U.S. Department of Labor n www.osha.gov n (800) 321-OSHA (6742) i

Using Leading Indicators

to Improve Safety and Health Outcomes

Worker Participation

Find and Fix Hazards

Management Leadership

Occupational Safety 

and Health Administration

www.osha.gov/leadingindicators

 OSHA 3970 June 2019
CONTENTS

SECTION 1. INTRODUCTION TO LEADING INDICATORS ................................................................................2

1.1 What Are Leading Indicators?....................................................................................................................................2

1.2 The Benefits of Using Leading Indicators ...................................................................................................................2

1.3 Characteristics of Effective Leading Indicators .........................................................................................................2

SECTION 2. USING LEADING INDICATORS ....................................................................................................4

2.1 Leading Indicators Based on Data You Are Already Collecting ....................................................................................5

EXAMPLE: Percentage of Workers Attending Safety Refresher Training ......................................................................5

2.2 Leading Indicators for Controlling an Identified Hazard ..............................................................................................6

EXAMPLE: Inspection and Clearing of Walkways .......................................................................................................6

EXAMPLE: Truck Brake Replacement ........................................................................................................................7

EXAMPLE: Arrival Time of Lift Teams .........................................................................................................................9

2.3 Leading Indicators to Improve an Element of Your Safety and Health Program .........................................................10

2.3.1 Management Leadership ...............................................................................................................................10

2.3.2 Worker Participation ......................................................................................................................................11

2.3.3 Hazard Identification and Assessment ............................................................................................................11

2.3.4 Hazard Prevention and Control .......................................................................................................................12

2.3.5 Education and Training ......................... 12

2.3.6 Program Evaluation and Improvement ...........................................................................................................13

2.3.7 Communication and Coordination ..................................................................................................................13

2.3.8 EXAMPLES: Using Leading Indicators to Improve a Safety and Health Program Element .................................14

SECTION 3. CONCLUSION ..........................................................................................................................17

ACTION PLAN CHECKLIST ..........................................................................................................................17

This document is not a standard or regulation, and it creates no new legal obligations. It lacks the force and effect of law, except 

as authorized by law or as incorporated into a contract. The recommendations are advisory in nature, informational in content, and 

are intended to assist employers in providing a safe and healthful workplace. Material contained in this publication is in the public 

domain and may be reproduced, fully or partially, without permission. Source credit is requested but not required.

U.S. Department of Labor n www.osha.gov n (800) 321-OSHA (6742) 1
Employers are encouraged to use this document to learn 

how they can use leading indicators to improve safety and 

health outcomes in the workplace. While large businesses 

may already be familiar with the benefits of using leading 

indicators, many small and medium-sized businesses may 

not know what they are or how to use them. This document 

can help such businesses get started. This document may 

also be useful to large businesses seeking new approaches 

to using leading indicators. 

SECTION 1. INTRODUCTION TO LEADING INDICATORS

1.1 What Are Leading Indicators?

For purposes of this document, leading indicators are proactive, 

preventive, and predictive measures that provide information 

about the effective performance of your safety and health 

activities. They measure events leading up to injuries, illnesses, 

and other incidents and reveal potential problems in your safety 

and health program. In contrast, lagging indicators measure the 

occurrence and frequency of events that occurred in the past, 

such as the number or rate of injuries, illnesses, and fatalities.

While lagging indicators can alert you to a failure in an area 

of your safety and health program or to the existence of a 

hazard, leading indicators allow you to take preventive action 

to address that failure or hazard before it turns into an incident. 

A good program uses leading indicators to drive change and 

lagging indicators to measure effectiveness.

For example, one good leading indicator might be the amount 

of time it takes to respond to a safety hazard report. A 

decrease in the response time may demonstrate an increased 

awareness in safety and managers’ commitment to workplace 

safety. Conversely, an increase in response time could signal a 

lack of management concern, which could mean that hazards 

are likely to remain uncontrolled, and incidents are more likely 

to occur. Furthermore, workers may decide to discontinue 

reporting hazards if they feel that management is not being 

responsive to their concerns. This can affect morale, which 

could have broad implications for the workplace. 

1.2 The Benefits of Using Leading Indicators

Leading indicators can play a vital role in preventing worker 

fatalities, injuries, and illnesses, as well as strengthening 

safety and health outcomes in the workplace. Employers that 

use leading indicators as a tool for achieving these goals have 

a substantial advantage over their competitors. By taking 

deliberate and measured actions that can prevent fatalities, 

injuries, and illnesses, these employers demonstrate their 

commitment to maintaining a socially responsible workplace 

that values workers. By strengthening key elements of their 

safety and health programs, they also can improve their 

overall organizational performance. 

In addition to the social benefits, employers that use leading 

indicators to find and fix hazards can realize direct savings 

to their bottom line. These include savings in repair costs, 

production costs, workers’ compensation costs, and other 

legal and regulatory costs that are commonly associated 

with incidents. For example, by fixing hazards that lead 

to roadblocks in production, employers may be able to 

complete daily tasks more efficiently and reduce production 

costs related to those activities. 

1.3 Characteristics of Effective Leading 

Indicators 

Good leading indicators are based on SMART principles, 

meaning they are Specific, Measurable, Accountable, 

Reasonable, and Timely: 

• Specific: Does your leading indicator provide specifics 

for the action that you will take to minimize risk from a 

hazard or improve a program area?

• Measurable: Is your leading indicator presented as a 

number, rate, or percentage that allows you to track 

and evaluate clear trends over time?

“Today, EHS practitioners continue to rely on 

injury rates, absenteeism, and other lagging 

metrics despite the growing acceptance of 

the fact that these failure-focused measures 

are ineffective in driving continuous 

improvement efforts. Leading indicators, 

on the other hand, appear to offer a more 

useful gauge of EHS activity by providing 

early warning signs of potential failure and, 

thus, enabling organizations to identify and 

correct deficiencies before they mature into 

accidents and injuries.” 

