In the safety community there are sometimes great debates over what is the most effective way to measure safety performance.  While lag indicators show the results of safety performance after the fact by tracking the number of injuries and incidents that have occurred, lead indicators report on the success of safety program activities.  An illustration looks like this:

Safety professionals often debate the importance of whether safety performance can best be measured by lead or lag indicators.  This graphic illustrates that when safety program activities increase, there is a corresponding reduction in injury and incident statistics.

At OASYS we believe the two concepts are interdependent.
 
Contact us for assistance in setting up a lead and lag indicator measurement and reporting matrix in your safety management system.

Written by:

    John Boerefyn, CRSP, CHSC
    Partner - OASYS Safety Consulting Inc.