What Is Accident Frequency Rate
What is accident frequency rate?
Accident frequency rate is a statistic that measures the number of workplace accidents that take place over an assigned period. Companies use it to evaluate their safety performance and benchmark themselves against others in their industry.
This metric, also referred to as lost time injury frequency rate or accident frequency rate, is one of the key KPIs EHS departments use to assess their safety performance and decide what action needs to be taken to reduce risks and enhance workplace safety.
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Calculating Accident Frequency Rate
To calculate your company’s accident frequency rate, multiply the number of workplace accidents recorded during the reporting period by 200,000 – this equals the total hours worked in that period. Subtract this figure from the total number of employees at your firm during that same time frame.
By having this data, you can take a closer look at your numbers month-by-month and assess whether they are increasing or decreasing, which could indicate that certain safety measures aren’t functioning as expected.
A company’s accident frequency rate is usually determined by the type of work, industry and size. By examining data arrays on the Bureau of Labor Statistics website (BLS), you can gain insight into where your rate stands in comparison to similar companies and identify areas for improvement.
LTIFR is an excellent indicator of your company’s safety performance and the strength of your EHS department. Ideally, you should strive to reduce this number and monitor it month by month to ensure you’re doing everything possible to enhance workplace safety.
Your CEO will use accident frequency rate when assessing your performance, so it’s essential to comprehend its meaning and how to calculate it. Once you know your accident frequency rate, you can focus on deciphering why it has moved in the direction it has and what steps can be taken to reverse that trend.
Incident rates are lagging indicators, meaning they do not guarantee future incidents or safety procedures. As such, OSHA doesn’t use them as part of enforcement actions against companies; rather, incident rates serve to identify trends in workplace safety that may not necessarily be directly relevant to OSHA’s enforcement priorities, according to New Mexico Mutual.
