Courses Available Online, Virtually and Classroom
Fully Certified NEBOSH, IOSH, IEMA Accredited
7-Day Customer Service
Lorna Bleyswyck CMIOSH, PGCE

5 Essential Health and Safety KPI’s You Should be Measuring

May 2019

Many companies measure health and safety performance, but how do you know that you’re measuring the right information to help your company grow?  Using up resources on metrics that don’t improve your health and safety management system as a whole can actually distract you from the task of ensuring peak performance.

The better your management system gets, the more compliant you’ll be with health and safety processes. This means it’ll be harder to improve performance. Making sure you’re measuring the right things is all part of the journey to great performance, so it’s important you get it right.

Common metrics are often divided into reactive (lagging indicators) and proactive (leading indicators). Most companies find it easier to measure reactive data because they already have systems in place to gather this information. These are things like the number of RIDDOR reportable events (UK) or accidents and actions defined by your company.

Proactive measures can be more challenging for organisations to agree on and gather data on, but that doesn’t mean they should be ignored. From my experience of working in health and safety for approximately 25 years now, here are 5 KPI’s that I consider to be essential to measure.

1. Number of Risk Assessments Reviewed

This should typically be done over 12 months. If the target is high and reviews take place, there is a chance for you to consider any relevant changes that may be needed to the safe systems of work. These changes may require investment to improve working procedures, which should be tracked.

By using a rag rated system (Red, Amber and Green), senior management teams can check progress on a monthly/quarterly basis.

2. Number of essential health and safety personal performance targets set in annual appraisal schemes.

This KPI suggests two things:

  • Each staff member should be set at least one essential health and safety performance target as part of their job role.
  • Performance to this target will be appraised at least annually.

I’ve found that by measuring health and safety performance targets, they are more likely to be taken seriously and so achieved. There is nothing like an appraisal to focus someone’s minds on performance. And how they contribute to better performance should then be transparent within the system. This approach can also help you to identify any extra training needs.

With this KPI, you should consider the competent advice you need to not only maintain legal compliance, but also excel at health and safety management given the nature of the tasks being performed and managed.

3. Statutory compliance measurements

Within all companies, there are usually statutory compliance checks. These must be done to make sure that Health and Safety measures are legally compliant and effective in practice. Your risk control systems should make sure that workplace precautions are in place and working correctly.

Hardware such as local exhaust ventilation systems, alarm systems and shut off valves are all controlled by a series on statutory compliance checks, often undertaken by 3rd parties. I’ve found that in practice, many of these reports take time to gather. There is a lag from the time someone visits a site, to the company receiving the information ready for action. This makes it difficult to demonstrate compliance to any regulator who may wish to inspect records.

I always recommend that if inspections are done by 3rd parties, the essential information which might render equipment unsafe to use is communicated within a very short timeframe. Clients need to then follow up quickly by agreeing actions for those who are targeted to complete solution tasks. These actions should be tracked and monitored by senior management teams.

4. Audits

A health and safety audit of the whole management system is considered to be one of the most proactive tasks and company may do. It’s an excellent way of gathering insight on your health and safety management systems performance.

An audit will usually collect independent information on the effectiveness of the whole management system, before suggesting corrective actions. It should establish the current situation by using observation, interview and document assessment techniques. Information on performance can then be divided into legal standards and best practice and feedback with appropriate conclusions. This way, the senior staff can determine the level of compliance to best practice and in some cases, legal standards.

5. Adherence to safe systems of work after behavioural training programmes

Adherence to safe systems of work should be tracked following training to make sure the programme was effective. I would suggest that this is done randomly over a longer period of time. This will help makes sure that safer behaviours are really embedded and not just being performed because of direct supervision immediately after the training has been completed.

While many companies say they want to lead by example and aim to be “best in class”, it’s of no surprize that many of them have to set themselves new targets if they are to continually show growth.

By using these 5 KPI’s, you should be able to establish action plans that will make a practical difference to health and safety systems. This will help you and your company use resources wisely and concentrate on reducing real risks. However, there are more than just 5 KPIs to measure.

