Safety performance measurement leading indicators

This chapter responds to a renewed interest in having measurement systems that are universally applicable, effectively assess occupational safety performance, and communicate well in terms that managements understand. Several safety measurement systems are discussed. A relatively new emphasis in safety performance measurement—leading indicators—is discussed. 

A measurement statistic that may be utilized to evaluate the safety performance of an organization by management. Lagging indicators are commonly incident statistics, such as injuries, fatalities, motor vehicle accidents (MVAs), fires, etc., and are considered lagging due to the fact that they materialize after the incidents occur. See also Key Performance Indicator (KPI), Safety Leading Indicator Safety Dashboard. 

Leading indicators are those measures that can be effective in predicting future safety performance (Dupont Corporation 2000). Leading indicators can be considered before-the-fact measures. These measures assess outcome actions taken before accidents occur and are measures of proactive efforts designed to minimize losses and prevent accidents. Leading indicators can help uncover weaknesses in the organization s operations or employee behaviors before they develop into full-fledged problems. 

There are many ways to categorize safety performance measures. They are often classified as trailing or leading indicators, outcome or process oriented, results or activity-based measures, downstream factors or upstream factors, and/or qualitative or quantitative metrics. 

The Secret to Measuring Process Safety Performance Combine Process Incident Data with Leading Indicators, Steve Arendt... 

K. Harrington, H. Thomas, S. Kadri, Using Measured Performance as a Process Safety Leading Indicator (Presented at the Global Congress on Process Safety, April 2008)... 

To close the loop in the safety and health management system, periodic assessment and feedback are necessary. Indicators should be chosen that can assess the overall performance of the laboratory with respect to safety and health. Whenever possible, leading indicators such as behavioral observations should be measured and reviewed, as well as trailing indicators such as the type and number of injuries and illnesses and loss of working time. The purpose of this assessment is to determine the overall effectiveness of the safety and health management system and to correct any areas of deficiency. 

RP 754 suggests that process safety performance can be measured through the use of four tiers of indicators. These tiers represent a transition from leading to lagging indicators. Tier 1 is the most lagging. Tier 4 is the most leading. They are shown in Figure 3.4. 

At the Professional Development Conference held by the American Society of Safety Engineers in June 2002, there were at least three sessions pertaining to leading indicators. Speakers and writers say that this new form of measurement is offered as a response to the dissatisfaction some safety practitioners have expressed concerning the use of what they say are trailing indicators — OSHA statistics, costs — as the sole measure of safety performance. 

Improving Safety Health Performance Identifying Measuring Leading Indicators by Jack Toellner, September 2001. 

There is a recent tendency to measure the safety achievements by indicators (so-called key performance indicators) (cf. [13, 14]). These refer on the one hand to past performance ( lagging indicators ) and on the other to future performance ( leading indicators ). 

Very early in life people discover experience is a good teacher. This idea also applies to safety and health. Understanding what happened in incidents and why they occurred can lead to preventive actions for similar situations. Records of incidents offer reactive strategies to improve safety performance. They are trailing indicators of performance. Many organizations also compile data on leading indicators of safety performance. Leading indicators measure actions that can prevent incidents. Chapter 35 will explore both types of metrics further. 

More recently, safety people have applied leading, upstream, predictive, activity, preventive or process indicators or metrics to measure safety performance. This family of measures often includes safety audits, behavior-based safety measures, safety perception surveys, safety training, corrective actions completed, reductions in risk and risk factors, identifying safety and ergonomic opportunities, and other measures. Many use leading indicators to do the following ... 

What are five leading indicators that a company can use to measure its safety and health performance ... 

That is why leading indicators may be more useful in measuring safety performance. Refer to Chapter 35. 

Activity measures monitor the performance of activities that are needed to reach key objectives. They reflect focused safety issues such as the number of hazard surveys conducted, the number of employees trained in lockout/tagout procedures, etc. These measures, sometimes called leading indicators, typically demonstrate the state of work-in-progress in terms of cost, quality, and time. Often they are found in official internal reports and are likely to be tracked by directors, managers, and supervisors. Leading indicators are measures of the activity prior to the outcome. 

Examples of leading indicators include measures of the quality of an audit program, including schedule adherence, the number of repeat injuries, and analysis of process hazard reviews. As with trailing indicators, there must be some type of cause and effect relationship established between leading indicators and safety performance. 

Leading Indicators measures that can be effective in predicting future safety performance. 

A Best-in-Class safety culture expresses the need by senior leaders to receive accurate and appropriate leading and lagging indicator measurement to access safety performance and to set goals [11]. 

---