Incident rates have long been regarded as a crucial metric for assessing risk and safety within organizations. These rates offer valuable insights into the number of accidents, injuries, or near misses that occur in workplaces, providing a glimpse into the overall safety performance. However, relying solely on incident rates to gauge an organization’s safety culture and risk management practices presents a limited perspective. This essay aims to delve into the reasons why incident rates do not tell the entire story of risk and environmental health and safety (EHS) within an organization, and how other factors must be considered to gain a comprehensive understanding of its safety landscape.
Underreporting and Reporting Bias
One significant issue affecting the accuracy of incident rates is underreporting. Employees may hesitate to report incidents due to fear of retribution, concerns about job security, or simply thinking that their incidents are minor and not worth reporting. Consequently, incidents that go unreported do not make it into the official records, leading to an underrepresentation of the actual risk within the organization. Additionally, reporting bias can influence incident rates. Some organizations may inadvertently or intentionally underreport incidents to maintain the appearance of a safer working environment. This can distort the true EHS picture and render incident rates unreliable indicators.
Severity of Incidents
Incident rates focus solely on the number of occurrences and do not account for the severity of each incident. For instance, a high incident rate may indicate numerous minor injuries, whereas a low incident rate may overlook a few severe accidents with lasting consequences. The gravity of incidents is critical in understanding the true impact on safety and the potential for serious harm. Consequently, organizations must adopt methods that incorporate severity assessment to enhance risk evaluation and inform EHS protocols effectively.
Near Misses and Near-Hit Events
Incident rates can exclude near misses and first aid events, though these are typically warning signs of more significant safety issues. Near misses refer to situations in which an incident almost occurred but was averted by chance or timely intervention. These events can provide valuable insights into systemic weaknesses within the EHS program and hazards that have the potential to lead to more severe incidents if left unaddressed. By overlooking near misses, organizations may miss opportunities to prevent future accidents and improve overall safety performance.
Organizational Learning Capacity
Incident rates alone cannot capture the intricacies of an organization’s ability to communicate and learn. A mature organization fosters proactive risk identification, open communication, and a shared commitment to safety among employees at all levels. A positive organization also encourages reporting, learning from mistakes, and implementing preventive measures. To understand risk and EHS comprehensively, one must assess the organization’s learning capacity, which is an intangible factor not reflected in incident rates.
EHS Management Systems
Effective EHS management systems play a critical role in identifying, controlling, and mitigating risks within an organization. These systems (which can be bolstered through the integration of comprehensive software platforms designed to handle the diverse aspects of EHS management) encompass policies, procedures, training, and communication channels designed to ensure a safe working environment. Incident rates alone cannot reveal the effectiveness of EHS management systems in preventing accidents and incidents. A robust EHS management system, when in place, can significantly reduce incident rates by predicting risk, addressing hazards, and continuously improving safety practices.
Workers- Experience, Expertise, and Extracurriculars
The levels of experience, expertise, and external activities of the workforce significantly impact EHS performance. Highly skilled and seasoned workers are better equipped to accurately identify and effectively manage risks. However, incident rates (on their own) do not provide insights into the capabilities and individual conditions of the workforce and can sometimes take prioritization away from these important aspects. Organizations must consider the quality of training, external factors that may affect on-the-job performance, ongoing professional development (especially important so that workers who have been performing a task the same way for years are not opposed to learning safer methods and do not continue to do the same thing because of an aversion to change), and knowledge transfer mechanisms to understand the full context of their EHS performance.
Lucky vs. Good
Low injury rate metrics can give the illusion of being good or safe when they are used as the sole measure of safety performance without considering other factors. The illusion here refers to the fact that sometimes low injury rates occur because of the unquantifiable contribution of luck rather than the existing safety measures or adherence to EHS practices. Workers can work unsafely and still have low injury outcomes.
While incident rates are essential in providing a baseline assessment of risk and EHS programs within organizations, they are not sufficient to paint a complete picture of the safety landscape. Factors outside of the “final count” play pivotal roles in understanding whether EHS performance is lacking or successful. To enhance EHS and risk management, organizations must adopt a multifaceted approach that considers all relevant factors to create a safer and more resilient working environment. By doing so, they can move beyond incident rates to gain a holistic understanding of safety and ultimately foster a culture of continuous improvement and prevention.
AUTHOR BIO:-
Cary comes to the SafetyStratus team as the Vice President of Operations with almost 30 years of experience in several different industries. He began his career in the United States Navy’s nuclear power program. From there he transitioned into the public sector as an Environmental, Health & Safety Manager in the utility industry. After almost thirteen years, he transitioned into the construction sector as a Safety Director at a large, international construction company. Most recently he held the position of Manager of Professional Services at a safety software company, overseeing the customer success, implementation, and process consulting aspects of the services team.
At SafetyStratus, he is focused on helping achieve the company’s vision of “Saving lives and the environment by successfully integrating knowledgeable people, sustainable processes, and unparalleled technology”.
