Understanding and effectively managing workplace safety metrics is crucial for ensuring the well-being of employees and the overall success of your company. And Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR) is one of them.
In this article, we will explore the concept of TRIR and its significance in safety assessment, and discuss the methodology for calculating TRIR and whether safety management software can help you with it.
Contents:
What Is TRIR?
Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR) is a standardized safety metric that calculates the number of recordable workplace incidents per 100 full-time employees in a given period, usually a year.
As defined by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA), recordable incidents include work-related injuries and illnesses that result in death, days away from work, restricted work activity or job transfer, medical treatment beyond first aid, loss of consciousness, or a significant injury or illness diagnosed by a healthcare professional.
Why Does TRIR Matter?
TRIR serves as a critical indicator of a company’s safety performance. By tracking and analyzing TRIR, companies can:
- Identify trends in workplace injuries and illnesses
- Benchmark safety performance against industry standards
- Prioritize targeted safety improvement initiatives
- Fulfill regulatory reporting requirements
Taking actionable steps to improve the company’s TRIR creates a safe working environment, improving your reputation in the eyes of employees, investors and customers.
Note #1: for safety officers: OSHA tracks TRIR, as well as DART rate, for some industries. Your company may have to submit an annual TRIR OSHA report, depending on the sector.
Note #2: Using dedicated digital tools like Fluix for creating, submitting and storing your safety reports cand save you much time and prevent issues with regulators.
Read more: Paper vs. digital: why it’s more secure to manage your safety documentation with software
How Companies Calculate TRIR
The TRIR calculation involves a basic formula.
To find what is TRIR, divide the total number of recordable incidents by the total number of hours worked by all employees during the reporting period.
Make sure to omit vacation, holiday, sick time and other forms of leave when figuring out the total number of work hours for this calculation.
After you divide, multiply the result by 200,000. The number 200,000 represents the equivalent of 100 employees working 40 hours a week for 50 weeks a year, providing a standardized measure for comparison.
Let’s look at an example calculation. Suppose a company has 10 recordable incidents in a year with 500,000 total employee hours. The TRIR would be:
- 10/500,000 = 0.00002
- 0.00002 x 200,000 = 4
The company’s annual TRIR is four recordable incidents for every 100 full-time employees.
What Is a Good TRIR?
Returning to the example above, is 4 a “good” TRIR? The answer varies by industry since different types of businesses carry different levels of risk.
In general, your company can strive toward a TRIR lower than the average for your market. The best strategy? Try to bring your TRIR as close to zero as possible, indicating that you’ve taken effective steps to protect your employees.
You can use your North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code to check your company’s TRIR against the industry average. The average TRIR for all private industries is 2.7. Manufacturing has a slightly higher incident rate of 3.2, and the rate for construction drops to 2.4.
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How TRIR Tracking Can Drive Positive Safety Change
Like critical safety measures (for example, lost time incident rate) TRIR is more than just a metric to collect and report. You can use this measure as a tool to drive continuous safety improvement. Consider these ideas as you build and enhance your company’s safety program.
Identify Patterns and Root Causes
By analyzing incidents contributing to the TRIR, companies can identify patterns such as a common underlying cause of injuries or illnesses. This analysis allows your safety management team to target specific areas for improvement, improving the efficacy of your efforts while saving time and money.
Enhance Safety Training and Awareness
Understanding the types of incidents that occur most frequently guides the development of customized safety training programs. Safety awareness campaign can focus on preventing the most frequent types of incidents rather than spending time on topics that don’t necessarily reduce injuries and illnesses.
Implement Preventative Measures
With the data derived from TRIR calculations, businesses can take steps to remove the specific risks identified. This proactive approach significantly reduces the likelihood of future incidents.
According to Associated Builders and Contractors data, construction companies can reduce TRIR by an average of 64% by tracking and reviewing proactive safety steps. Examples include behavior-based safety observations, new-hire safety orientation and employee education programs.
As a result, your TRIR will decrease, lowering the risk of regulatory complaints, inspections and associated financial penalties. A lower incident rate can also qualify you for lower business and workers’ comp insurance premiums, an additional cost savings.
Set Safety Goals
TRIR provides a quantifiable metric you can use to set safety goals and measure progress, and include in safety audits. It also serves as a benchmark to compare your company’s safety performance against industry averages and best practices. By aiming to lower the TRIR each year, you’ll drive continuous safety improvements toward an ultimate goal of zero incidents.
Engage Employees
Sharing TRIR data with employees involves them in the company’s safety culture. Employees are more likely to participate actively in safety programs and initiatives when they feel engaged and understand the impact of their actions on improvement of workplace safety.
Managing Safety Metrics with Digital Solutions
Now that you understand what is TRIR, it’s time to leverage this important metric to your advantage.
We at Fluix can help with it. Fluix is a workflow automation tool that gives all the necessary tools your teams need to stay on top of this number and take action to reduce incidents. With features like customizable checklist templates, report submissions, and automated approval workflows, you can proactively address safety concerns and minimize incidents, ultimately improving your TRIR performance.
