Estimation cost of occupational accidents by SACA method: A case study in one of the South Pars Gas Refinery

Abstract

Introduction: Occupational accidents impose a lot of direct and indirect costs on the national economy of the country. Because, as a fact, resources are limited for reducing the risks and costs can affect the optimal investment in safety issues. the aim of this study was to calculate the economic costs of occupational accidents in one of the South Pars Gas Refinery, Assalouyeh, Boushehr Province.

Materials and Methods: The present research was a descriptive-analytic study, and the costs from 92 occupational accidents occurred in the South Pars Gas Refinery during the period of 2017 and 2018 was estimated. Estimation of these costs contributes to decision-making for cost control. The systematic accident cost analysis (SACA) method, was used to calculate the costs and information in the forms of each incident  the total costwas calculated based on the type of incident after the analysis of the cost of the incident. Excel, SPSS version 17 Kolmogorov-Smironov and Chi-square tests were used for data manipulations and statistical analysis.

Results: The Most working days were lost in the Gas Refinery (12613 days). The evaluations of accident cost showed that 2/3 of the costs of occupational accidents are visible in the corporate accounting information systems reviewed while 1/3 was hidden from management view. As can be seen, the costs due to the absence of the injured employee were the largest cost category with an average of 71%. The highest cost of occupational accidents for a company with 1500 employees was estimated to be approximately 27,440,000,000 Rials.

Conclusion: The costs of accidents on employers and ultimately the country's economy are noticeable.  It is really important to recognize the accidents’ causes, control the rate of them and provide sufficient and appropriate occupational health and safety services.