Leading Vs Lagging: The KPIs That Shape Workplace Safety
One of the most critical aspects of managing any workplace safety programme lies in tracking and evaluating progress through measurable data. This is where key performance indicators (KPIs) come into play. When implemented correctly, KPIs offer organisations a consistent and reliable way to monitor their occupational health and safety efforts over time. Establishing the right metrics and setting up a structured process for data collection, reporting, and interpretation not only helps fulfil compliance and reporting obligations but also allows teams to objectively assess their performance and communicate results to stakeholders at all levels. But not all KPIs are created equal, and understanding the difference between leading and lagging indicators is essential to building a proactive and resilient safety culture. Understanding safety lagging indicators Lagging indicators are among the most commonly used metrics in workplace health and safety. They include figures like Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR), Restricted or Transferred (DART) rates, Days Away, Lost Workday Case Rates, and the number of recordable injuries within a certain timeframe. These retrospective data points are meant to reflect the outcome of safety efforts or, more often, the lack thereof. The core limitation of lagging indicators is that they provide insights only after incidents have already occurred. This reactive view, while useful for identifying trends, fails to offer meaningful foresight into potential hazards or the overall robustness of the safety system. It's akin to judging a ship's seaworthiness only after it has sprung leaks. Despite this drawback, many organisations continue to lean heavily on lagging metrics because they are easy to quantify, compare, and present. Let’s explore a practical illustration. Imagine a company with two facilities: At face value, upper management may conclude that Facility A has a better safety programme based solely on the lower incident rate. But this judgment is flawed. These figures do not consider the nature or severity of injuries. If Facility A’s incidents included amputations and fractures while Facility B’s were minor strains or sprains, the safety culture at the latter may, in fact, be stronger. This over-reliance on numerical indicators and the tendency to make binary "good vs bad" judgments oversimplifies the complexities of workplace safety. Ironically, the real sign of a weak safety culture may lie not in the lagging indicators themselves, but in management’s unwillingness to engage with the context and nuances behind them. Shifting the focus to leading indicators To gain a true picture of how healthy and effective a safety culture is, organisations must look beyond outcomes and start examining the preventive actions that precede them. These proactive measures, known as leading indicators, offer real-time insights into how well safety protocols are being implemented and where improvements may be needed before accidents occur. Leading indicators track the efforts, activities, and systems designed to reduce risk. When these preventive actions are lacking or inconsistently performed, a rise in injuries often follows. By capturing this information, safety leaders can anticipate issues and intervene early, allowing for a far more agile and preventative approach. One excellent resource that supports this shift is OSHA’s guide titled “Using Leading Indicators to Improve Safety and Health Outcomes”. It offers actionable frameworks for developing, monitoring, and refining leading indicators within an organisation. Here are several key leading indicators worth tracking: 1. Training participation and completion Safety education plays a foundational role in injury prevention. Measuring the number of safety courses conducted and tracking attendance and completion rates provides insight into how well-informed the workforce is. This can also highlight training gaps and indicate which teams or roles may require refresher sessions, especially for tasks that involve higher risks, such as safe lifting operations. For instance, if manual handling tasks are frequent in a facility, tracking the frequency and effectiveness of lifting safety workshops could significantly reduce musculoskeletal injuries and accidents related to poor form or equipment misuse. 2. Reporting of near misses A high volume of near-miss reports often reflects a strong safety culture, one where employees are alert, engaged, and willing to flag risks before they result in injury. Today’s near miss could easily be tomorrow’s incident if left unaddressed. Encouraging and tracking near-miss submissions helps organisations identify recurring hazards and take preventive steps before harm occurs. 3. Safety work orders and maintenance metrics Maintenance issues are a frequent contributor to workplace accidents. That’s why it’s important to track safety-related maintenance requests, not just the volume, but also their resolution status and turnaround time. If safety-critical equipment repairs remain open for extended periods, they represent a serious ongoing risk. For example, broken warning lights on forklifts or worn harness anchor points should trigger priority action. Tracking these work orders also gives clarity on whether the maintenance team is properly staffed and resourced to support a safe working environment. 4. Safety meetings and communications Safety-related meetings go beyond compliance; they’re opportunities for continuous education, alignment, and dialogue. But simply logging a monthly safety committee meeting isn’t enough. Organisations should broaden the scope to include toolbox talks, one-on-one safety briefings, and leadership walkarounds. These interactions allow for more tailored communication and reflect active managerial involvement. The frequency and variety of safety meetings can serve as a meaningful indicator of how seriously an organisation treats safety at every level. 5. Employee-driven inspections and audits Tracking the number of inspections and audits conducted by employees is useful, but to add depth, organisations should also monitor the findings that result and how quickly they are resolved. This helps illustrate not just compliance but responsiveness. Are identified hazards consistently followed up on? Is there accountability for addressing them? A robust inspection programme, with timely resolution of issues, signals a proactive safety environment where problems aren’t allowed to fester until an accident occurs. 6. SOP and JSA review frequency Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and Job Safety Analyses (JSAs) are only effective if they’re actively used and reviewed. Recording how many are created, revised, and re-evaluated over time provides insight into the organisation’s commitment to evolving safety processes. For industries that utilise specialised equipment, including forklifts, reviewing SOPs regularly is critical. Ensuring that workers undergo updated training and even seek forklift certification helps mitigate operator error and ensures proper handling practices are consistently upheld. Presenting safety data effectively Whether you're reporting lagging or leading indicators, clarity and context are essential. Data should be presented in a way that tells a story, not just lists figures. Avoid cherry-picking or misrepresenting the data to create a false sense of security. Instead, aim for transparency, actionable insights, and a balance between historical outcomes and current behaviours. A blended approach using both lagging and leading indicators can provide the most complete view. Lagging metrics show where you've been; leading indicators reveal where you’re headed. Conclusion If your organisation isn’t quite ready to abandon lagging indicators altogether, that’s perfectly fine. They still serve a role in safety performance evaluation. But consider gradually integrating leading indicators into your KPIs to enrich your understanding of risks and improve your decision-making. Even modest steps can begin to shift your organisation towards a more proactive and prevention-driven safety culture. Ultimately, a well-rounded safety programme requires more than just monitoring outcomes; it demands attention to the daily behaviours, systems, and preventive actions that protect people before harm occurs. When you start measuring those, you're not just counting injuries but actively preventing them. Whether you're upskilling your team or starting a new career path, Wong Fong Academy offers trusted, industry-relevant training to help you succeed. Our expert-led courses combine regulatory compliance with real-world application, ensuring you're always prepared. Learn with us and turn safety into your competitive edge.