— Campbell Institute, Transforming EHS Performance 

Measurement Through Leading Indicators

U.S. Department of Labor n www.osha.gov n (800) 321-OSHA (6742) 2
• Accountable: Does your leading indicator track an item 

that is relevant to your goal?

• Reasonable: Can you reasonably achieve the goal that 

you set for your leading indicator?

• Timely: Are you tracking your leading indicator 

regularly enough to spot meaningful trends from your 

data within your desired timeframe?

The chart below demonstrates how to create a SMART 

leading indicator to address the issue that workers have not 

been attending monthly safety meetings. It walks through 

a good and bad example for meeting each SMART criterion 

using the leading indicator “Number of workers who attend 

a monthly safety meeting.” 

Example Leading indicator: Number of workers who attend a monthly safety meeting

Goal: 97% worker attendance rate at monthly safety meetings

SPECIFIC: Does your leading indicator provide specifics for the action that you will 

take to minimize risk from a hazard or improve a program area?

GOOD EXAMPLE

Workers will attend a safety meeting every month. 

This is specific because it clearly identifies what the activity is 

and who needs to attend.

BAD EXAMPLE

Safety meetings will be held monthly.

This is not specific because it does not describe who needs to 

attend.

MEASURABLE: Is your leading indicator presented as a number, rate, or percentage 

that allows you to track and evaluate clear trends over time?

GOOD EXAMPLE

Workers will attend a safety meeting every month.

This is measurable because you can track the number of 

workers that attend every month.

BAD EXAMPLE

Workers will attend safety meetings.

This is not measurable because it does not track a number, 

rate, or percentage with respect to your goal.

ACCOUNTABLE: Does your leading indicator track an item that is relevant to your goal?

GOOD EXAMPLE

Workers will attend a safety meeting every month.

This indicator is relevant to your goal because it asks workers to 

attend the meeting.

BAD EXAMPLE

Safety meetings for workers will be held monthly.

This indicator is not relevant to your goal because it does not 

specify that your workers would be asked to attend.

REASONABLE: Can you reasonably achieve the goal that you set for your leading indicator?

GOOD EXAMPLE

Workers will attend a safety meeting every month. Your goal is 

a 97% attendance rate. 

Your 97% goal is achievable because it takes into account that you 

will not have a make-up meeting and workers missing work will 

not be able to attend on the day the meeting is scheduled.

BAD EXAMPLE

Workers will attend a safety meeting every month. Your goal is 

a 100% attendance rate. 

Your 100% goal is not achievable because you know that some 

workers will occasionally miss work on the day the meeting is 

scheduled. 

TIMELY: Are you tracking your leading indicator regularly enough to spot meaningful 

trends from your data within your desired timeframe? 

GOOD EXAMPLE

You decide to track meeting attendance monthly.

This is timely; because you track your meetings monthly, you 

can identify meaningful trends before the end of the year, which 

BAD EXAMPLE

You decide to track meeting attendance twice a year.

Because you only tracked two meetings, you cannot see any 

meaningful trends until at least the following year. 

is when you wanted to analyze your data.

U.S. Department of Labor n www.osha.gov n (800) 321-OSHA (6742) 3
SECTION 2. USING LEADING INDICATORS

There is no “one size fits all” way to use leading indicators. 

Employers with newer programs may use indicators that 

focus on starting a program, while employers with more 

mature programs may use them to monitor how close 

they are to achieving higher performance targets. Some 

employers may also find it helpful to limit the number of 

leading indicators they start out with or how many they use 

at any one time. How employers assign who will track and 

carry out goals for leading indicators can vary based on the 

size of the business, who the business has on staff, whether 

the business has a safety manager, and the scope of job 

duties of the employers’ workforce. 

This document will explain three approaches for developing 

leading indicators. The order in which they are listed 

does not suggest that any one approach is better. OSHA 

recommends using an approach that works best for you, 

or even a combination of two or more, that may help you to 

achieve a specific safety or health outcome.

• Leading indicators using data that you already collect to 

achieve a safety or health goal (Section 2.1).

• Leading indicators for controlling an identified hazard 

(Section 2.2).

• Leading indicators for improving a safety and health 

program element (Section 2.3).

THE STEPS FOR USING LEADING INDICATORS

PLAN

Choose a Leading Indicator

Choose the leading indicator you will use. (See Sections 2.1–2.3 for examples of approaches for developing leading indicators.)

Set a Goal

After you have decided on the leading indicator, set a goal for that indicator. 

DO

Communicate

Talk with your workers about the indicator, the goal, and how you will track it. Be sure to explain why you chose that specific indicator.

Start Using Your Leading Indicators

1. Collect the data.

2. Periodically measure progress toward your goal and take action if you are not meeting it.

3. Communicate your progress with workers. For example, you may post graphs of the data in comparison to your goal over time. 

If you are not meeting your goal, talk to your workers about how to get on track. 

CHECK

Periodically Reassess Your Goal and Indicator

After tracking your indicator for a while, evaluate progress toward your goal and assess whether you have been meeting it. For some 

indicators and goals, it can take longer to see progress. You should review it regularly, and consider whether you need more time to 

assess its effectiveness.

ACT

Respond to What You Learn

Respond to what you learn from the results of your leading indicator, share the information with relevant personnel in your 

organization and, when necessary, change your leading indicator based on what you learn. 

U.S. Department of Labor n www.osha.gov n (800) 321-OSHA (6742) 4
2.1 Leading Indicators Based on Data You Are 

Already Collecting

If you are just getting started with leading indicators, you 

may find it easier to work with data that you already collect, 

whether it is data that can improve an element of your safety 

and health program or data that can help address a hazard or 

achieve some other safety or health outcome. The following 

example shows how you can turn this data into a leading 

indicator to help you to achieve any one of these goals.

