Leading Indicators

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Leading Indicators
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We Want to Measure Safety Performance
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What is the Purpose of Measuring Safety
Performance?

• OSHA mandates that this be measured, namely in
  terms of OSHA recordable injuries
• We want to know how we are performing in the area
  of safety.

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What are the Outcomes of Evaluating Safety?

• Determination that performance is acceptable (no
  change in operations would appear needed)
• Determination that performance is improving
  (possible indication that interventions are
  working)
• Determination that performance is declining
  (additional interventions are required)
• Determination that performance is unacceptable
  (interventions must be implemented).

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Decisions Driven by Safety Performance

• Rewards for good Safety Performance
• Raises for good Safety Performers
• Recognition for good Safety Performers
• Basis for Selecting Personnel or Firms
• Trigger the Imposition of Interventions.

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Safety Performance Measures

• Lagging or Trailing or Downstream Indicators of
  Safety Performance
• Leading or Upstream Indicators of Safety
  Performance.

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Lagging or Trailing Indicators of Safety
Performance

• After-the-Fact Measures of Safety Performance.

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Most Common Lagging Indicator of Safety
Performance

• EMR
• Injury Performance, as in the frequency of OSHA
  recordable injuries per 200,000 hours of worker
  exposure.

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Other Lagging Indicators to Consider

• Day Away, Restricted work, and Transferred injury
  rate
• First aid injury rate
• Near miss rate.

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Advantage of Using Lagging Indicators of Safety
Performance

• Accurate Hindsight is Exact or nearly so.

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Disadvantage of Using Lagging Indicators of
Safety Performance

• Data is Historical If unacceptable Numbers of
  Injuries Occur, it is Too Late to Prevent Them
• Watch for Under-Reporting.

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Leading Indicators of Safety Performance

• Predictors of Future Safety Performance Based on
  Selected Criteria.

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Advantage of Using Leading Indicators of Safety
Performance

• If performance indicators show poor or
  unacceptable performance, modifications or
  changes can be made before injuries actually
  occur
• Focus is on the process, not the end result.

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Disadvantage of Using Leading Indicators of
Safety Performance

• Measures are not Absolute
• Most Measures are Subjective
• No single Measure says it all
• Several Measures are Recommended, Not Just One.

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What are the Appropriate Lagging Indicators of
Safety Performance for the Various Positions on a
Project?

• The Lagging Indicators are Almost Exclusively the
  Incidence of OSHA Recordable Injuries
• The Incidence of Lost Workday Cases is Too
  Infrequent to be Meaningful.

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What are the Appropriate Leading Indicators of
Safety Performance for the Various Positions on a
Project?

• There are several different leading indicators of
  safety performance
• Certain indicators may be more appropriate for
  some positions than for others.

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Leading Indicators for the Different Positions on
a Project
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Workers

• Quality of Orientation Training Received by the
  Workers
• Regular Audits of Safe Worker Behavior
• Results of Workers Observations
• Level of involvement of workers in the safety
  process
• Level of job satisfaction when working in the
  crew
• Skill level of the workers
• Level of participation in pretask planning.

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Foremen

• Leadership qualities of the foremen
• Level of respect shown for the crew members
• Safety qualifications of the foremen
• Adherence to pre-task planning protocol
• Inherent risks in the work
• Size of the crew
• Time spent with the crew.

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Superintendents

• Coordination skills of the superintendents
• Familiarity with workers and subcontractors from
  prior projects
• Quality of the site-specific safety plan
• Results of job-site safety inspections
• Demonstrates safety commitment
• Provides positive reinforcement on safety.

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Project Managers

• Quality of the site-specific safety plan
• Results of job-site safety inspections
• Demonstrated safety commitment
• Safety requirements imposed by the contract
• Project Owners support of project safety
• Project Owners involvement in the safety process.

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Safety Managers

• Qualifications in safety
• Authority of the safety manager
• Reporting function of the safety manager
• Level of practical experience
• Team player qualifications of safety manager
• Number of workers served by one safety manager
• Risks on site.

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Subcontractors

• Quality of the site-specific safety plan for the
  specialty work
• Results of safety inspections of each
  subcontractors work
• Quality of training for the subs workers
• Teamwork efforts of the subcontractors
• Prior working relationship established with the
  general contractor.

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Summary

• When making predictions, nothing is a sure thing
• Lagging indicators of safety are accurate, but
  they provide the information too late
• Leading indicators of safety are not absolute,
  but they can help prevent injuries before they
  occur
• Greater success is realized when more leading
  indicators are used.

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• Lagging Indicators Focus on Injuries
• Leading Indicators Focus on the Safety Process.

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