Leading or lagging? Temporal analysis of safety indicators on a large infrastructure construction project. (January 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Lingard, Helen; Hallowell, Matthew; Salas, Rico; Pirzadeh, Payam
• Is Part Of: Safety science. Volume 91(2016)
• Page Start: 206
• Page End: 220
• Publication Date: 2017-01
• Subjects: Safety performance measurement -- Leading indicator -- Lagging indicator -- Multivariate analysis -- Incident cycle -- Construction; Industrial accidents -- Periodicals; Accident Prevention -- Periodicals; Safety -- Periodicals; Travail -- Accidents -- Périodiques; 363.11
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ssci.2016.08.020
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0925-7535

Abstract

Highlights: Safety indicator data was analysed to examine the relationships between indicators over time. Indicators presumed to be leading both led and lagged the total recordable injury rate. Complex inter-relationships were found between different safety indicators. A reciprocal relationship between safety activity and the total recordable injury rate was found. Abstract: Safety performance data collected over a five year period, at a large Australian infrastructure project was analysed. The analysis examined the temporal relationships between the safety performance indicators measured at the project, including traditional lagging indicators, as well as expected leading indicators. The purpose of the research was to uncover time dependent relationships and explore causal relationships between indicators. The analysis revealed complex interactions between safety indicators over time. Notably, the expected leading indicators behaved as both leading and lagging indicators in relation to the project total recordable injury frequency rate. This finding suggested a cyclical relationship between management actions relating to safety and the rate of safety incidents. This cyclical relationship is unlikely to produce long term sustained improvement in safety performance. The expected leading indicators of safety were also inter-related with one another in complex ways. The results indicate that assumptions underpinning the use of leading indicators should be reconsidered. In particular, the findings challenge the assumption that leading indicators measured at one point in time can predict safety outcomes at a subsequent point in time. The collection and use of different types of safety indicator data should be reconsidered.