Has this blog inspired you to become more knowledgeable in the world of health and safety. If so have a look at our courses!

Related Blogs

  • What Is the Paris Agreement? And Why Is It Important? Image
    Enock Ebbah

    What Is the Paris Agreement? And Why Is It Important?

    For years to come, the Paris Agreement will be considered one of the most critical milestones in preventing global warming. Learn about the main points of the treaty and how it will shape the future of our planet.
    14.03.24
  • Top 10 Interesting Careers the NEBOSH Diploma Gets You Image
    William Gaunt

    Top 10 Interesting Careers the NEBOSH Diploma Gets You

    Wondering where the NEBOSH Diploma can take you in your career? We’ve compiled a list of exciting careers you can pursue, thanks to its broad spectrum of applications. Read on to find out where your career could land next!
    12.03.24
  • How to Identify and Manage Hazards: Free Risk Assessment Template Included Image
    William Gaunt

    How to Identify and Manage Hazards: Free Risk Assessment Template Included

    Learn how to identify and manage hazards in the workplace and gain exclusive access to your free copy of our risk assessment template.
    29.02.24
  • Why is There a Massive Financing Gap to Prevent Climate Change? Image
    Enock Ebbah

    Why is There a Massive Financing Gap to Prevent Climate Change?

    The United Nations has warned that funding to protect against the severe consequences of climate change is ‘woefully inadequate’. Find out the implications of short-changing climate change mitigation and what this means for the future of our planet.
    29.02.24
  • Mental Health UK Reports Extreme Workplace Stress: What You Need to Know Image
    William Gaunt

    Mental Health UK Reports Extreme Workplace Stress: What You Need to Know

    Find out the key findings from the Mental Health UK Burnout Report - a landmark study that has worrying implications. We investigate how this impacts the workplace and what employers can do to mitigate increasing stress for staff members. Find out more here.
    28.02.24
  • NEBOSH National Diploma vs NEBOSH International Diploma: Which Course is Right for You? Image
    Toby Howell AIEMA BA PGDip

    NEBOSH National Diploma vs NEBOSH International Diploma: Which Course is Right for You?

    Unsure of which version of the NEBOSH Diploma is right for you? This blog will tell you everything you need to about the differences between the NEBOSH National Diploma and the NEBOSH International Diploma. Make the right decision with Astutis' support!
    23.02.24
Section Curve
Case Studies

Real Life Stories

Find out how learners look back on their training with Astutis. Our case studies give our learners, both individual and corporate, a platform to share their Astutis experience. Discover how training with Astutis has helped past learners and delegates make the world a safer place, one course at a time.
More Image
Bottom Curve
What People Say

Hear What Our Learners Have To Say

We're always there for our customers. 98% of our learners rated their overall experience as good or outstanding. We will always pride ourselves on our customer service. But don’t take our word for it, here is what our customers have to say
  • "The course was very informative. Whilst it was quite a full on 4 days it was good to have the breakout sessions to share learnings. The course materials were great to refer to as revision"

    13.03.2024
  • "The course was paid for by my employer"

    13.03.2024
  • "Great tutor and valuable study webinars prior to exams. The content notebooks need some work to update and check the content."

    Sarah
    11.03.2024
  • "Content needs work but tutor was brilliant and study webinars very valuable"

    Sarah
    11.03.2024
  • "Generally the course covers basic health and safety across many industries at a level which is both useful but not TOO in depth. I work in bio-sciences but understood the sections referring to construction well and found much of the course to be quite transferable. Speed of learning is good. Certain parts of the course (asbestos springs to mind) made questionable claims however the course allows this sort of thing to be flagged as feedback."

    Peter
    05.03.2024
  • "Good. You have a year to complete and this is about the right pace."

    Peter
    05.03.2024
  • "Brilliant tutors"

    Aaron
    05.03.2024
  • "Very good, very informative and delivered very well"

    Aaron
    05.03.2024
  • "You meet all my expetations."

    Damir
    26.02.2024
  • "You met all my expetations."

    Damir
    26.02.2024