EXAMPLE: Percentage of Workers Attending Safety 

Refresher Training

Step 1: Choose a Leading Indicator

Every quarter, you ensure that you have administered 

mandatory safety refresher training to your workers; however, 

in the past you noticed that some of your workers did not 

attend these trainings. Because you already keep track of 

who attends training, and you want to ensure that you provide 

adequate training to your workers, you decide that this might 

be good data to turn into a leading indicator. Therefore, you 

define your leading indicator as the percentage of workers 

that receive quarterly refresher training.

Step 2: Set a Goal

In this example, your leading indicator is the percentage of 

workers that receive refresher training, and your goal is 

100% of your workers completing the refresher training by 

the end of each quarter.

Step 3: Start Using Your Leading Indicators

1. Collect the data. 

 To collect the data, you may decide to review the attendance 

sheet that workers use to sign in before the training begins. 

Attendance Sheet

Ron Dufresne

Zhihao Chan

Kim Layton

Martino Nunez

Rebecca Morigny

 2. Periodically measure progress toward your goal and 

take action if you are not meeting it.

 Count the number of workers that attended the refresher 

training in each quarter. If some workers did not attend 

the training, find out why and try to address the issue. 

Step 4: Periodically Reassess Your Goal and Indicator

Check whether you are meeting your 100% attendance rate. 

100% Attendance rate (goal)

Percentage of workers

attending training (leading

indicator)

1st Quarter

100

50

0

2nd Quarter 3rd Quarter 4th Quarter

ATTENDANCE RATE (35 WORKERS TOTAL)

U.S. Department of Labor n www.osha.gov n (800) 321-OSHA (6742) 5
Below are three scenarios that could arise after you start 

tracking this leading indicator. Each scenario shows the kind 

of insights you can obtain and actions you can take once 

you start using your leading indicator.

• Scenario 1: You reviewed the attendance sheet

from the last quarter. 70% of workers attended the

mandatory refresher training—good, but below

your goal of 100%. After discussing this with your

workers, you learn that some of them did not attend

because they were out from work that day. For the

future sessions, you ensure that makeup sessions are

scheduled and continue to track your leading indicator.

• Scenario 2: You reviewed the attendance sheet from

the last quarter. The number of workers that attended

the refresher training improved from the previous

quarter, but you did not achieve your goal of 100%.

After discussing this with your workers, you learn that

some of them had already left work at the time the

training was scheduled. You remind your workers that

the training is mandatory and instruct them to notify a

supervisor if they are unable to attend. You continue to

track your leading indicator.

• Scenario 3: You reviewed the attendance sheet from

the last quarter. The percentage of workers that

attended the refresher training was 100%. You decide

whether to continue tracking attendance every quarter

after it has become routine (or consider decreasing the

tracking frequency to every two quarters). Then begin

to develop and track a new leading indicator for other

data that you already collect.

2.2 Leading Indicators for Controlling an 

Identified Hazard

Leading indicators can help you improve your safety or health 

performance in work areas or activities where you have 

identified hazards. Below are some examples that walk you 

through the steps for using leading indicators to control the 

hazards that you have identified. Consider referring to the 

“Hazard Identification and Assessment” section of OSHA’s 

Recommended Practices for Safety and Health Programs1

 for 

an overview of how to identify and assess your workplace 

1 https://www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA3885.pdf

hazards. In deciding which hazard to start with, consider the 

severity of potential outcomes if a hazard is not addressed 

in a timely manner, the likelihood that an event or exposure 

could occur, and the number of workers that could be 

exposed to this hazard. 

EXAMPLE: Inspection and Clearing of Walkways

Step 1: Select a Leading Indicator

You operate an automotive assembly line. During your 

hazard identification process, you identified trips and 

falls that are occurring on your assembly line floor as a 

top incident leading to injuries. A review of your injury 

records showed that 22 workers were hurt from trips 

and falls in the past year. Due to the frequency of injuries 

caused by tripping hazards, you decide this might be a 

good hazard to start with. The number of trips and falls 

is a lagging indicator that you hope to drive down with a 

leading indicator.

After discussing it with your workers, you learned that 

most of the trips and falls were caused by floors cluttered 

with tools and equipment that workers used to assemble 

automotive parts, including air hoses used for pneumatic 

tools. You decide that a good first step to address this hazard 

might be to inspect and clear assembly line floors daily.

U.S. Department of Labor n www.osha.gov n (800) 321-OSHA (6742) 6
Number of daily cleanups

per week (leading indicator)

Number of trips and falls

(lagging indicator)

Week 1

30

20

10

0

Week 2 Week 3 Week 4

NUMBER OF TRIPS AND FALLS

Step 2: Set a Goal

In this example, your leading indicator is the frequency of 

inspecting and clearing the floors, and your goal is once daily.

Step 3: Start Using Your Leading Indicators

1. Collect the data. 

 To collect the data, you may decide to use a checklist, 

marking off tasks as you complete them each day.

DAILY CLEANUP CHECKLIST

 Rewind air hoses

 Package tools and equipment away from work 

station floors

 Store unused car parts in storage areas away from 

floors 

 Sweep floors of debris and other objects that can 

lead to slips or falls

X

X

2. Periodically measure progress toward your goal and 

take action if you are not meeting it.

 Every week, you review your checklists to make sure you 

have completed all daily tasks. If you have not completed 

a task on any given day, find out why and try to address 

the issue. 

Step 4: Periodically Reassess Your Goal and Indicator

Determine if you are seeing a decrease in your number of 

trips and falls. 

Below are three scenarios that could arise after you start 

tracking this leading indicator. Each scenario shows the kind 

of insights you can obtain and actions you can take once 

you start using your leading indicator.

