Washington — OSHA is asking for input on leading indicators – how they’re being used and their impact on safety and health management systems.
“Leading indicators are proactive and preventive measures that can provide insight on the effectiveness of safety and health activities and reveal potential problems,” the agency says in a press release. “They are vital in reducing worker fatalities, injuries, illnesses and financial impacts.”
OSHA, which is considering developing a resource on leading indicators, is particularly interested in answers to the following questions:
- What leading indicators do you use?
- What lagging indicators do you use (OSHA incident rates, for example)?
- What leading indicators are, or could be, commonly used in your industry?
- What metrics do you share with top management?
- How do you determine the effectiveness of your leading indicators?
- Do you link your leading indicators to outcome data, such as OSHA incident rates, to evaluate results?
- How could employers be encouraged to use leading indicators in addition to lagging indicators to improve safety management systems?
- What barriers and challenges, if any, have you encountered to using leading indicators?
