Incident Rate Targets
This article will show you how to create Incident Rate Targets in your platform so that you can compare actual performance and targets using the Health & Safety Statistics report and more. It’s essential to grasp the prerequisites for an incident rate to establish targets within the platform. Environmental, Health, and Safety professionals are familiar with the common formula used to calculate incidence rates.
Using the formula provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the incidence rates represent the number of injuries and illnesses per 100 full-time workers and were calculated as (N/EH) x 200,000, where:
- N = number of injuries and illnesses
- EH = total hours worked by all employees during the calendar year
- 200,000 = base for 100 equivalent full-time workers (working 40 hours per week, 50 weeks per year).
Summary: (Number of injuries and illnesses x 200,000) / Employee hours worked = Incidence rate.
For additional OSHA injury or illness definitions and explanations, follow this link.
Incident Rates in the Platform
Incident Rates are used and referenced throughout the platform. We mentioned the Health and Safety Statistics report already, but there are other reports and webparts that utilize this metric.
Within the VelocityEHS platform, this translates to the following:
The calculation considers the rate selected and the Relationship of Person Involved chosen. For instance, if the Recordable and E (for Employees) options are selected, the calculation includes only those records marked as recordable in the investigation and that have a Relationship of Person Involved as Employee.
Recordable Injury/Illness Rate for Employees = (count of records where ((Relationship of Person Involved = Employee) and (Recordable Injury/Illness = Yes)) * 200,000) / 2,080,000 hours (example hours that would be entered into the platform’s Labor Data)
The platform also calculates counts based on similar logic. For example:
Injury & Illness count for Employees = count of records where (incident type = Injury or Illness) and (Relationship of Person Involved = Employee)
Labor Hours
The labor hour data used in the rate calculation is obtained from the Labor Data Entries that have been entered into the platform. These entries are typically made monthly, but the frequency may vary depending on how often your company enters the data. It is important to keep in mind that incident records will be added in real-time, but the labor hours will only be up to date after they have been added for the current month.
How to Create Incident Target Rates
As we learned above, three things are required to calculate an incident rate in the platform:
- Count of Records
- Incident Counts
- Actual Hours Worked
- Select Admin > Incident > Incident Rate Targets.
- When you visit the Targets & Benchmark screen, you’ll find various fields and your location tree on the left side. By using the location tree, you can choose the specific location(s) where you want to establish a target.
- While many organizations prefer setting target rates at the top level of the location tree, thereby applying the requirement(s) to all sublocations, you have the flexibility to pick lower levels of the tree if you want to set distinct target rates for those specific areas.
- Fill in the following fields using the dropdown menus, and then select Save.
Target/Benchmark/Goal Type
- Lost Workday Incident Rate
- Recordable Incident Rate
Period Type
- Calendar
- Fiscal (if applicable)
Year
Target/Benchmark/Goal
Using this screen, you have the flexibility to establish annual, quarterly, or even monthly targets. Once you’ve set your targets, you can monitor them on your dashboard. The existing webparts and reports will provide real-time insights, showing how incidents are accounted for and hours reported, allowing you to observe their interactions.
Metrics
Metrics refers to the method of measuring something or the results obtained from doing so. Metrics represent the values of what you are measuring. Additional information on the platform’s source for counts/rates is provided below.
| Metric | Calculation |
| Employee Hours | Sum of employee hours entered via Labor Data Entry |
| Contractor Hours | Sum of contractor hours entered via Labor Data Entry (if enabled) |
| Temporary Employee Hours | Sum of temporary employee hours entered via Labor Data Entry (if enabled) |
Within the realm of EHS, some common examples of metrics include:
- Total Case Incident Rate (TCIR)
- Days Away Restricted or Transferred (DART)
- OSHA Recordable Injury & Illness Rates
- Experience modification rate (EMR)
Additional Resources
As we have learned from the instructions in this Help Center article, Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) professionals are uniquely familiar with documenting and analyzing data. This reliance on data to inform decisions means that EHS professionals will benefit from advanced data analytics.
Before you start collecting all sorts of data and try to analyze it, take a step back and remember that an effective analytics program that provides true, long-term business value requires careful thought and planning. Take a look at our EHS & ESG blog, where you can sort and filter by topics and access eBooks and white papers for downloading.
