CAIRS Search Fields

Searches of the CAIRS database can be performed utilizing a number of different data fields. Most of these fields can also be included in one or more different report types. Data fields in CAIRS are of four basic types.

The following tables list each of the CAIRS data fields that are available for searching. The tables include the item number from the CAIRS Search and Distributions Search page, the item name, and a description of the item. An additional column, titled Use, indicates the usage of the fields. The first section of the column indicates the types of CAIRS reports that may include the data field while the second section indicates the requirements for use in a report. A legend identifying the codes in the Use column can be found at the bottom of this page. Please note that the information in the Use column reflects current requirements. A history of changes in requirements is available.

Coded Fields

Coded fields utilize simplified alphanumeric codes to represent complex, repetitive, textual data. When searching the database, the coded equivalents are used instead of the more complex terms.

Field Name Use Description
1 Field Office I,P,V R This is the DOE Operations or Field Office that directs the activity of the organization reporting the accident. The Field Office is designated by the first two characters of the organization code. Selection is made by entering the two character code into a Field Office Code edit box.
2 Area Office I,P,V R Some Field Offices have local offices, called Area Offices, to directly administer operations by organizations at a particular location. The Area Office is designated by the 3rd character of the organization code. Selection is made by entering a three character code, consisting of the Field Office and Area Office designators, into an Area Office Code edit box.
3 Operation Type I,P,V R Organizations are divided into nine operation types that define, in general terms, the type of work performed by the organization. The Operations Type is designated by the last character of the organization code. Selection is made using an Operation Type selection box.
4 Organization Code I,P,V R The organization code is the 7 character code that has been assigned to the organization for purposes of CAIRS reporting. Each part of the code has a specific meaning. The first two characters specify the field organizaton such as Chicago Operations Office. The third character specifies an area office, if there are any under the field office. The fourth through sixth characters specify the specific DOE or DOE contractor organization. The seventh character represents an operational type such as production, research, government, etc. Selection is made by entering the seven character code into an Organization Code edit box. Organizations are associated with Field Offices, Area Offices, Sites, and Operation Types.
5 Case Number I,P,V R All cases for a given organization are to be numbered in sequence, regardless of accident/incident type, with the first four characters representing the year, e.g., 1997001 is the first event in 1997. Selection is made by entering the seven character code into a Case Number edit box.
6 Key I,P,V R The Key is a concatenation of the organization code and the case number. It uniquely identifies a single record in the database. For example, the key for the first record for organization 3005004 in 1997 is 30050041997001. Selection is made by entering the 14 character code into a Key edit box.
7 Multiple Case Number I,P,V M Multiple case accidents/incidents are those that result in more than one recordable instance of injury, property damage, or vehicle damage, or combinations thereof. Each instance is reported separately, with the multiple case number serving as the link between the reports. Multiple case numbers are made up of three characters, with the first character being L or M. L indicates that all multiple cases are being reported by the same organization, while M indicates that the single accident involved multiple organizations. The next two characters are numeric, starting with 01 and increasing sequentially as necessary. Thus L01 is assigned to all reports associated with the first event for a particular contractor. Multiple case numbers that are applicable to a single organization may be repeated for each organization, i.e., there may be many L01 numbers assigned in a particular year. Multiple case numbers that span multiple organizations will be unique, i.e., there will only be one M01 number assigned in the database for any given year. Selection is made by entering the three character code into a Multiple Case Number edit box. Be sure to enter a leading zero, e.g., L01, for entries less than 10.
8 Accident Type I,P,V R This field identifies the type of accident that occurred. Selection is made from an Accident Type selection box with possible values of
  • I - Injury/Illness
  • P - Property Damage
  • V - Vehicle Accident
9 Investigation Type I,P,V R This field identifies the investigation type that resulted from the accident. Selection is made from an Investigation Type selection box with possible values of
  • A Investigation
  • B Investigation
  • C Investigation
If an accident/incident is reported and later determined to be non-recordable, the Investigation Type is changed to Non-Recordable and the record will no longer be retrieved by any searches.
10 Experience on Equipment I,P,V E This field identifies the experience of the employee with the particular job or equipment that was involved in the accident. Selection is made from an Employee Experience selection box with possible values of
  • A - Less than 3 months
  • B - Between 3 months and 12 months
  • C - Greater than 12 months
11 Equipment Defect I,P,V R This field indicates if an equipment design or defect contributed to the accident cause or severity. One value can be selected using the Equipment Design or Defect radio buttons, with possible values of
  • Y - Yes
  • N - No
12 Equipment Involved I,P,V R For injury or illness events, this field identifies the object(s) or substance(s) that generated the source of injury or illness or that contributed to the event or exposure. For property damage and vehicle accident events, this field identifies the object(s) or substance(s) that primarily caused to the accident. Each report may contain up to 3 entries. Selection is made by entering the four character code into an Equipment Involved edit box. (See Note 1)
13 Activity I,P,V R This field identifies the primary activity that was in progress at the time that the accident occurred. Selection is made by entering the four character code into a Generic Activity edit box.
14 Direct Cause I,P,V R This field identifies the factor, condition, or action that was the primary cause of the accident. Selection is made by entering a two character code into a Direct Causal Factor edit box. Possible values are
  • DD - Design
  • DE - Employee
  • DO - Other
  • DP - Procedure
  • DW - Weather
