW1P 4QU, UK.