OSHA has thorough records of incidents from facility types across various sectors. They provide numerous details about oversights and how well managers implement safety training. How can leadership measure this data before accidents occur?

Pre- and post-training assessments

Facility managers should learn to trust their staff, but they can’t expect them to be safety experts immediately. The best way to affirm training and provide continuing education is through pre- and post-training evaluations. OSHA has a Hazard Identification and Assessment framework that provides a valuable template for finding prominent injury and illness causes by collecting data, acknowledging dangers and finding ways to control them.

Leaders can also require regular tests or quizzes as refreshers on core concepts. These quicker assessment formats identify struggling employees and who may need more attention to meet workplace expectations.

Observation of on-the-job behavior

Even if C-suite employees can’t spend time on the floor, they must appoint team leaders to observe daily activities. In addition to their interactivity and contributions, facilities can deploy technology. Cameras and safety sensors on machinery are ideal ways to automate observations. These learnings should inform managers how frequently they must conduct thorough safety audits and inspections. They can measure success through consistent compliance.

One case study on the validity of behavior-based safety observation programs (BSOPs) in a Malaysian chemical manufacturer delivered positive results. In the final cycle, at-risk activities were reduced by 82% over four months.

Incident and near-miss reporting analysis

Boilerplate training programs may be helpful for incoming staff or at a company’s founding. However, more curated education will be necessary as the facility discovers its most prominent risks. For example, inventory specialists may experience more falls from heights than a production line technician who faces other threats. 

Operators should regularly review incident and near-miss reports to discover what puts people in harm’s way most frequently. Then, it can inform specialized training pods for each team so they understand how to deal with their niche hazards. Managers measure the effectiveness of these efforts in context. It’s equally crucial to assert the importance of filing near-miss incidents because there’s an absence of training data without this step.

For example, they must pick a metric for each department based on their biggest red flags. Then, they should schedule quarterly check-ins to see percentage reductions in each category. As incident types reduce, it may signify rising injuries and illnesses in other ways — don’t neglect this possibility.

Employee feedback and surveys

Leaders are pivotal to the overall success of facility safety, but employee engagement solidifies it. Many safety failures are caused by team members not remaining active in their training. Suppose a technician isn’t responsible for following up after a missed training session or isn’t encouraged to stay attuned to regulatory or internal changes. In that case, they will undoubtedly miss key protective tips.

Requiring employees to give feedback and submit surveys is a low-stakes way to get high-value insights. Managers will learn more about how employees feel about safety programs, how safe they feel coming into work and how competent they feel in compromising environments. The results could lead to focus groups or specific training sessions to mend gaps in employee attitudes.

Safety performance metrics

The most obvious way to measure employee safety is through common industry key performance indicators (KPIs). Common KPIs include:

• Lost time injury frequency rate: Number of incidents per million working hours
• Total recordable incident rate: Number of incidents, illnesses and injuries over time per 100 employees
• Near misses rate: Number of near miss reports per 100 employees
• Collisions: Number of vehicle accidents from fleet drivers
• Compliance rates and safety violations: Number of violations during audits and inspections
• Equipment breakdowns: Downtime caused by breakdowns, which may or may not be due to safety reasons
• Absenteeism: Percentage at which employees miss working dates
• Worker’s compensation claims: Dollars spent in worker-issued claims
• Fatalities: Number of deaths caused by working in the facility

Every facility manager must intervene to fix poor metrics by implementing reliable ways to ensure data integrity. Then, they must structure corporatewide goals based on challenging yet realistic reductions in each category.

Return on Investment (ROI) Analysis

ROI analysis is a way to measure safety effectiveness by looking at the budget. Are there ways to identify if investments in safety training correlate with higher revenue for the company? Data analysts can ascertain this by examining metrics like absenteeism or injury-related legal fees. Occupational health and safety investments commonly produce these returns in addition to higher earnings:

• Better reputation
• Higher productivity
• Improved employee well-being
• Less time spent in litigation or disaster management
• Enhanced compliance

Training with meaning

Facility managers are the backbone of their organization’s safety. They implement the culture and programs establishing trustworthy, accountable staff who abide by industry-leading practices. Safety is a constant job and should be the primary focus of daily operations. Without this prioritization, companies will never understand how effective their plans are, rarely achieving compliance from the most important leaders in their sector.