Bonus and accidents: is there a link?

CIM Bulletin, Vol. 79, No. 894, 1986

JEAN-LUC CHOUINARD, Les Mines Selbaie, Joutel, Quebec and NOEL BILLETTE Universite Laval Quebec, Quebec

An analysis of the number of industrial injuries shows that the mining sector is particularly affected, since mining is one of the most dangerous industrial activities in Canada. This has led to numerous inquiries, and supports the need for an in-depth study aiming at the identification of factors responsible for these accidents. One possible factor often pointed at is the small crews incentives and this paper presents a scientific approach applied to check a potential link between bonus and accidents at two mining companies located in northwestern Quebec. The data required to do so were the accidents, the salaries and the number of hours worked at each mining site by the hourly-paid personnel for the period from June 1979 to January 1982. The analysis of the results derived from the initial information shows different behaviours of the frequency rate vs the bonus rate at these mines. The number of days lost per accident is independent of the bonus rate at both mine sites, as shown by Khi-square tests on contingency tables.

Keywords: Safety, Human resources, Bonus, Accidents, Severity rate, Mining industry