Leading Indicators Template in Excel Format

Leading Indicators show the performance or deterioration of a system state. A well-designed Leading Indicator is reliably measurable and correlates with the performance or deterioration of a system state; an increase or decrease effects the likelihood of future critical health, safety, and incident issues. Leading Indicators are a key proactive component for Risk Control. They are predictive and proactive in nature and help gauge the health and safety status of a business regardless of how many incidents occur. Leading Indicators emphasize future safety performance and incident prevention.

• Commitment and Accountability - Measuring the engagement and dedication of management to safety.
  • Safety commitments have been clearly established and effectively communicated to employees and contractors
  • Audits are routinely performed for measuring the degree to which responsibilities are sufficiently understood and have been effectively communicated to employees and contractors
  • Audits are performed to measure the effectiveness of the process for communicating safety commitments
  • Safety budget as a percentage of the overall operating budget
• Planning and Implementation - Establishing goals, policies, and procedures for the company's safety program.
  • Processes are established to plan and manage safety and health controls
  • There is a written health and safety management system
  • Company-wide acknowledgement that safety is a shared responsibility
  • Health and safety program includes:
    • Specific objectives and targets
    • Hazard identification, risk assessment, and control processes
    • Roles and responsibilities of management
    • Inspection and audit protocols
    • Health and safety record maintenance
• Training, Behavior, and Culture - Assuring management, employees, and contractors have the skills, knowledge, conduct, and experience for creating a safe workplace environment. Good behaviors should be reinforced via regular training refresher sessions. Important indicators include:
  • Percentage of employees able to correctly identify hazards and take action to prevent incidents
  • Percentage of employees who understand that safe behavior is a key component of controlling risk in the workplace
  • Frequency of refresher training
  • Percentage of refresher training sessions completed on time
  • Frequency of training needs analysis
  • Planned routine safety checks versus completed routine safety checks
  • Percentage of employees assessed for fitness for work
  • Degree of openness in reporting health and safety concerns
• Monitoring and Reporting - Analyzing safety data may show positive or negative trends indicating the effectiveness of a company's safety program and also illustrate areas in need of improvement. Indicators that should be monitored include:
  • Frequency of health and safety performance monitoring and reporting to internal and external parties
  • Extent to which performance metrics are clearly defined, consistently applied, and re-assessed on a regular basis
  • Extent to which data is used to identify trends and guide future health and safety decision-making
  • Effectiveness with which monitoring and audits are communicated to relevant parties
• Performance - Gauging company metrics and comparing how the company is doing relative to its peers. These indicators should include:
  • Percentage increase or decrease in total reportable incidents over the previous year
  • Total hours worked
  • Percentage reduction in exposure hours to hazardous materials/activities
  • Degree to which safety performance is benchmarked against industry peers

Businesses have a responsibility to provide safe and healthy workplaces for their employees, even when conditions, like working within a dangerous environment inside a mine shaft or around heavy machinery, make that challenging. By relying on (mostly) leading safety performance indicators like those noted above, organizations can proactively identify potential threats to worker safety and take action to remedy them.

It’s simply not true that safety KPIs must revolve around injury and incident statistics. The five categories we discussed are complementary and, together, cover the entire spectrum of health and safety activities – from planning and communication to performance, monitoring, and reporting.

An effective safety program must be comprehensive. By setting leading performance indicators for each area, you can cover all your bases and ensure you’re providing the safest work environment possible for your employees.

How could Indicators be used to prevent the 5 Most Common Types of Human Error in the Workplace?

There’s an old saying, which claims that your biggest opponent in life is yourself. In today’s society, that continues to be true. The workplace is host to a wide assortment of human errors, some of which can be relatively harmless while others can be detrimental.

Human error is to blame for up to 90% of workplace accidents and can cost money, create a loss of time, and interrupt workplace productivity. Knowing the various types of human error can help you learn how to prevent them in the workplace. Here are some of the most common types of human error.

Disregarding Safety

Whether it’s due to an employee becoming comfortable with the job, or a general lack of appreciation, employees often neglect even the most basic of safety measures. The disregard of implemented safety protocols often results in workplace accidents that were otherwise completely avoidable.

“Messing Around”
Workplace camaraderie can be beneficial in boosting morale, but when it leads to horseplay it can pose a serious safety hazard. Horseplay in both a physical and verbal sense can be equally hazardous and lead to personal injury, product and equipment damage, and/or coworker disputes.

Fatigue
When an employee is too tired to safely complete their essential job functions, the chance of a workplace accident rises significantly. Exhausted employees will often neglect basic safety protocols, fall asleep on the job, and even operate heavy machinery while drowsy. If this occurs frequently, it could warrant a human error investigation.

Speed Working
An employee who rushes through their work to meet a quota or get the job done so they can leave will often intentionally skip over necessary details. Proper equipment and machinery operation, safety protocols, and productivity chains can all be areas that a rushing employee might overlook.

Poor Training
Human error isn’t isolated to just employees, and sometimes an employer is to blame for a workplace accident. When a manager expedites employee training or leaves out imperative training topics, workplace accidents and injuries can be all but inevitable.

Human error doesn’t have to be something that a company suffers through. A human error investigation will provide insights into what types of errors are present in your company, and through the application of leading indicators, you can reduce occurrences.