The Campbell Institute identifies eight characteristics of successful leading indicators
The Campbell Institute – the National Safety Council’s center of excellence for environmental, health and safety management – has introduced a new white paper, “Transforming EHS Performance Measurement through Leading Indicators” at the 2013 NSC Congress & Expo.
This new paper provides a definition of leading indicators, developed by a panel of EHS experts, and describes eight critical characteristics of successful leading indicators. It suggests ways that leading indicators can be categorized and identifies several key enablers of successful leading indicator implementation and use, including:
- Executive buy-in on (not technical knowledge of) leading indicators
- Roll-up and use of leading indicators at the corporate level
- Communication and understanding of the predictive value of leading indicators by EHS and corporate leadership
- Targeted leading indicator data collection used to analyze specific measurable actions rather than collected prior to development of response actions
- The paper identifies common barriers to successful leading indicator implementation and use, including:
- Inability to develop consistently actionable leading indicators
- Lack of reliable, consistent relationship between leading and lagging indicator performance
- Sporadic, infrequent and non-standardized benchmarking
- Continuing C-suite reliance on traditional lagging indicators
“In its inaugural year, the Campbell Institute has made great strides as a transformative force in EHS,” said Mike Gambrell, chairman of the Campbell Institute. “Releasing new research, such as this white paper on leading indicators, and engaging many volunteers, the Institute is sharing best practices and lessons from world class safety performers to impact EHS performance worldwide.”
The Campbell Institute welcomes the involvement of organizations of all sizes, regions and business sectors. First-year Charter Members of the Institute include: APM Terminals, Bahrain Petroleum Company, BST, Chevron, Cummins Inc., DM Petroleum Operations Company, The Dow Chemical Company, DuPont, ExxonMobil, Firmenich, Fluor, General Motors, Georgia-Pacific, Gulf Petrochemicals Industries Company, Honeywell, IHS, Industrial Scientific, Microsoft, NANA Development Corporation, Owens Corning, PotashCorp, QAFCO, Schneider Electric, USG, U.S. Steel Corporation, United Technologies Corporation and Whirlpool Corporation.
To learn more about the Campbell Institute, visit www.campbellinstitute.org or call (630) 775-2283.
About the National Safety Council
Founded in 1913 and chartered by Congress, the National Safety Council is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to save lives by preventing injuries and deaths at work, in homes and communities, and on the road through leadership, research, education and advocacy. NSC advances this mission by partnering with businesses, government agencies, elected officials and the public in areas where we can make the most impact – distracted driving, teen driving, workplace safety, prescription drug overdoses and Safe Communities. Safety+Health magazine, the Council’s flagship publication, is a leading source of occupational safety and health information.
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