Leading Indicator Categories
- 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 - Verifying 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
Risk Management and Workers' Compensation Outcomes
Organizations have a responsibility to provide safe workplace environments, particularly in high-hazard industries. By utilizing proactive safety performance indicators, management can identify potential threats to worker health and implement corrective actions before an incident occurs. Learn how these metrics impacted a manufacturing facility in our KPI Case Study: Leading Indicators for Performance.
Effective safety KPIs extend beyond traditional injury and incident statistics. The five categories provided in our template are complementary, covering the full spectrum of health and safety activities—from planning and communication to performance and monitoring.
Mitigating Human Error with Leading Indicators
Human error is a contributing factor in many workplace accidents. Identifying the root causes of error—such as fatigue or insufficient training—allows for the development of targeted leading indicators to reduce risk:
- Disregarding Safety: Occurs when over-familiarity with a task leads to a lack of appreciation for basic protocols.
- Workplace Distractions: While camaraderie supports morale, horseplay or loss of focus can lead to personal injury and equipment damage.
- Fatigue: Exhaustion significantly impairs an employee's ability to follow safety protocols or operate heavy machinery safely.
- Speed Working: Rushing to meet quotas often leads to the omission of safety details and improper equipment operation.
- Insufficient Training: When training is expedited or lacks depth, workplace injuries become a higher risk for the organization.
Proactive management through leading indicators provides the data necessary to identify these trends and implement preventive measures.