Analysis of Safety Indicators in Construction

This paper shows the results from a study by Hancher and de la Garza and sponsored by the Construction Industry Institute (CII), which surveyed workers' compensation practices in the construction industry. The writers focus the analysis on four indicators of contractors' safety performance, i.e., the Experience Modification Rate (EMR), the Recordable Incident Rate (RIR), the Lost Time Incident Rate (LTIR), and the Workers' Compensation Claims Frequency Indicator (WCCFI). Written and/or phone surveys were conducted of 43 contractors [including both Construction Industry Institute (CII) and non-CII members], nine owners, fourteen insurance professionals, and over 1,600 construction workers, representing 36 states and 21 trades. The data presented in this paper reveal: (1) different OSHA incident rates for contractors who keep track of accidents versus those contractors who do not; (2) different EMR and RIR for small versus large contractors; and (3) a different WCCFI for union versus open shop contractors. The conclusion reads “what gets measured, gets improved.”