• Scenario 1: Workers are cleaning the assembly floors 

once daily, but trips and falls are still occurring. After 

discussing this with your workers, you find that they are 

completing the cleanups in the afternoon, but the floors 

are cluttered again by the time work starts in the morning. 

Based on this discussion, you change your policy to 

require workers to clean floors just before leaving work, 

and revise your leading indicator to the frequency of daily 

cleanups that occur at the end of the work day.

• Scenario 2: Workers are cleaning assembly floors once 

daily, and trips and falls have decreased but are still 

occurring. After discussing this with your workers, you 

learn that the daily cleanups are helping, but tools and 

equipment are being stored in areas that create narrow 

work stations and introduce new trip and fall hazards. 

You find other places to store tools and equipment 

and continue to track your leading indicator. You also 

invest in automatically retracting pneumatic hose reels 

and overhead connections to keep hoses off the floor, 

and consider converting to battery-operated tools to 

eliminate the use of hoses altogether. 

• Scenario 3: Workers are cleaning assembly floors once 

daily, and trips and falls have decreased significantly. 

You decide whether to continue tracking the daily 

cleanups after they have become routine (or consider 

decreasing the tracking frequency from daily to 

weekly). Then begin to develop and track a leading 

indicator for a different hazard. 

EXAMPLE: Truck Brake Replacement

Step 1: Select a Leading Indicator

During your hazard identification process, you review recent 

worker injuries caused by trucks that failed to properly stop 

while being operated. In discussions, your injured workers tell 

you that they heard squeaking brakes before the trucks failed 

to stop. Recognizing that squeaking brakes could result from 

worn brake pads, you review your inspection records and 

U.S. Department of Labor n www.osha.gov n (800) 321-OSHA (6742) 7
learn that you were not replacing brake pads every 30,000 

miles as recommended by the truck manufacturer. You decide 

that a good way to address this hazard might be to track the 

number of trucks that have the brake pads replaced every 

30,000 miles. The number of incidents and injuries caused by 

trucks failing to stop is the lagging indicator that you hope to 

drive down with a leading indicator. 

Step 2: Set a Goal

In this example, your leading indicator is the number of 

trucks with brake pads that are changed every 30,000 

miles, and your goal is 100%.

Step 3: Start Using Your Leading Indicators

1. Collect the data. 

 To collect the data, you decide to submit a maintenance 

request to record the number of miles driven since the last 

time brake pads were changed. You check each truck on 

the first of each month, and use a sheet to check off the 

trucks that had brake pads changed every 30,000 miles.

TRUCK MILEAGE SINCE LAST BRAKE CHANGE 

# of miles since last Goal met? brake change 

Truck A 26,000 

Truck B 30,200

Truck C 27,300 

Truck D 29,000 

2. Periodically measure progress toward your goal and 

take action if you are not meeting it.

 On the first of each month, you count the number of 

trucks that had brake pads changed at the 30,000-mile 

mark. If you did not change the brake pads every 30,000 

miles, find out why and try to address the issue.

Step 4: Periodically Reassess Your Goal and Indicator

To assess your goal, determine if you are seeing a decrease 

in the frequency of worker incidents and injuries from trucks 

failing to stop.

Number of trucks with brake

pads changed every 30,000

miles (leading indicator)

Incidents or injuries due to

trucks failing to stop (lagging

indicator)

January

8

2

4

6

10

0

February March April

NUMBER OF INCIDENTS OR INJURIES FROM TRUCKS FAILING TO STOP

Below are three scenarios that could arise after you start 

tracking this leading indicator. Each scenario shows the kind 

of insights you can obtain and actions you can take once 

you start using your leading indicator.

• Scenario 1: Every month, you review the number of 

trucks with brake pads that were changed every 30,000 

miles. While incidents and injuries have decreased, 

some are still occurring. After discussing this with your 

workers, you learn that maintenance only checks the 

brake pads at the beginning of the month and some 

trucks reached 30,000 miles two weeks before the next 

month’s review. Based on this discussion, you begin 

requiring maintenance to review the miles every two 

weeks instead of every month, and continue to track 

your leading indicator.

• Scenario 2: Every month, you review the number 

of trucks with brake pads that were changed every 

30,000 miles. While the number of incidents and 

injuries have decreased, some are still occurring. 

After discussing this with your workers, you learn that 

checking the miles on a monthly basis has helped; 

however, maintenance staff did not receive the keys to 

the trucks to prevent their use beyond 30,000 miles, 

because no procedure was in place that required the 

trucks to be taken out of service when they reached a 

mileage threshold. Consequently, workers continued to 

U.S. Department of Labor n www.osha.gov n (800) 321-OSHA (6742) 8
use the trucks without any knowledge of this hazard, 

and the brakes were never replaced. You start giving 

your maintenance staff the keys to trucks that require 

maintenance as soon as you identify this issue, and 

continue to track your leading indicator.

• Scenario 3: Every month, you review the number of 

trucks with brakes that were changed every 30,000 

miles, and incidents and injuries have decreased 

significantly. You decide whether to keep tracking the 

brake pad changes every month after it has become 

routine (or consider changing the tracking frequency 

from monthly to quarterly). Then begin to develop and 

track a leading indicator for a different hazard.

EXAMPLE: Arrival Time of Lift Teams 

Step 1: Select a Leading Indicator

During your hazard identification process, your hospital 

identified manually lifting patients as a hazard. A review 

of your injury log showed that in the past year 15 hospital 

workers suffered from back injuries after manually lifting or 

repositioning patients. Due to the frequency of injuries from 

manual lifting, you decide that this might be a good hazard 

to start with. The number of back injuries from patient lifting 

is the lagging indicator that you hope to drive down with a 

leading indicator.

