Size–Frequency Distribution Characteristic of Fatalities Due to Workplace Accidents and Industry Dependency

The exploration of the statistical characteristics and distribution patterns of workplace accidents can help to reveal the intrinsic features and general laws of safety issues, which is essential for forecasting and decision making in safe production. Here, we conduct the detailed analysis of the distribution characteristics between the fatality number and the frequency of workplace accidents based on the in-depth data mining of various industries. The results show that the distribution between the fatality number and the frequency of workplace accidents follows a power-law distribution. Moreover, the exponents of such power-law distributions in different industries exhibit significant industry dependence, with the characteristic values of the power-law exponents in the coal mining industry, the hazardous chemicals industry, the transportation industry, and the construction industry being 1.55, 2.16, 2.15, and 2.92, respectively. Meanwhile, the temporal variation in the power-law distribution exponent in each industry can be used for the short-term prediction and evaluation of safe production, which will inform the decision making of the safety management department. Last, but not the least, the results of this study provide the theoretical basis for Heinrich’s Law and confirm that a substantial reduction in the number of small-scale accidents can effectively help control the frequency of large-scale fatal accidents.