In continuation of our previous post on Leading Indicators, this post will cover the use of lagging indicators in measuring the effectiveness of Health and Safety Programs.

If we considered leading indicators as the proactive approach to measuring safety performance, then lagging indicators is the reactive approach. This is because lagging indicators provide data on events that have already occurred. While most commonly grouped under Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), lagging indicators provide information on the rate of injuries and work-related ill health, lost working days due to sickness, or incidents/near misses to name a few.

It is important to ensure that the use of lagging indicators does not lead to a false sense of security, as it does not provide an accurate view of safety performance. For example, if an employer sees a low number of lost workdays, they may ignore the possibility that there are safety hazards in the workplace that could lead to future increases in lost workdays. Lagging indicators only show the outcomes of desired safety practices, not what could have or were prevented through proactive approaches.

There are two different types of lagging indicators, and are separated by what the data emphasizes. The above examples put more emphasis on the negative aspects, or what is going wrong, but many companies promote the use of positive lagging indicators. Positive lagging indicators focus on what went well or what was safe and healthy.

See the table below for a comparison of negative and positive lagging indicators.

One of the additional benefits to using lagging indicators as KPIs, is that it can be relevant to external communication with business partners/clients, regulatory authorities, and insurance organizations. Using standardized measurements allows other organizations to communicate best practices and set benchmarking. However, we must be mindful that too much emphasis on KPIs can influence workplace culture by unintentionally discouraging incident reporting, days off for recovery, severity of an incident, etc.

The use of both leading and lagging indicators provides a more comprehensive evaluation of a health and safety program, giving you the information to determine what is and is not working. Companies should plan to balance the use of leading and lagging indicators that are specific to their organization and workplace to provide the best information.

References:

1. https://www.ccohs.ca/newsletters/hsreport/issues/2016/04/ezine.html#hsreport-ontopic

2. https://oshwiki.eu/wiki/Key_performance_indicators#Lagging_indicators

3. https://www.osha.gov/leading-indicators/resources