You have six two-person lift teams with lifting equipment 

available throughout the hospital. After discussing back 

injuries with your workers, you learn that it takes too long 

for a lift team to arrive to a patient’s room after being 

paged. Consequently, many workers continue to manually 

lift patients on their own. You decide that a good way to 

address this hazard might be to ensure that lift teams arrive 

within five minutes of being paged, which is a reasonable 

goal given the size of your hospital. 

Step 2: Set a Goal

In this example, your leading indicator is the arrival time of 

your lift team, and your goal is for arrival to be within five 

minutes. 

Step 3: Start Using Your Leading Indicators

1. Collect the data. 

 To collect the data, you may decide to have nurses use a 

timer that tracks how long it takes for a lift team to arrive 

to a room after the team has been paged. The nurses then 

note the time on a daily sheet that is posted on a board in 

the hallway and shared by all nurses on the floor. 

LIFT TEAM ARRIVAL TIMES

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

5 minutes 5 minutes 5 minutes 11 minutes 9 minutes

4 minutes 5 minutes 5 minutes 5 minutes 10 minutes

12 minutes 4 minutes 7 minutes 5 minutes 5 minutes

15 minutes 8 minutes 6 minutes 5 minutes 5 minutes

2. Periodically measure progress toward your goal and 

take action if you are not meeting it.

 You decide to review this sheet every week. If lift teams 

are not arriving within five minutes, find out why and try 

to address the issue.

Step 4: Periodically Reassess Your Goal and Indicator

To assess your goal, determine if you are seeing a decrease 

in the number of back injuries among nurses and counting 

the number of arrivals past five minutes. 

Number of lift team arrivals

past 5 minutes (leading

indicator)

Number of back injuries from

lifting patients (lagging

indicator) January

15

10

5

0

February March April

NUMBER OF BACK INJURIES FROM LIFTING PATIENTS

U.S. Department of Labor n www.osha.gov n (800) 321-OSHA (6742) 9
Below are three scenarios that could arise after you start 

tracking this leading indicator. Each scenario shows the kind 

of insights you can obtain and actions you can take once 

you start using your leading indicator.

• Scenario 1: You review the sheet every week to make

sure that lift teams are arriving within five minutes.

While back injuries have decreased since you last

checked your progress, they are still occurring. After

discussing this with your workers, you learn that

although lift teams are arriving within five minutes, you

need additional lift teams because there are not enough

available to get to the next patient when they are

paged. Based on this discussion, you review your staff

levels, decide to add three more lift teams with lifting

equipment, and continue to track your leading indicator.

• Scenario 2: You review the sheet every week, and

back injuries have decreased further since the last

progress update but are still occurring. After discussing

this with your workers, you learn that some lift teams

are not using the equipment properly, causing them to

fall behind on getting to the next patient. You plan a

training session so that your lift teams can learn how to

correct errors in using the equipment, and continue to

track your leading indicator.

• Scenario 3: You review the sheet every week, and

back injuries have decreased significantly. You decide

whether to continue tracking lift team arrival times

after it has become routine (or consider changing the

tracking frequency from monthly to quarterly). Then,

begin to develop and track a leading indicator for a

different hazard.

2.3 Leading Indicators to Improve an Element of 

Your Safety and Health Program

Effective safety and health programs incorporate all of the 

core elements outlined in OSHA’s Recommended Practices 

for Safety and Health Programs:

2

• Management leadership

• Worker participation

2 https://www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA3885.pdf

(OSHA also has a recommended practices document for the 

construction industry, available at https://www.osha.gov/

Publications/OSHA3886.pdf)

• Hazard identification and assessment

• Hazard prevention and control

• Education and training

• Program evaluation and improvement

• Communication and coordination for host employers,

contractors, and staffing agencies

Leading indicators can help you improve on these core 

elements of your safety and health program. Tying elements 

of a safety and health program directly to lagging indicators 

such as injury rates may be difficult, but experience shows 

that better programs do improve safety. 3

 This section 

focuses on how to use leading indicators to improve the 

elements of a program outlined in OSHA’s Recommended 

Practices. However, they can be applied to any safety and 

health program regardless of what elements the program 

includes. 

Exemplary safety and health programs use all the core 

elements outlined in OSHA’s Recommended Practices. 

Sections 2.3.1–2.3.7 summarize the recommended 

practices for each core element and provide examples 

of leading indicators that you can use to measure your 

implementation of these practices. Section 2.3.8 provides 

examples of how to use a leading indicator you have chosen 

and how to measure your performance for that indicator. 

 2.3.1 MANAGEMENT LEADERSHIP

RECOMMENDED PRACTICES FOR

MANAGEMENT LEADERSHIP

• Communicate your commitment to a safety

and health program.

• Define program goals.

• Allocate resources.

• Expect performance.

3 Benchmarking Organizational Leading Indicators for the 

Prevention and Management of Injuries and Illnesses: Final 

Report, Institute for Work & Health, 2011, available at https://

www.iwh.on.ca/sites/iwh/files/iwh/reports/iwh_report_

benchmarking_organizational_leading_indicators_2011.pdf

U.S. Department of Labor n www.osha.gov n (800) 321-OSHA (6742) 10
Leading Indicators That Support Management 

Leadership

Below are some suggested leading indicators for measuring 

the implementation of recommended practices for 

management leadership: 

• Percentage of managers and supervisors who attend 

mandatory safety and health training for workers.

• Number of times each month that top management 

initiates discussion of a safety and health topic. 

• Average score on survey questions related to workers’ 

perception of management’s safety and health 

commitment. 

• Number of worker-reported hazards or concerns for 

which employers initiated corrective action within 48 

hours (compared to the total number of such reports). 

• Average time between worker report of a hazard or 

concern and management acknowledgement of the 

report.

• Number of safety-related line items in budget and 

percentage of these fully funded each year. 