15 Indirect Cause I,P,V O This field identifies the factors, conditions, or actions that were indirect contributors to the accident. Each report may contain up to 3 indirect causes. Selection is made by entering a two character code into a Indirect Causal Factor edit box. (See Note 1) Possible values are
  • ID - Design
  • IE - Employee
  • IO - Other
  • IP - Procedure
  • IW - Weather
16 Length of Employment I,P,V E This field identifies the length of time the employee has been employed with this employer. Selection is made from a Length of Employment selection box with possible values of
  • A - Less than 3 months
  • B - Between 3 months and 12 months
  • C - Greater than 12 months
17 Accident Place I,P,V R This field indicates where the accident occurred. Selection is made from a Place of Accident selection box with possible values of
  • I - Indoors
  • O - Outdoors
  • U - Unknown
18 Owner's Premise I,P,V R This field indicates whether or not the accident occurred on the employer's premises. One value can be selected using the Owner's Premise radio buttons, with possible values of
  • Y - Yes
  • N - No
  • U - Unknown
19 Event I,V R For injury or illness events, this field describes the manner in which the injury or illness was produced or inflicted by the source of injury or illness. For vehicle accidents, this field identifies the event or exposure that primarily caused or contributed to the accident. Selection is made by entering the four character code into an Event edit box. Note that for vehicle accidents, only the series 4000 codes are valid.
20 Sex I,P,V E This field indicates the sex of the employee involved in the accident. One value can be selected using the Sex of Employee radio buttons, with possible values of
  • F - Female
  • M - Male
  • U - Unspecified
21 Occupation I,P,V E This field identifies the generic occupation of the employee involved in the accident/incident. Selection is made by entering the four character code into an Employee Occupation edit box.
22 OSHA Code I R The OSHA Code is a 2 character code representing the type of injury or illness. Selection is made from an OSHA Classification selection box with possible values of
  • 10 = Injury
  • 21 = Skin diseases or disorders
  • 22 = Dust diseases of lungs
  • 23 = Respiratory due to toxic agents
  • 24 = Poisoning
  • 25 = Disorders - Physical agents
  • 26 = Disorders - Repeated trauma
  • 29 = All other illness
23 OSHA Type I R The OSHA Type consists of the first character of the OSHA Code and indicates the following.
  • 1 = Injury
  • 2 = Illness
Selection is made from an OSHA Type selection box with the previous options.
24 Death I R This field indicates whether the accident/incident resulted in the death of the injured individual. One value can be selected using the Fatal Accident radio buttons, with possible values of
  • Y - Yes
  • N - No
25 Transferred I R This field indicates if the employee was transferred because of disability related to the injury/illness. One value can be selected using the Employee Transferred radio buttons, with possible values of
  • Y - Yes
  • N - No
26 Terminated I R This field indicates if the employee was terminated because of disability related to the injury/illness. One value can be selected using the Employee Terminated radio buttons, with possible values of
  • Y - Yes
  • N - No
27 Hospitalization I R This field indicates if the employee was hospitalized beyond the day of the accident as a result of the injury/illness. One value can be selected using the Hospitalized Overnight radio buttons, with possible values of
  • Y - Yes
  • N - No
28 Source I R This field identifies the object, substance, bodily motion, or exposure that produced or inflicted the injury/illness. Selection is made by entering the four character code into a Source edit box.
29 PPE Used I R This field identifies the personal protective equipment that was in use at the time of the accident/incident. Each report may contain up to 3 entries. Selection is made by entering the four character code into a PPE Used edit box.(See Note 1)
30 Body Part I R This field identifies the part of the body that was directly effected by the injury or illness. Selection is made by entering the four character code into a Body Part Injured edit box.
31 Injury Type I R This field identifies the principal physical characteristic of the injury or illness. Selection is made by entering the four character code into an Injury/Illness Type edit box.
32 Injury Case Closed I R This field indicates if the injury case is final, with no expected additional changes. This occurs when the employee has returned to work without restrictions, has been transferred or terminated as a result of the accident, or has died. One value can be selected using the Injury Case Closed radio buttons, with possible values of
  • Y - Yes
  • N - No
33 Vehicle Type V R For vehicle accidents, this field indicates the type of vehicle that was involved in the accident. Vehicle Type is a three character code and selection is made from a Vehicle Type selection box.
34 Seat Belt Available V R For vehicle accidents, this field indicates if the vehicle involved in the accident was equipped with seat belts. One value can be selected using the Was Seat Belt Available radio buttons, with possible values of
  • Y - Yes
  • N - No
35 Seat Belt in Use V S For vehicle accidents, if the vehicle involved in the accident was equipped with seat belts, this field indicates if the seat belts were being used. One value can be selected using the Was Seat Belt in Use radio buttons, with possible values of
  • Y - Yes
  • N - No
36 Accident Resulted in Injury V R For vehicle accidents, this field indicates if the accident resulted in a recordable injury. One value can be selected using the Recordable Injury radio buttons, with possible values of
  • Y - Yes
  • N - No
If the response is yes, one or more corresponding injury reports, with an appropriate Multiple Case Number should also exist in the database.
37 Property Loss Type P R For property damage events, this field indicates the type of property damage that was incurred in the event. Property Loss Type is a two character code and selection is made from a Property Loss Type selection box.
38 Operator Involved P,V R This field indicates if the employee listed on the accident report was the operator of the vehicle or other property involved in the accident. One value can be selected using the Operator Involved radio buttons, with possible values of
  • Y - Yes
  • N - No
39 Target P R For property damage events, this field identifies the item, equipment, or system that was damaged by the accident/incident. Selection is made by entering the four character code into a Target edit box.
40 P/V Case Closed P,V R For property damage or vehicle accident reports, this field indicates if the investigation is completed and all dollar amounts are final. One value can be selected using the P/V Case Closed radio buttons, with possible values of
  • Y - Yes
  • N - No

