New NIOSH Web Site Explains BLS Injury, Illness Coding System
NIOSH has developed a Web site with downloadable software to assist researchers, policy makers, employers, and others who may need to use the Bureau of Labor Statistics' hierarchical coding system to characterize occupational injury and illness incidents.
The Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System (OIICS), developed by BLS, standardizes the coding system for characterizing work-related injuries and illnesses. This site provides a graphical tree interface for each of the four unique coding schemes, which are searchable and include descriptive details of the types of injuries that fall under each category. The four coding schemes include:
- Nature--the principal physical characteristic(s) of the injury or illness;
- Part of Body Affected --the part of the body directly affected by the injury or illness;
- Source and secondary source--the object, substance, bodily motion, or exposure which directly produced or inflicted the injury or illness, or the object, substance, or person that generated the source of injury or illness or that contributed to the event or exposure; and
- Event or Exposure--the manner in which the injury or illness was produced or inflicted.
The complete OIICS manual is viewable as a separate document, and a standalone software version of the coding trees is available for download and installation on individual computer desktops. For more information, including coding selection rules, visit
wwwn.cdc.gov/oiics/.