Safety performance OSHA rates

The OSHA Act injury and illness system specifies a procedure for calculating the frequency of occurrence of occupational injuries and illnesses and an index of their severity. These can be used by companies to monitor their health and safety performance. National data by major industrial categories are compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics annually and can serve as a basis of comparison of individual company performance within an industry. Thus, a company can determine whether its injury rate is better or worse than that of other companies in its industry. This industrywide injury information is available on the OSHA website (http //www.osha.gov). 

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.]... 

Later, while researching for Chapter 24, Measurement of Safety Performance, I observed that companies with superior OSHA rates also had lower workers compensation costs than did other companies. I then wanted to determine whether the quality of investigation of hazards-related incidents would also be superior. (For this second study, it must also be said that the methodology used would not stand the test of good science.)... 

The actuarial premises on which the workers compensation experience rating system was developed give credibility to OSHA incident recordable and lost workday case rates as measures, and predictors, of safety performance, with these qualifications The statistical base (the hours worked) on which the records are developed has to be large enough and low probability-severe outcome risks may not be encompassed within the experience base. 

Do the OSHA statistics—the recordable case rate and the lost workday case rate —for an exposure of 1,000,000 hours have a confidence level of, say, 68.27%, as measures of the quality of safety performance An entity of this size would more than likely purchase workers compensation insurance and have an experience modification as an additional measure. 

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. 

OSHA-Based Incidence Rates one of the more common methods of measuring safety performance, including OSHA recordable injury incidence rates, recordable illness incidence rates, death rates, and lost day case injury rates. 

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... 

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... 

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

Chief executives and other leaders often assess safety performance solely on the basis of OSHA injury rates — or large penalties. Unaware of the limitations of injury rates alone, they feel ambushed when serious injuries and fatalities occur. 

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) rates do not drive superior safety and health performance. 

In each of the cases described below, the companies had previously used the elements of traditional safety programs. In one example of improvement, on changing in 1980 to a behavioral approach, a major U.S. drilling company reduced its Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recordable injury rate by 48 percent and moved from the industry average to being one of the industry s top five safety performers. This improvement was achieved through a management-driven behavioral approach even without the levels of employee involvement typical of current implementation efforts (Fig. 1.1). 

Safety performance Experience Modification Rating (EMR) Recordable injury/illness information (e.g., OSHA 300A summaries) Number of hours worked number of OSHA-recordable injuries/illnesses number of fatalities number of lost workday (LWD) cases Recordable or LWD incidence rates (no. recordable or LWD cases x 200,000/ employee hours worked) List of OSHA notices of violation and fines Safety/health-related judgments, claims, contract terminations, or pending/ outstanding lawsuits... 

With these activity-based performance measures, there is also a variety of safety metrics that can be used to assess program performance. As identified by OSHA in studies ofVPP organizations, OSHA injury incidence rates, lost work day rates, and workers compensation losses are a few safety metrics that have been correlated to the performance of the VPP criteria activities. These measures can easily be expanded to include unsafe behaviors, accident trends, and near misses. 

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. 

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