Introduction:

Workers’ Safety, Health and Well-being should be the concerns for millions of professionals around the world, but the issue extends beyond individuals and their families, being extremely important for the productivity, competitiveness and sustainability of businesses and communities. Portugal is one of the countries with the highest rates of non-fatal Work Accidents in Europe, with Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders being the most common Occupational Health problem, having consequences for absenteeism and productivity falls.

Objectives:

To analyse work accidents in a manufacturing industry in northern Portugal between 2018 and the first half of 2020; to describe the Musculoskeletal Disorders associated with work accidents.

Methods:

Exploratory, retrospective and descriptive quantitative study. According to the inclusion criteria defined, a sample of 798 workers who suffered 1076 Occupational Accidents was selected. The data sources were the company's workplace Accident records platform and data from the insurer. A data collection form has been created which included characterization of Work Accidents, organization and workload, causes and consequences of the accident at work and imputed costs. A descriptive analysis was made using SPSS 26.0 program.

Results:

The 1076 work accidents affected 798 workers, observing that in 298 situations there are employees with more than one accident. On weekdays, most of the Accidents occurred in the Morning Shift (36.2%), with more Accidents occurring in the last quarter of the Shift (28.9%). The Production Department Vulcanization has a higher incidence of Accidents (34.6), followed by the Engineering Department Vulcanization (30.5). At the Weekend there was a lower absolute frequency of Work Accidents, however, are the Weekend teams in rotating Shifts that have a higher percentage of Accidents, especially when working weekdays rotating Shifts. The most frequent Injuries were wounds and superficial injuries (45.6%) and dislocations, sprains and strains (40.8%), with the Body’s Upper extremities being the most affected with 42%. Accidents at work represented a direct cost of EUR 967 799.53.

Conclusion:

This study allowed the Department’s characterization and Jobs with the highest incidence of Work Accidents, Musculoskeletal Injuries resulting from them and the Shifts’ relevance in the occurrence of claims. These data allow us to identify the critical points to delineate an intervention plan directed to the identified specificities. Faced with this problem, it is essential to adopt effective preventive measures, interventions and strategies in order to reduce the occurrence of Occupational Accidents, contributing to the Workers Health and Well-being, and Occupational Health Services should play a preponderant role in the areas of investigation and prevention of Musculoskeletal Disorders resulting from Occupational Accidents.

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