Take Action

Take action when trends indicate that you could improve 

your management leadership. For example, if a busy owner 

or CEO skipped the safety meeting last year, note this year’s 

meeting in their schedule ahead of time so they prioritize 

attendance. Similarly, if workers are reporting hazards that 

are not ultimately addressed due to lack of resources or 

competing priorities, it may be wise to determine what, if 

any, additional resources you can allocate to control those 

hazards, or manage competing priorities.

2.3.2 WORKER PARTICIPATION

RECOMMENDED PRACTICES FOR WORKER PARTICIPATION

• Encourage workers to participate in the 

program.

• Encourage workers to report safety and 

health concerns.

• Give workers access to safety and health 

information. 

• Involve workers in all aspects of the program.

• Remove barriers to participation.

Leading Indicators That Support Worker Participation

Below are some suggested leading indicators for measuring 

the implementation of recommended practices for worker 

participation: 

• Number of workers asked for feedback on good safety 

goals ahead of safety meetings.

• Number of workers involved in developing safety 

procedures. 

• Number of workers participating in tool box talks. 

• Number of workers participating in injury investigations.

• Safety perception survey participation rate. 

• Number of workers involved in developing task-specific 

job safety analyses/job hazard analyses on how to 

perform routine tasks safely.

• Number of workers participating in accident 

investigation teams and helping to identify/implement 

corrective actions to eliminate hazards.

Take Action

Take action when trends indicate that you could improve 

worker participation. For example, if workers have not been 

participating in hazard prevention meetings, you should find 

out why. For example, some workers may feel that their 

managers do not value their opinions. In such instances, 

you could take actions to change that perception and 

meaningfully increase worker participation rates in safety 

meetings.

2.3.3 HAZARD IDENTIFICATION AND ASSESSMENT

RECOMMENDED PRACTICES FOR HAZARD 

IDENTIFICATION AND ASSESSMENT

• Collect existing information about workplace 

hazards.

• Inspect the workplace for safety hazards. 

• Identify health hazards.

• Conduct incident investigations.

• Identified hazards associated with emergency 

and non-routine situations.

• Characterize the nature of identified hazards, 

identify interim control measures, and 

prioritize the hazards for control. 

U.S. Department of Labor n www.osha.gov n (800) 321-OSHA (6742) 11
Leading Indicators that Support Hazard Identification 

and Assessment

Below are some suggested leading indicators for measuring 

the implementation of recommended practices for hazard 

identification and assessment: 

• Frequency with which preventive equipment maintenance 

tasks are initiated and completed on schedule. 

• Number of hours passed after an incident before an 

investigation is started.

• Number of hours passed after an incident before an 

investigation is completed.

• Percentage of incident investigations that include a root 

cause investigation.

• Percentage of daily/weekly/monthly inspections 

completed. 

• Percentage of inspections that include a follow-up 

inspection to ensure that the hazard has been controlled.

Take Action

Take action when trends indicate that you could improve your 

hazard identification and assessment methods. For example, if 

your goal is to complete all investigations within a week of the 

incident, and you are finding that the average investigation has 

taken over two weeks, talk to your workers about the delay and 

develop a plan to complete them faster. Similarly, if workers 

only conduct root cause investigations 50% of the time, but 

your goal is 100% of the time, try to find out why they did not 

always conduct them and develop a plan that will ensure that 

they become a routine part of your investigations.

2.3.4 HAZARD PREVENTION AND CONTROL

RECOMMENDED PRACTICES FOR HAZARD 

PREVENTION AND CONTROL

• Identify control options. 

• Select controls.

• Develop and update a hazard control plan. 

• Select controls to protect workers during 

nonroutine operations and emergencies.

• Implement selected controls in the workplace.

• Follow up to confirm that controls are effective. 

Leading Indicators that Support Hazard Prevention

and Control

Below are some suggested leading indicators for measuring 

the implementation of recommended practices for hazard 

prevention and control: 

• Length of time interim controls have been in place.

• Percentage of recommendations implemented that 

pertain to PPE hazard controls, administrative controls, 

engineering controls, substitution, and elimination.

• Number of special work permits filled out.

• Number of cartridge filers with an end of service life 

indicator that were returned or replaced before the 

indicator turned red.

• Number of hazards identified where you used leading 

indicators to control the hazard.

• Percentage of hazards abated on the same day, week, 

or month in which the hazard was identified. 

• Number of workers required to wear respiratory 

protection.

• Number of unacceptable risks identified during risk 

assessments.

Take Action

Take action when trends indicate that you can improve your 

hazard prevention and control methods. For example, if some 

recommendations continue to remain open past their due 

date, find out why this might be the case and try to correct 

the issue so that you can address recommendations on time. 

Similarly, if you have not been using leading indicators as 

a tool for controlling hazards, you may want to implement 

a leading indicator program, and start with just one or two 

leading indicators during the program’s first year.

2.3.5 EDUCATION AND TRAINING

RECOMMENDED PRACTICES FOR 

EDUCATION AND TRAINING

• Provide program awareness training.

• Train employers, managers, and supervisors 

on their roles in the program. 

• Train workers on their specific roles in the 

safety and health program. 

• Train workers on hazard identification and 

controls. 

U.S. Department of Labor n www.osha.gov n (800) 321-OSHA (6742) 12
Leading Indicators that Support Education and Training

Below are some suggested leading indicators for measuring 

the implementation of recommended practices for education 

and training: 

• Number of trainings provided to workers on hazard 

recognition and control as compared to worker 

attendance rates at these trainings. 

• Percentage of workers receiving mandatory training on 

schedule.

• Percentage of incident investigations listing insufficient 

Number of workers trained on how to recognize and 

report a hazard or near miss as compared to the number 

of workers that report understanding the training they 

have received. 

• Percentage of improvement on post-training assessment 

scores over pre-training assessment scores.

