Project Director Debra Chester Describes Important Program
Editor’s Note: I am pleased to have my friend and colleague Debra Chester, MS, describe the important work of the MIFACE program. I have had the privilege of serving on the MIFACE Advisory Committee for several years and it has been a very rewarding experience.
Our profession takes on many different paths, but I have found Debra’s to be quite unique in the sense that she deals exclusively with tragic fatal incidents. I have often commented to her my admiration for her professionalism and passion for what she does. MLE
Michigan Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (MIFACE)An employer once said to me: “I always wanted to join an exclusive club. Now I have, and I wish I wasn’t a member.” The club, as he described it, was the club of employers who had an employee come to work and not go home to their family at the end of the day because they died on the job. As the project coordinator and field investigator of the Michigan Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (MIFACE) research program, I have heard a variation on that theme every time I speak with an employer who has experienced the psychological and emotional pain when an employee doesn’t make it home at the end of the day. The mission of MIFACE is to minimize the chances of similar tragic deaths by learning more about what happened in order to develop and distribute recommendations for prevention.
Some of you may already be familiar with the MIFACE program; you may have received copies of our work-related fatality investigation reports, Hazard Alerts, or visited our website (www.oem.msu.edu). I would imagine many of you have not heard of this research program coordinated through the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine’s Occupational and Environmental Medicine (MSU OEM) program. MIFACE surveillance and prevention activities began January 1, 2001 and continue to be a joint research project with the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth. Currently, MIFACE is funded by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). We have patterned our research after the NIOSH FACE program that has been in existence for about 20 years. NIOSH funds nine states on a competitive basis to conduct fatality investigations. As a result of becoming a NIOSH-funded state, all the Michigan reports, as well as the other funded state reports, are published without identifiers on the NIOSH FACE website: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/face/.
Work-related deaths cover a wide range of circumstances, some of which might not typically be considered or identified as occupational. Some of the more commonly thought of circumstances are included in MIOSHA enforcement activities, such as construction- or manufacturing-related fatal injuries. Typically, approximately one-third of all Michigan work-related deaths are investigated by MIOSHA. Circumstances that are not investigated by MIOSHA include: farming injury-related deaths including family members who work on the farm; employees who travel for their work, such as salespeople; individuals performing volunteer work for a volunteer organization (such as fire fighters, museum docents, hospital workers); homicides and suicides, and deaths of self-employed individuals. Deaths from natural causes, such as a heart attack, are not considered work-related deaths.
The purpose of the MIFACE surveillance project is threefold:
- Identify types of industries and work situations where workers are dying from acute traumatic incidents. Prevention efforts can only be directed if we know more about the circumstances surrounding each death.
- Identify the underlying causes of the work-related fatality. Identifying underlying causes of work-related fatalities and the detection of common patterns of fatal injuries in Michigan increases the understanding of the specific problems in our State.
- Formulate and disseminate prevention strategies to stakeholders who are in a position to help prevent similar deaths. By developing meaningful, effective and practical educational materials from the results of the fatality investigations, such as the MIFACE Investigation Reports and Hazard Alerts, we hope to help make a difference in people’s lives.
To better understand the series of events that led to the fatality, I contact the employer and ask for their participation in the research. Employer participation is voluntary. If the parties involved agree to participate, I make an appointment to conduct a site visit. During the site visit, I speak with the employer and/or other individuals (if they, too, agree to participate) familiar with the work activity being performed by the decedent at time of his/her injury to identify the underlying cause(s) of the fatal injury. Although MIFACE receives information regarding occupational fatalities from MIOSHA and interacts with the investigating compliance officers, MIFACE has no involvement in enforcing regulations or assigning fault or blame.
After each site visit, MIFACE issues a narrative report without identifiers, which includes a summary statement, detailed narrative of the investigation, cause of death as determined by the Medical Examiner, and recommendations (with discussion) to prevent future fatalities. Our reports are reviewed by MIOSHA when a MIOSHA investigation also took place, the MIFACE Advisory Committee (which includes industry, insurance and labor representatives), and when applicable, by an expert in the industry involved in the fatality. The investigation narrative report (as well as other MIFACE educational material) is posted on the MSU OEM website (www.oem.msu.edu) and is also sent to stakeholders, such as employers performing similar work, unions, health and safety representatives, trade groups, Michigan State University Agricultural Extension agents, vendors and manufacturers of machines involved in fatalities, and local, state, and national health and safety professionals.
Reports published on the MSU OEM website can be easily accessed and used for training programs. Also on the website are MIFACE Summaries of MIOSHA Inspections, which are work-related fatality investigations performed by MIOSHA, but not investigated by MIFACE. These summaries provide more description of how the death occurred and again are very useful for training sessions.
We would welcome your assistance in identifying work-related deaths in your area. MSU has a toll-free telephone number, 800.446.7805, and an email address, MIFACE@ht.msu.edu, which can be used to inform us of a fatal work-related incident.
NOTE: Notifying MIFACE does not relieve a company of their MIOSHA requirement for self-reporting of a work-related fatality. The MIOSHA 24-hour fatality or catastrophe toll-free telephone number is 800.858.0397.
We are encouraged by the interest and partnerships that have been developed since 2001 and thank the many employers that have allowed us access to their workplace. We look forward to future partnerships with state groups, employers, unions and individuals to work to prevent these tragic fatalities. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Deb Chester at 517.432.1008, by e-mail at Debra.chester@ht.msu.edu or our toll-free number. We would be pleased to have you visit the website (www.oem.msu.edu) and let us know what you think.
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