Measuring operational performance of OSH management system – A demonstration of AHP-based selection of leading key performance indicators

Occupational safety and health management systems (OSH MSs) have been implemented in numerous enterprises worldwide since the mid-1980s. While stakeholders still have expectations on better prevention of occupational injuries and diseases, and on improving the working conditions, it suggest that new approaches are now needed to ensure OSH MS effectiveness, including development of new methods that would facilitate measurement of OHS MS operational status aimed at the genuine improvement of OSH management practices. A review of literature on leading pro-active safety performance indicators (PPIs) provided a rationale for a concept to elaborate a relatively small number of key performance indicators (KPIs) for measuring OSH MS operational performance. As a basis for this process an initial set of 109 PPIs was developed, composed of 20 sub-sets assigned respectively to individual OSH MS components. Next, for the selection of KPIs the method of the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was employed. The ranking and prioritization of leading performance indicators was made in relation to a set of SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound) criteria. The objective of this paper is to demonstrate the application of the AHP method for the selection of leading KPIs for measuring OSH MS operational performance. The proposed set of KPIs should be tailored to specific conditions of an enterprise, such as the size, industry sector, types of occurring hazards, or the maturity of OSH management processes.