Take Action

Take action if trends indicate that you are not effectively 

administering training. For example, a leading indicator may 

reveal that you offer regular training on how to recognize 

and report hazards, but workers still do not clearly 

understand how to recognize and report certain hazards 

after completing the training. In this example, you may want 

to ask workers that have experience or knowledge of the 

hazard for suggestions on hands on training approaches and 

simulations that could be more effective.

2.3.6 PROGRAM EVALUATION AND IMPROVEMENT

RECOMMENDED PRACTICES FOR PROGRAM 

EVALUATION AND IMPROVEMENT

• Monitor performance and progress. 

• Verify that the program is implemented and is 

operating. 

• Correct program shortcomings and identify 

opportunities to improve. 

Leading indicators That Support Program Evaluation 

and Improvement

Below are some suggested leading indicators for measuring 

the implementation of recommended practices for program 

evaluation and improvement: 

• Number of inspections completed to identify hazards or 

program weaknesses.

• Number of lagging indicator rates that improved as a 

result of using leading indicators to take action. 

• Number of goals achieved, number of goals in need 

of revision, or new goals that you should set for the 

following year.

Take Action

Take action when trends indicate that you could improve an 

aspect of your program. For example, if you only conduct 

an audit once a year, this may not be enough to track how 

well your program is doing over time. Similarly, if you have 

not achieved an important goal, it may make more sense to 

continue working on that goal before pursuing a new one. 

2.3.7 COMMUNICATION AND COORDINATION

RECOMMENDED PRACTICES FOR

COMMUNICATION AND COORDINATION

• Establish effective communication. 

• Establish effective coordination. 

Leading Indicators That Support Communication

and Coordination

Below are some suggested leading indicators for 

measuring implementation of recommended practices for 

communication and coordination among host employers, 

contractors, and staffing agencies:

• Frequency of discussions between the staffing agency/

contractor and the host employer that address efforts 

to ensure workers have a safe and healthy work 

environment at the host site.

• Frequency of discussions about worker safety between 

contract workers and host site supervisors.

• Frequency of contract employer visits to the host 

employer site to conduct inspections and collect safety 

and health information before workers are sent to the 

work site. 

• Number of workers trained on how to avoid exposure 

to potential hazards before the worker begins work at 

the host site, including identifying whom to contact to 

report a hazard on site.

U.S. Department of Labor n www.osha.gov n (800) 321-OSHA (6742) 13
• Number of hazards reported by contract/temporary 

workers versus total site workers.

• Number of audits conducted to ensure contractors are 

following site safety and health policies to include in 

their own safety policies. 

Take Action

Take action if a trend indicates that you could improve 

communication and coordination activities. For example, you 

might find that contract workers and host employers are not 

having frequent discussions about worker safety because 

the contract workers are not comfortable discussing their 

concerns with the host site supervisor. In this example, 

you might plan a meeting between your workers and the 

supervisor to discuss what actions the supervisor can take 

to help the workers feel more comfortable about having 

these discussions.

2.3.8 EXAMPLES: USING LEADING INDICATORS

TO IMPROVE A SAFETY AND HEALTH 

PROGRAM ELEMENT

Sections 2.3.1–2.3.7 provided examples of leading 

indicators that you can use to measure the implementation 

of a recommended practice for each of the core elements 

of a safety and health program. This section provides 

examples of how to use a leading indicator that you have 

chosen from that section, and how to measure progress on 

your performance goal for that indicator.

Tracking Monthly Safety and Health Updates for 

Workers to Improve Management Leadership

Step 1: Select a Leading Indicator

While evaluating your safety and health program, you 

decide to review your management leadership practices 

and identify areas for improvement. In a survey, you 

ask workers whether management communicates its 

commitment to the health and safety program, and only 

50% of workers agree or answer “yes.” Because you have 

a written policy for workplace safety and health, it seems 

that workers may not believe that your management team 

takes it seriously. You decide to focus on demonstrating 

management commitment to the program. You set a goal 

to have a manager attend all monthly safety meetings 

and give an update on safety and health performance. 

The update could include status of your safety and health 

leading indicators and a discussion of any new safety and 

health issues. 

Step 2: Set a Goal

In this example, your leading indicator is the percentage of 

monthly safety meetings in which a manager attends and 

gives a safety and health update. You hope to strengthen the 

management leadership element of your program. Using results 

from the next survey, you intend to measure your success by 

looking for a higher percentage of workers who agree that 

management communicates its commitment to safety and 

health. 

Step 3: Start Using Your Leading Indicators

1. Collect the data. 

 To collect the data, you may decide to keep a sheet that 

notes whether a manager attended a monthly meeting, 

including a section on what safety and health updates the 

manager provided.

MANAGER SAFETY MEETINGS ATTENDANCE AND DISCUSSION

JANUARY

Discussion points:

FEBRUARY

Discussion points:

MARCH

Discussion points:

2. Periodically measure progress toward your goal and 

take action if you are not meeting it. 

 You decide to review your sheet every few months. If the 

manager did not attend and adequately discuss safety 

and health progress and performance, find out why and 

try to address the issue. 

Step 4: Periodically Reassess Your Goal and Indicator

To assess progress toward your goal, determine if you see 

an increase in the percentage of “yes” responses to your 

survey. Since it can be difficult to change worker perceptions 

U.S. Department of Labor n www.osha.gov n (800) 321-OSHA (6742) 14
of management commitment to safety in a short time, it may 

take longer to determine whether your indicator is effective in 

achieving this goal. You should review the results regularly, but 

consider whether you need more time to assess effectiveness.

Below are three scenarios that could arise after you start 

tracking this leading indicator. Each scenario shows the kind 

of insights you can obtain and actions you can take once you 

start using your leading indicator.

• Scenario 1: The manager attends the meetings and 

provides safety and health updates to all your workers 

monthly, but the percentage of “yes” responses to your 

survey has not significantly improved. After discussing 

this with your workers, you learn that some would like 

a more detailed explanation about why you are using 

certain leading indicators. You add this to your discussion 

points and continue to track your leading indicator.

