OSHA recordability

Number of OSHA recordable injuries related to the toll ... 

How many OSHA Recordable Injuries have occurred at this facility m each of the last 3 calendar years ... 

Provide employee accident experience for the past 5 years, including the current year. The submittal shall specifically include OSHA recordable cases rate, lost and restricted workday cases rate, vehicle accident rate, and number of fatalities with a description of each. The workers compensation interstate experience modification rate should be less than 1.0, and applicable SIC codes should be noted. 

OSHA Recordable Cases— Work-related deaths, injuries and illnesses (other than minor injuries requiring only first aid treatment) which involve medical treatment, loss of consciousness, restriction of work or motion, or transfer to another job. 

For the year 1986, Dow Chemical U.S.A. experienced 217 OSHA recordable incidents (those involving physical injury which require medical care beyond first aid or work restrictions including lost time) which were classified as follows. 

The CER also includes divisional goals for OSHA recordable frequency, transport incidents and spillages. These are reported again else where in this analysis. 

Lost time accidents Ashland has a corporate goal to eliminate occupational injuries and illness. For APAC the target date is 2003. In 1999 Ashland s group OSHA recordable frequency rate was 4.87. The rates in the divisions were ... 

Lost time accidents a chart is given showing global frequency rates for OSHA recordable injuries. At DuPont the figure has varied between approximately 0.5 and 1.0 injury per 200000 hours. In 1998 and 1999 the figure was nearer 1.0. 

The proposed standard covers only those OSHA-recordable MSDs that also meet these screening criteria ... 

Companies in the United States pay particular attention to the OSHA recordable rate. Onshore facilities are required to report this number anyway, so it provides a reliable means of comparing different organizations with one another. 

An OSHA recordable injury is an occupational injury or illness that meets one of the following criteria ... 

A formula similar to the OSHA recordable rate described above can be used to measure PSIs. Known as the Process Safety Total Incident Rate (PSTIR), it is calculated as follows ... 

The effectiveness of both lagging and leading indicators depends heavily on the quality of incident reporting. For lagging indicators this is not a major problem. As already noted, indices such as OSHA recordables are widely understood and are consistent across industries. However, minor incidents are often not reported for the following reasons ... 

Intel employees continue to improve on their world-class safety performance. OSHA recordable injuries have decreased an average of 30 percent each of the last five years. 

Despite the lowest injury and illness rate in the semiconductor industry — and possibly the lowest rates in any industry — we continue to improve our illness and injury performance. In 2001, we reduced our already world-class OSHA recordable rate by an additional 33% to 0.19 injiuies per 100 employees. Said another way, Intel s safety performance is about 4,500% better than that of the average U.S. manufacturing company. [Editorial note Intel s Lost-Day case rate in 2001 was 0.04, which is truly superior.]... 

Think about what Heinrich intended for the major injury category. His definition compels the conclusion that any injury requiring more than first aid is a major injury. Then, is it not so that, according to Heinrich s definition, every OSHA recordable injury is a major injury When Heinrich developed his definitions, very few companies were self-insured for workers compensation. Having insurance companies pay for medical-only claims was typical. Almost all such claims would be considered major injuries. 

The public perception is that the operations of the industry I chose for this inquiry, the chemical industry, are high hazard even though its average OSHA rate is commendably low. For the six companies that provided the 328 investigation reports I reviewed, the range of their OSHA recordable rates is 1.6 to 2.9. For their lost work day case rates, the range is 0.6 to 1.3. Comparable rates for private industry, overall, were 8.5 for OSHA recordables and 3.8 for lost work day cases. 

While very few of the incident reports collected in the first study were completed by investigation teams, every report submitted in this second study by three companies was a team effort. In the other three companies, teams are assigned to investigate every OSHA recordable incident. 

In a major company with exceptionally good OSHA recordable and lost workday case rates, the chief executive officer declared that results were still not acceptable and that significant reductions in injuries and illnesses were to be made. The extensive and well-qualified staff of safety professionals convinced management to use incident investigation as one means of reinforcing its intent to achieve better results. 

A new procedure was put in place to have all OSHA recordable incidents, and those incidents that were judged to have severity potential but did not result in harm or damage, investigated by teams, the talent for which would be selected in relation to the specifics of the incident. For other incidents, the practice of having immediate supervisors make investigations was continued. Retraining sessions on incident investigation were conducted. 

Minor injuries or illnesses requiring treatment by a doctor A frequency of minor injuries or illnesses Injury resulting in restricted activity or job reassignment Any injury that prevents return to work Injury requiring hospitalization OSHA recordable incident OSHA reportable incident... 

Data for such a graph would readily be available. While the rate of workers compensation claims reported will not match precisely a similar graph showing the OSHA recordable rate or the lost workday case rate, great differences should be a subject of concern. Such a graph would be a trend indicator and could provide an alert concerning situations that need attention. 

Nevertheless, it should be understood that, in their safety achievements, a few companies have done better than Six Sigma. Assume that an OSHA recordable incident is the defect to be measured. How does 3.4 defective parts per million relate to an OSHA recordable incident rate OSHA rates are computed from a base of 200,000 hours worked. To be at an OSHA incident recordable rate of 3.4 incidents per million hours, the computed rate using a 200,000 hour base would 0.68. That rate has been bettered by a few of the best performing companies, but only a few. Thus, on occasion, humans are capable of doing better than Six Sigma. 

But, even in the best of the best large companies, the OSHA recordable incident rate over time has never been zero. In operations considered moderate or high hazard, attaining a 0.68 OSHA incident recordable rate over the long term is virtually impossible. (For the year 2000, the composite OSHA incident recordable incident rate for Private Industry was 6.1.)... 

Workplace safety is measured by only one statistic, the OSHA recordable rate. Based on this statistical yardstick, continuous process industries continue to be among the safest industries in the country and are getting safer. Many plants have celebrated working millions of hours without a lost work day accident. While all eyes are on the OSHA recordable rate, releases of hazardous materials, fires, mechanical breakdowns and near misses are not included in the safety statistics, (p. 7)... 

Monitor leading indicators using the Safety Scorecard Identify and report incidents, near misses, and unsafe conditions Track accident investigations and store causal factor data Assign and manage corrective actions / Collaborate with multiple departments for incident resolution Monitor the status of tasks and projects Manage OSHA-recordable and other injury records... 

These additional records are for your eyes only and should be kept separate from your OSHA records. As appropriate for your business, keep the following additional records ... 

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recordable cases, which include work-related injuries and illnesses that result in one or more of the following death, loss of consciousness, days away from work, restricted work activity or job transfer, medical treatment (beyond first aid), significant work-related injuries or illnesses that are diagnosed by a physician or other licensed heath care professional (these include any work-related case involving cancer, chronic irreversible disease, a fracture or cracked bone, or a punctured eardrum) additional criteria include any needle-stick injury or cut from a sharp object that is contaminated with another person s blood or other potentially infectious material, any case requiring an employee to be medically removed under the requirements of an OSHA health standard, and tuberculosis infection as evidenced by a positive skin test or diagnosis by a physician or other licensed health care professional after exposure to a known case of active tuberculosis. 

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