OSHA incident rate

The OSHA incidence rate is based on cases per 100 worker years. A worker year is assumed to contain 2000 hours (50 work weeks/year X 40 hours/week). The OSHA incidence rate is therefore based on 200,000 hours of worker exposure to a hazard. The OSHA incidence rate is calculated from the number of occupational injuries and illnesses and the total number of employee hours worked during the applicable period. The following equation is used ... 

OSHA incidence rate (based on injuries and illness)... 

The OSHA incidence rate provides information on all types of work-related injuries and illnesses, including fatalities. This provides a better representation of worker accidents than systems based on fatalities alone. For instance, a plant might experience many small accidents with resulting injuries but no fatalities. On the other hand, fatality data cannot be extracted from the OSHA incidence rate without additional information. 

Both the OSHA incidence rate and the FAR depend on the number of exposed hours. An employee working a ten-hour shift is at greater total risk than one working an eight-hour shift. A FAR can be converted to a fatality rate (or vice versa) if the number of exposed hours is known. The OSHA incidence rate cannot be readily converted to a FAR or fatality rate because it contains both injury and fatality information. 

Industry OSHA incident rate (cases involving days away from work and deaths) FAR (deaths) ... 

If twice as many people used motorcycles for the same average amount of time each, what will happen to (a) the OSHA incidence rate, (b) the FAR, (c) the fatality rate, and (d) the total number of fatalities ... 

Recognizing that the chemical industry is safe, why is there so much concern about chemical plant safety The concern has to do with the industry s potential for many deaths, as, for example, in the Bhopal, India, tragedy. Accident statistics do not include information on the total number of deaths from a single incident. Accident statistics can be somewhat misleading in this respect. For example, consider two separate chemical plants. Both plants have a probability of explosion and complete devastation once every 1000 years. The first plant employs a single operator. When the plant explodes, the operator is the sole fatality. The second plant employs 10 operators. When this plant explodes all 10 operators succumb. In both cases the FAR and OSHA incidence rate are the same the second accident kills more people, but there are a correspondingly larger number of exposed hours. In both cases the risk taken by an individual operator is the same.4... 

A university has 1200 full-time employees. In a particular year this university had 38 reportable lost-time injuries with a resulting 274 lost workdays. Compute the OSHA incidence rate based on injuries and lost workdays. 

Another way of measuring accident performance is by the LTIR, or lost-time injury rate. This is identical to the OSHA incidence rate based on incidents in which the employee is unable to continue their normal duties. A plant site has 1200 full-time employees working 40 hr/week and 50 weeks/yr. If the plant had 2 lost-time incidents last year, what is the LTIR ... 

The OSHA incidence rates are based upon 200,000 hours of exposure—equivalent to a company with 100 employees, each working 2,000 hours in a calendar year. This corresponds to what an average full-time employee would work in a 40-hour week during a 52-week year (minus two weeks for vacation and holidays). Using this exposure value of 200,000 hours allows for comparisons between equal 100 full-time employee establishments. These comparisons can be made between different establishments and comparisons within the same establishment between different subgroups. Comparisons can also be made between the establishment s OSHA incidence rate and national estimates of incidence rates based upon Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Codes and the new North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). 

The exposure number of 200,000 man-hours represents what in an OSHA incidence rate ... 

The OSHA incidences rates are based upon 200,000 hours of exposure which is equivalent to a company with 100 employees each working2,000 hours in a calendar year. This corresponds to what an average full-time employee would work in a 40-hour week during a 52-week year (minus two weeks for vacation and holidays). 

OSHA incident rates for recordable injuries and illnesses... 

The second suggested analysis should take the contractors OSHA incident rates into consideration. OSHA requires employers to report and record accident information on occupational injuries and illnesses on the annual OSHA 300 Log. The employer must... 

In 2006,1 made two similar studies, both for companies whose OSHA incident rates were well below average for their industries. Incident investigation reports on serious injuries only were sent to me for review. In one instance, 63% of serious injuries occurred to nonproduction personnel in the other study, 67%. Although the percentages fall within a narrow range, other research shows that such ratios are not found when the work requires intensive manual labor and when the work is highly repetitive and physically stressful. 

As we demonstrated in Chapter 1, insurance costs and OSH A inspections are driven by performance (number of incidents-some refer to it as OSHA incident rates [OIR]). Is it realistic to expect employees to be... 

Make sure that each member of management has specific safety objectives (activities) outlined in his or her annual performance appraisal (accountability contract). It is important that you do not use the OSHA incident rates (OIR) or any number measurement system as a measurement tool. Using the OIR is counterproductive. It will force management to work to a number without regard to the specific activities. Use only specific activities that one can accomplish. 

Frequency of reviews should be determined based on several factors— for example, the results from previous reviews, previous self-assessments, safety performance as measured by OSHA Incidence Rate (OIR), Lost Workday Incidence Rate (IWDIR), Workers Compensation Claims... 

NIOSH National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health OIR OSHA Incident Rate... 

Superior Safety Performance A Reflection of an Organization s Culture Many large organizations have achieved and maintained superior safety results as evidenced by their best-in-class Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) incident rates and by exceptionally low worker compensation costs. This chapter provides a composite review of the safety... 

One could argue that superior OSHA incident rates are not absolutely indicative as performance measures, and they are not. Some of those companies with superior OSHA statistical records are faced with the dilemma of having occasional serious injuries and fatalities. That subject is discussed in Chapter 8, Improving Serious Injury and Fatality Prevention. ... 

Nevertheless, this is what is said about OSHA incident rates in Chapter 25, Measurement of Safety Performance ... 

It should also be recognized that OSHA incident rates continue to be used as comparative performance measures for locations within companies and within trade organizations of which companies are members. 

This author puts exceptionally low OSHA incident rates to this test Do the organization s workers compensation costs match the best-inclass OSHA rates And it does for the companies about which this chapter is written. 

If entries were made in a control chart for each of 24 months for OSHA incident rates, adding a month as a month was dropped, the depiction would indicate whether performance was in control in relation to computed upper and lower control limits. If performance spiked in either direction, the indication is that a significant change had occurred for which inquiry would be made. 

Safety professionals for whom it is important that OSHA incident rates do not reflect reality can assume a deficiency rate as a percentage and run a control chart at that level also. 

The OSHA incidence rate is the number of injuries and illnesses per 200,000 hours of e q)Osure. Any injury or work-related illness that results in a lost workday is counted in the ratio. Thus, minor injuries that can be treated with first aid are not counted, but counted injuries range all the way to death. The 200,000 hours is roughly equivalent to 100 worker years. The OSHA incidence rate illustrates two features of risk measures The details of the accident are not included, and these measures can be used for non-work-related exposures. 

The fatal accident rate (FAR) is the number of fatalities per 10 hours of exposure. Only fatalities are counted, and the 100,000,000 hours is roughly equivalent to 1000 worker lifetimes. Although only deaths are counted, in many fields there is a strong correlation between numbers of injuries and numbers of deaths. Thus, the reasonable presunption is that a decrease in the FAR will also decrease the OSHA incidence rate. 

Activity OSHA Incident Rate Injuriei and Deaths per 200,000 h) Fatal Accident Rate (Deaths per 100,000,000 h) Fatality Rate (Deaths per Persen per Vear)... 

Figure 24.6. Recordable injury rates before and after implementation of a behavioral safety process (OSHA incident rate).

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