Narrative Fields

Narrative fields in CAIRS contain free-form textual information. Text searches are performed by entering the word to be searched for in an edit box.

Field Name Use Description
50 All Narrative I,P,V R An All Narrative search performs a simultaneous narrative search of all of the narrative fields on the CAIRS reports. The search word is entered into an All Narrative edit box.
51 Job Title I,P,V E This field contains the contractor specific job title or occupation of the employee involved in the accident. The search word is entered into a Job Title edit box. Occupations are also grouped by Generic Occupation.
52 Location I,P,V R This field contains the specific location of the accident. The search word is entered into a Specific Location edit box.
53 Department/ID I,P,V R Department or Division is defined by the reporting organization and can be used for identifying subgroups within an organization. The search word is entered into a Department/Division/ID Name edit box.
54 One-Line Description I,P,V R The One-Line Description is a computer generated narrative description that is entered with each case. The search word is entered into a One-line Description edit box. See Note 2 for a description of the fields used to generate the one line description.
55 Activity I,P,V R This field describes the activity or assignment that was in progress at the time of the accident. The search word is entered into an Activity edit box.
56 Events I,P,V R This field contains a sequential description of the events associated with an accident, beginning with the initiating event, followed by secondary events, and concluding with the extent of the injury/damage. The search word is entered into an Events edit box.
57 Equipment I,P,V R This field provides a description of the equipment item(s) involved in the accident, including generic or brand name, model, and, as applicable, the identification number of the equipment/hardware/vehicle involved. The search word is entered into an Equipment edit box.
58 Causes-Conditions I,P,V R This field identifies the conditions that existed at the time of the accident that were, or may have been, the direct or immediate cause of the accident. The search word is entered into a Causes-Conditions edit box.
59 Causes-Actions I,P,V R This field identifies the actions on the part of the employee that contributed to the occurrence of the accident/incident. The search word is entered into a Causes-Actions edit box.
60 Causes-Factors I,P,V R This field identifies other influencing factors or underlying causes, either conditions or actions or both, that may have contributed to the accident/incident. The search word is entered into a Causes-Factors edit box.
61 Actions Taken I,P,V R This field describes the short term actions taken to prevent recurrence of the accident/incident. The search word is entered into an Actions Taken edit box.
62 Actions Recommended I,P,V R This field describes long term corrective actions that are planned by management and the required time for implementation. The search word is entered into an Actions Recommended edit box. Implementation date can also be searched.

Date/Time Fields

Date and time fields in CAIRS contain date and time information about an accident. Searches are performed utilizing edit boxes to enter numbers and operators. Numbers should not include any special formatting characters such as colons.

