Campus Health and Safety

Accident/Incident Statistics 2018

Number of Work/Study-Related Injuries
 

A total of 53 work/study-related injury cases were recorded in 2018. Among the cases:

  • 17 cases involved staff members

  • 27 cases involved students

  • 9 cases involved contractors

A comparison of accident numbers over the past 10 years is shown in Table 1 below.

Table 1. Comparison of Staff & Student Work/Study-Related Accident Numbers
Year 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Staff Accident Number 27 35 19 22 27 19 21 30 29 17
Student Accident Number 4 8 6 4 5 13 12 14 16 27

 

Lost Workdays
 

A total of 334 lost workdays were recorded for all staff injury cases by the end of 2018. The comparison of lost workdays over the past 10 years is shown in Table 2 below.

The numbers of lost workdays in individual cases were grouped under 3 categories as shown in Table 3. In all the 17 staff work-related injury cases, 7 cases did not incur any lost workdays, 2 cases incurred 3 or fewer lost workdays and 8 cases incurred more than 3 lost workdays. The largest number of lost workdays in one single case was 124 days. About 90% of all lost workdays (299 days) were contributed by 3 accident cases.

Table 2. Comparison of Lost Workdays
Year 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Total number of Lost Workdays 473 382 143.5 432 272 389 82.5 215 270 334

 

Table 3. HKUST Staff Work Accidents in 2018 by Unit
Department No. of Accidents
  Total LWD=0 0≤3 LWD>3
ARO 1 1    
CEI 1     1
CHEM 1 1    
CIVL 1     1
ECE 2 1 1  
FMO 2     2
FO 1     1
LIB 1 1    
NFF 2 1   1
SAO 3 2 1  
SHRLO 2     2
Total 17 7 2 8

LWD = Lost Workday(s)

 

Causes of Work/Study-Related Injuries

Figure 1 summarizes the causes for all work/study-related injuries in 2018.

The top two causes for injuries in 2018 were “cuts by sharp objects” and “slips and trips” (13 cases and 10 cases respectively). “Cuts by sharp objects” was the major cause for student injuries (12 cases) while “slips and trips” was the major cause for staff injuries (9 cases). Among the “cuts by sharp objects” cases, most of them involved broken glass (8 cases).

Figure 1. Causes of Work and Study-Related Accidents in 2018
Figure 1. Causes of Work and Study-Related Accidents in 2018

Locations of Accidents


Among all the injury cases (including contractors):

  • 29 occurred in laboratories
  • 6 occurred in outdoor common areas
  • 4 occurred in indoor common areas
  • 4 occurred in student quarters
  • 4 occurred in canteen
  • 3 occurred in office area
  • 1 occurred in classroom
  • 1 occurred in staff quarters
  • 1 occurred in plant room
Locations of Accidents

 

Common Root Causes of Accidents
 

Besides classifying causes of injuries in terms of physical sources and energies involved, investigation of the injury cases also revealed some common underlying root causes. These root causes are summarized in Figure 2 below.

Common Root Causes of Accidents
Figure 2. Common Root Causes of Accidents

 

Non-injury Incidents
 

A total of 7 non-injury work/study-related incidents were reported in 2018.  6 of the incidents occurred in laboratory areas. 6 out of the 7 incidents involved students. The incidents are summarized below by their nature:

  • Chemical spills – 2 cases
  • Strong smell from experiments – 2 cases
  • Small fires – 2 cases (1 caused by chemicals; 1 due to over-heated battery)
  • Over-pressurization of autoclave – 1 case
Non-injury Incidents

 

Summary of Significant Findings
 

  1. There were 44 cases of staff and student accidents in 2018, 1 case fewer than that of the previous year. The number of student accidents had increased by 11 cases (68%), while the number of staff accidents had reduced by 12 cases (41%).
     
  2. Among the 27 student injury cases, 24 of them were study/research related. Among them, 19 cases involved postgraduate students and 5 involved undergraduate students.
     
  3. The number of lost workdays in 2018 was 334 days, 64 days more than the previous year. About 90% of all lost workdays (299 days) were contributed by 3 cases.
     
  4. The top 2 causes for injuries in 2018 were “cuts by sharp objects” and “slips and trips”.  “Cuts by sharp objects” was the major cause for student injuries (12 cases) while “slips and trips” was the major cause for staff injuries (9 cases). These 2 major causes had contributed to over half (52%) of the total number of cases.
     
  5. Over half of the accidents (29 cases) occurred in laboratories, including 24 student accident cases.
Summary of Significant Findings
Summary of Significant Findings
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