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c.v.jones  
#1 Posted : 30 November 2017 16:57:43(UTC)
Rank: New forum user
c.v.jones

Hi all,

First time posting on here...

I work for a Health & Social Care provider and I am currently looking at new ways we can measure our H&S performance.

Does anyone have any ideas?

Thanks in advance.

Charlotte

RayRapp  
#2 Posted : 30 November 2017 19:31:21(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
RayRapp

Hi Charlotte, and welcome.

There are many things which can be measured - normally based on leading and lagging indicators. That said, measuring performance in health and safety is very challenging. As someone once wrote 'we tend to measure what is easy to measure rather than what we should measure'.  

c.v.jones  
#3 Posted : 01 December 2017 08:37:29(UTC)
Rank: New forum user
c.v.jones

Hi RayRapp,

Thanks for your reply. Do you have any specific examples of measuring performance?

Charlotte

Hsquared14  
#4 Posted : 01 December 2017 08:38:18(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
Hsquared14

Hi that's an interesting question.  For example if you have very few accidents it isn't going to be a good performance indicator.  Near miss reporting might be better but you need to avoid people going and looking for near misses.  I'm working on a set of KPIs based on a range of different activities across a number of different departments and measures.  I'm in warehousing and logistics so we are looking at things like driver infringements, racking damage and the like - not much help to you if you are in the care industry but give you a bit of an idea of looking at different things.

c.v.jones  
#5 Posted : 01 December 2017 08:49:15(UTC)
Rank: New forum user
c.v.jones

Originally Posted by: Hsquared14 Go to Quoted Post

Hi that's an interesting question.  For example if you have very few accidents it isn't going to be a good performance indicator.  Near miss reporting might be better but you need to avoid people going and looking for near misses.  I'm working on a set of KPIs based on a range of different activities across a number of different departments and measures.  I'm in warehousing and logistics so we are looking at things like driver infringements, racking damage and the like - not much help to you if you are in the care industry but give you a bit of an idea of looking at different things.

Hi Hsquared,

Thank you for your reply, most definitely helpful. Think we may look at near miss reporting as ours accidents are quite low.

Out of interest how are you going to measure yours and what KPIs would you use?

Charlotte

RayRapp  
#6 Posted : 01 December 2017 09:25:39(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
RayRapp

Charlotte, as Hsquared14 indicates what you measure is partly dependant on your industry and environment. Lagging indicators such as accidents/incidents, near misses, RIDDORs are the norm in most industries. However, it is the leading indicators such as inspections, audits, FRAs, testing and inspection of safety critical equipment etc, investigations, actions completed, etc which often reveal more about actual performance than lagging indicators reveal.

pl53  
#7 Posted : 01 December 2017 09:31:40(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
pl53

Hello Charlotte

I introduced a reporting system in feb of this year that is giving some good results. It doesn't just concentrate on near misses but also gives people the opportunity to report instances of good practice and also make suggestions for imrovement.

We measure the number of reports in the 3 different categories - Near miss (Unsafe act/ conditions), instances of good practice, opportunity for improvement. We also measure the ratios between the 3 categories and the time to closure.

Another measure we use is the ratio between accidents and reports in the 3 categories.

PM me if you want to know more details of our system.

RayRapp  
#8 Posted : 01 December 2017 09:31:43(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
RayRapp

A Kurdziel  
#9 Posted : 01 December 2017 09:59:58(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
A Kurdziel

Lagging indicators are generally regarded as not the best measures of a Health and Safety system.

First they tend to be negative and reactive- they give the impression that H&S is about dealing with fallout from incidents rather than looking at ways of preventing them in the first place.

Secondly there is the temptation to “deal” with the issue by reducing and discouraging reporting (which is why I suspect that we get some many RIDDOR questions on this forum).

Leading indicators are all about what you have are doing to prevent accidents and incidents.

Examples might include:

  • Audits/inspections/surveys carried out and actions closed out
  • Training completed
  •  Risk assessments  satisfactorily done

The danger with these indicators is that it can be tempting to load up on these indicators, so that rather than producing one really good comprehensive risk assessment for a particular process, you get people to fill in a checklist everytime they do a process. As long as the right box is ticked that counts as a brownie point. Similarly you make people do training that is cheap and easy but does not enhance their competency, which is what you are really trying to measure.

thanks 1 user thanked A Kurdziel for this useful post.
RayRapp on 01/12/2017(UTC)
fairlieg  
#10 Posted : 01 December 2017 10:25:37(UTC)
Rank: Forum user
fairlieg

Originally Posted by: A Kurdziel Go to Quoted Post

Lagging indicators are generally regarded as not the best measures of a Health and Safety system.

First they tend to be negative and reactive- they give the impression that H&S is about dealing with fallout from incidents rather than looking at ways of preventing them in the first place.

Secondly there is the temptation to “deal” with the issue by reducing and discouraging reporting (which is why I suspect that we get some many RIDDOR questions on this forum).

Leading indicators are all about what you have are doing to prevent accidents and incidents.

Examples might include:

  • Audits/inspections/surveys carried out and actions closed out
  • Training completed
  •  Risk assessments  satisfactorily done

The danger with these indicators is that it can be tempting to load up on these indicators, so that rather than producing one really good comprehensive risk assessment for a particular process, you get people to fill in a checklist everytime they do a process. As long as the right box is ticked that counts as a brownie point. Similarly you make people do training that is cheap and easy but does not enhance their competency, which is what you are really trying to measure.

The other problem with leading indicators is that when you put a target on them, they become lagging indicators.......... a positive thing becomes a negative thing because not enough of it is happening.

Edited by user 01 December 2017 10:26:43(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

thanks 2 users thanked fairlieg for this useful post.
RayRapp on 01/12/2017(UTC), A Kurdziel on 01/12/2017(UTC)
hilary  
#11 Posted : 01 December 2017 11:46:38(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
hilary

We used to measure TRIR but have just changed over to measure Safety Observations instead.  Each observation is put on a CAP and then dealt with, it could be major or minor but it is an opportunity for improvement in some way.

A Kurdziel  
#12 Posted : 01 December 2017 13:59:02(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
A Kurdziel

Originally Posted by: hilary Go to Quoted Post

We used to measure TRIR but have just changed over to measure Safety Observations instead.  Each observation is put on a CAP and then dealt with, it could be major or minor but it is an opportunity for improvement in some way.

TRIR = ?

CAP =?

Spacedinvader  
#13 Posted : 01 December 2017 14:09:33(UTC)
Rank: Forum user
Spacedinvader

Originally Posted by: A Kurdziel Go to Quoted Post
Originally Posted by: hilary Go to Quoted Post

We used to measure TRIR but have just changed over to measure Safety Observations instead.  Each observation is put on a CAP and then dealt with, it could be major or minor but it is an opportunity for improvement in some way.

TRIR = ?

CAP =?

Stab in the dark. TRIR = Total Recordable Incident Rate. CAP = Corrective Action Plan / Procedure / Process. Or it's actually a hat and the unsafe eejit has to wear it for the day :)
thanks 1 user thanked Spacedinvader for this useful post.
A Kurdziel on 01/12/2017(UTC)
Brian Campbell  
#14 Posted : 01 December 2017 16:03:59(UTC)
Rank: Forum user
Brian Campbell

Comapny Objectives, Departmental Objectives etc are great ways of monitoring company performance as are accident/incidnet data trends, customer complaints etc  Employee health surveillance is another

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