Field Name Use Description
70 Accident Date I,P,V R This field contains the date that the accident occurred. Dates are formatted yyyymmdd and are entered using an Accident Date edit box.
71 Accident Year I,P,V R This field contains the year portion of the accident date. The year format is yyyy and is entered using an Accident Year edit box.
72 Accident Month I,P,V R This field contains the month portion of the accident date. The month format is mm and is entered using an Accident Month edit box. Be sure to enter a leading zero, e.g., 01 for January, for months less than 10.
73 Accident Day I,P,V R This field contains the day portion of the accident date. The day format is dd and is entered using an Accident Day edit box. Be sure to enter a leading zero, e.g., 01, for days less than 10.
74 Accident Time I,P,V R This field contains the time at which the accident occurred, in hours, using military time, e.g., 1:00 AM = 01 and 1:00 PM = 13. The time format is hh and is entered using an Accident Time edit box. Be sure to enter a leading zero, e.g., 01, for hours less than 10.
75 Time Work Began I,P,V E This field contains the time at which the employee reported for work, in hours, using military time, e.g., 1:00 AM = 01 and 1:00 PM = 13. The time format is hh and is entered using a Time Employee Began Work edit box. Be sure to enter a leading zero, e.g., 01, for hours less than 10.
76 Date Added I,P,V R This field contains the date that the accident report was first entered into CAIRS. Dates are formatted yyyymmdd and are entered using a Date Added edit box.
77 Date Revised I,P,V R This field contains the date that the accident report was last modified. Dates are formatted yyyymmdd and are entered using a Date Last Revised edit box.
78 Implementation Date I,P,V R This field contains the scheduled dates for implementation of recommended corrective actions. Dates are formatted yyyymmdd and are entered using an Implementation Date edit box.

Numeric Fields

Numeric fields in CAIRS contain numerical information about an accident such as the number of lost workdays or the dollar loss. Searches are performed utilizing edit boxes to enter numbers and operators. Numbers should not include any special formatting characters such as commas or dollar signs.

Field Name Use Description
80 Age I,P,V E This field contains the age of the employee in years. Age is entered using an Age of Employee edit box.
81 Days Away I R This field contains the number of workdays lost due to the accident/incident, also known as Workdays Lost (WDL). If the employee has not returned to work, it should contain an estimate of the expected days away from work. Days away are entered using a Days Away from Work edit box.
82 Days Restricted I R This field contains the number of restricted workdays due to the accident/incident, also known as Workdays Lost Restricted (WDLR). If the employee is still on restricted status, it should contain an estimate of the restricted workdays. Days restricted are entered using a Days Restricted edit box.
83 Total Days I R Total days, also known as Lost Workdays (LWD) is the sum of the Days Away (WDL) and the Days Restricted (WDLR). It is entered using a Total Lost Workdays edit box.
84 Total Dollar Loss P,V R Total dollar loss is the total dollar amount (rounded to the nearest dollar) of accident/incident damage for property damage accidents and vehicle accidents. It is entered using a Total Dollar Loss edit box. Total dollar loss includes both DOE loss and non-DOE loss.
85 DOE Dollar Loss P,V R DOE dollar loss is the dollar amount (rounded to the nearest dollar) of accident/incident damage, to DOE and non-DOE property, for which DOE is liable or pays after claims and reimbursements are considered. It is entered using a DOE Dollar Loss edit box.
86 Non-DOE Dollar Loss P,V R Non-DOE dollar loss is the dollar amount (rounded to the nearest dollar) of accident/incident damage, to DOE and non-DOE property, for which DOE is not liable or does not pay. It is entered using a Non-DOE Dollar Loss edit box.

Notes

  1. Some fields, as identified in the above tables, may contain more than one value for a particular record. In these cases, the multiple values are stored with a comma separating each value. To search for instances of a value within a string as well as on its own, the search term must include a wildcard operator before and after the desired value. For example, a record could contain an entry of IW,IP in the Indirect Cause field, which indicates that both weather and procedure were indirect causes. A search for an Indirect Cause of IW will only retrieve those records where IW is the only indirect cause. To also retrieve the example record, you must perform a search for an Indirect Cause of %IW%.
  2. One line descriptions are generated by inserting decoded information from various database fields into a standard narrative description. The following identifies the component parts of a one-line description for each type of CAIRS case, with the database fields shown in BOLD/ITALIC print.

Field Use Legend

Report Type

I - Injury/Illness
P - Property Damage
V - Vehicle Accident

Usage Requirement

R - Required for all reports of the specified type
E - Required for all injury/illness events and vehicle accidents and all property damage events where an equipment operator is listed
O - Optional for all reports
M - Required for all multiple case events
S - Required for all vehicle accidents where the vehicle was equipped with seat belts
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