Measure electrical safety program effectiveness
Contact with or exposure to electrical energy is a leading cause of occupational fatalities. Yet lost time electrical injuries are among the rarest injuries in the workplace, contributing less than 0.2% (or 1 in 500) of all workplace injuries.
Learning objectives:
- Understand how to identify and prevent electrical hazards.
- Find opportunities that complement traditional methods of measuring safety performance with leading indicators to drive continual improvement in reducing electrical injury risk.
Contact with or exposure to electrical energy is a leading cause of occupational fatalities. Yet lost time electrical injuries are among the rarest injuries in the workplace, contributing less than 0.2% (or 1 in 500) of all workplace injuries.
These two attributes, low frequency and severe consequence, create a serious challenge in measuring an electrical safety program’s effectiveness. The traditional measurement, i.e., of injury rates, is a lagging indicator and may blind an organization to future potential for an electrical injury, since the low frequency of electrical injuries may mean having insufficient data points for statistical validity.
This presentation explores opportunities to complement traditional methods of measuring safety performance with leading indicators to drive continual improvement in reducing electrical injury risk. It will incorporate recent advances in regulatory guidance and voluntary standards in safety performance measurement.
Use of metrics to monitor electrical safety program effectiveness is not addressed in NFPA70E or in OSHA Subpart S regulations on electrical safety. In recent years, however, leading organizations, including OSHA, the National Safety Council, the American Society of Safety Professionals and Work Safe Alberta have brought attention to the importance of leading indicators for safety management.
Specific references will include Work Safe Alberta Leading Indicators in Workplace Safety and Health (published in 2015), guidance published by the National Safety Council in 2019, and US OSHA Using Leading Indicators to Improve Safety and Health Outcomes (published in 2019).
The presentation will familiarize attendees with advances in the application of leading indicators to the specifics of electrical safety.
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