The American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP) has published an article outlining different forms of safety indicators and advising how metrics can show leaders the value of safety in the workplace.

Lagging safety indicators are metrics that show what happened in the past – for example, an “X Days Since Last Reported Safety Incident” sign displayed on a job site. These indicators may bring attention to failures rather than successes, and can dissuade workers from reporting injuries. Instead, ASSP and OSHA recommend leading safety indicators, which can help anticipate and address future risks. They may include using already-collected data to achieve an occupational health and safety goal, collecting new data to control an identified hazard, or collecting new data to improve a safety program.

Learn more about leading safety indicators, as well as the importance of using metrics effectively and relevant standards work, in the ASSP news item.