• Scenario 2: The manager attends the meetings and 

provides safety and health updates to all your workers 

monthly, but the percentage of “yes” responses to your 

survey has only marginally improved. After discussing 

this with your workers, you learn that they would prefer 

to receive updates more frequently. You start providing 

updates every two weeks instead of every month, and 

you continue to track your leading indicator.

• Scenario 3: The manager attends the meetings and 

provides safety and health updates to all your workers 

monthly, and the number of “yes” responses to your 

survey improves dramatically. You continue the monthly 

updates but develop and track a leading indicator for 

another management leadership practice, or begin 

working on a different element of your safety and health 

program.

Tracking Completion of Action Items from Inspections to 

Improve Hazard Prevention and Control

Step 1: Select a Leading Indicator

While evaluating your safety and health program, you decide 

to review your program evaluation and improvement practices 

and identify areas for improvement. You decide to track the 

number of past-due action items since your last inspection. 

You set a goal not to exceed 10% on past-due action items 

before completing your next review.

Step 2: Set a Goal

In this example, your leading indicator is the percentage of pastdue action items, and you set a goal of no more than 10%. 

Step 3: Start Using Your Leading Indicators

1. Collect the data. 

 You collect the open action items and calculate the 

percentage past due.

ACTION ITEMS COMPLETED SINCE LAST INSPECTION

Action Item Due Date Status

Repair electrical 

hazard at main 

entrance

 March 15 Completed by due 

date

Install new fire 

protection equipment 

in work spaces

 March 15 Not completed by 

due date

Provide training on 

updated emergency 

procedures

 April 15 Completed by due 

date

Conduct a root cause 

analysis of recent fire 

incident

 May 15 Not completed by 

due date

Percentage of monthly safety

meetings including manager

update

Percentage of “yes” survey

responses

January

120

100

40

60

80

20

0

February March April

MANAGER SAFETY MEETINGS AND SURVEY RESPONSES

U.S. Department of Labor n www.osha.gov n (800) 321-OSHA (6742) 15
Number of action items not completed

(leading indicator)

Percentage of action items not completed

Q1

30

20

15

10

Q2 Q3 Q4

Goal = 10%

PERCENT COMPLETION OVER TIME

2. Periodically measure progress toward your goal and 

take action if you are not meeting it.

 Each quarter of the year, you calculate your percentage of 

past-due action items. If you did not complete at least 90% 

of your action items, find out why and try to address the 

issue. 

Step 4: Periodically Reassess Your Goal and Indicator

To assess your goal, determine what percentage of 

outstanding action items you have not completed. Is it no 

more than 10%?

Below are three scenarios that could arise after you start 

tracking this leading indicator. Each scenario shows the kind 

of insight you can obtain and actions you can take once you 

start using your leading indicator.

• Scenario 1: Before completing your next review, you 

check your results and notice that your percentage of 

total action items not completed is above 10%. After 

discussing this with your workers, you learn that no 

procedure exists to ensure that you would complete your 

action items on time. You also learn that it may be helpful 

to give the action item list to a manager to ensure that 

workers meet the due dates. You set a meeting with your 

workers to come up with a procedure for completing 

action items on time, begin giving the list of action items 

to a manager at the conclusion of each inspection, and 

continue to track your leading indicator. You also make 

this tracking log available to workers so they can become 

more involved with ensuring timely completion dates.

• Scenario 2: Before completing your next review, you 

check your results but your percentage of total action 

items not completed is above 10%. After discussing 

this with your workers, you learn that the equipment, 

parts, or tools needed to complete some of the action 

items were not available. You take appropriate actions to 

ensure the parts or tools needed to complete the action 

items are available, and continue tracking your leading 

indicator. 

• Scenario 3: You review your results before your next 

review, and your percentage of total action items not 

completed is below 10%. You decide whether to continue 

tracking your leading indicator, develop and track a 

leading indicator for another hazard prevention and 

control item, or begin working on a different element of 

your safety and health program. 

U.S. Department of Labor n www.osha.gov n (800) 321-OSHA (6742) 16
SECTION 3. CONCLUSION 

Leading indicators are a valuable tool that you can use 

to make measurable and long-lasting improvements to 

safety and health outcomes in the workplace. Leading 

indicators can be valuable regardless of whether you 

have a safety or health program, what you have included 

in your program, or what stage you may be at in your 

program. Use the checklist below to get started today.

ACTION PLAN CHECKLIST

■ Identify your top problem areas. For hazards, review your injury logs, and 

results from your hazard assessments. Start with the hazard with the greatest risk 

of harming workers by evaluating the severity of the potential exposure and the 

likelihood that an incident could occur. Prioritize hazards over other areas of your 

program, particularly if a threat is imminent. 

■ For other program elements, talk with your workers about what areas you 

could improve. For data that you are already collecting, determine whether it is an 

area that you should prioritize. 

■ Consider what actions you could take to address your key areas. Talk with 

your workers and anyone else with knowledge of the issue that can provide 

suggestions.

■ Set a goal, and use leading indicators to reach it. Make an informed decision on 

what your goal should be and how long it might take to achieve. Choose a leading 

indicator that can help you to achieve your goal over time.

■ Collect the data. Begin collecting the leading indicator data for the time period you 

decided on as well as the data for your goal during that same time period. 

■ Periodically review the results. Assemble the results into a graph to determine 

whether there is a positive relationship between your leading indicator and 

your goal. Did the action that you took help you to achieve your goal? If not, try 

something else.

■ Remember that just one or two indicators can make a positive impact.

OSHA recommends getting started today and customizing the type and number of 

indicators to your needs, resources, and abilities as they evolve over time.

U.S. Department of Labor n www.osha.gov n (800) 321-OSHA (6742) 17