[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 197 (Friday, October 13, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47770-47772]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-22188]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Bureau of Labor Statistics


Comment Request

AGENCY: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Department of Labor.

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ACTION: Notice of solicitation of comments.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor through the Bureau of Labor Statistics 
(BLS) is currently soliciting comments for the second major revision of 
the Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System (OIICS), 
current version 2.01. The last major revision occurred in 2011. BLS is 
responsible for the development and publication of occupational injury, 
illness, and fatality data. These data are compiled by the Survey of 
Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII) and the Census of Fatal 
Occupational Injuries (CFOI) programs. The OIICS is used to classify 
certain case characteristics associated with the nonfatal and fatal 
work injury cases received by the programs.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office listed in the 
Addresses section of this notice on or before February 1, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Christen Byler, Office of Safety, Health 
and Working Conditions, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Room 3180, 2 
Massachusetts Avenue NE., Washington, DC 20212 or by email to: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christen Byler, Office of Safety, 
Health and Working Conditions, Bureau of Labor Statistics, telephone 
number: 202-691-6252, or by email at: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System is used 
to code case characteristics of nonfatal injuries and illnesses 
reported in the SOII and fatal injuries reported in CFOI. Cases are 
classified according to five code structures that describe the injury 
or illness and how it occurred:
     Nature of Injury or Illness: Describes the physical 
characteristics of the injury or illness.
     Part of Body Affected: Identifies the part of the body 
directly affected by the nature.
     Source of Injury or Illness: Identifies the object or 
substance that directly inflicted the injury or illness.
     Event or Exposure: Describes the manner in which the 
injury or illness was inflicted by the source.
     Secondary Source: Identifies other objects or substances, 
if any, that contributed to the event or exposure. The same code list 
is used for both source and secondary source.
    The case characteristic classification structures are hierarchical 
with four levels of detail to facilitate the aggregation of information 
and to accommodate both variations in detail available on reporting 
forms and the needs of data users. For example, one user may wish to 
look at data for injuries involving all trucks (Source code 825); 
whereas, another user may be interested only in cases involving tractor 
trailer trucks (Source code 8254). With the 2011 adoption of OIICS 2.0, 
the numeric hierarchy also became an order of precedence within each of 
the characteristics, designating which codes should be given priority 
when multiple codes could be appropriate within a given case.
    Each case characteristic structure is comprised of the following:
     Rules of precedence: Designates which division within the 
coded case characteristic, Event or Exposure, is to take precedence 
when more than one code might be applicable within the case.
     Rules of selection: Defines which codes should be used and 
how different coded case characteristics interact with each other, 
specifically event/source/secondary source and nature/part.
     Code descriptions: Provides detailed definitions for 
individual code categories and often gives examples of types of cases 
that are included or excluded from the category.
     Complete code list: Includes the codes and associated 
titles by themselves without the descriptions.
     Alphabetical indices.
    The original Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System 
(OIICS) was released in December 1992. It was developed by the Bureau 
of Labor Statistics with input from data users and states participating 
in the BLS Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Federal/State 
cooperative programs. It was ultimately based on the American National 
Standards Institute (ANSI) Z16.2-1962, Method of Recording Basic Facts 
Relating to the Nature and Occurrence of Work Injuries, revised 1969. 
In addition, certain portions are based on the International 
Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 9th 
Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9 CM), which is widely used in the 
medical community.
    After its adoption in 1992, OIICS was approved for use as the 
American National Standard for Information Management for Occupational 
Safety and Health in 1995 (ANSI Z16.2-1995). In addition to the BLS 
occupational safety and health statistics program, the OIICS is used by 
several state workers' compensation agencies, the National Institute 
for Occupational Safety and Health, and other organizations.
    In September 2007, the OIICS underwent a minor update to 
incorporate various interpretations and corrections. A major revision 
followed resulting in OIICS version 2.0 with an additional minor update 
culminating in version 2.01. Version 2.0 was adopted with reference 
year 2011 and was considered a major break in series. Included were 
major changes to rules of selection, new code births, as well as the 
introduction of rules of precedence designated by the numeric hierarchy 
of the structures. The current version of the OIICS (2.01) is available 
on the BLS Web site at http://www.bls.gov/iif/oshoiics.htm.

II. Current Action

    A second major revision of OIICS was initiated in spring 2017. This 
revision is intended to update the classification system to:
     Include new or emerging conditions or workplace hazards 
that could potentially result from an incident or exposure in the 
workplace.
     Provide for data aggregations not available with the 
current OIICS.
     Explore the need for new or expanded coding structures to 
capture other case characteristics, for example worker activity.
     Improve and clarify order of precedence and rules of 
selection.
     Improve the usability and layout of the OIICS manual.
    In addition, BLS will review the International Statistical 
Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems 10th Revision 
(ICD-10), new ANSI standards, international program comparisons, and 
other comparable coding structures to optimize the capture of 
actionable insights for safety intervention from BLS occupational 
safety and health data.

III. Desired Focus of Comments

    Comments and recommendations are requested from the public on the 
following aspects of the OIICS:
     The layout and organization of the manual.
     The order of precedence and rules of selection of the five 
case characteristics (Nature of Injury or Illness, Part of Body 
Affected, Source of Injury or Illness, Secondary Source, Event or 
Exposure).
     Potential new coded characteristics (worker activity, work 
environment exposures, location, etc.).
     The code categories, including recommendations for 
additional categories, and for merging or deleting existing categories. 
(Please provide justifications where possible.)

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     The descriptions of the code categories, including the 
lists of inclusions and exclusions.
     Alphabetical indices and other desired tools for coding 
assistance.
     Any other thoughts on the coding system.

    Signed at Washington, DC, this 5th day of October 2017.
Kimberley Hill,
Chief, Division of Management Systems.
[FR Doc. 2017-22188 Filed 10-12-17; 8:45 am]
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