What I and my OHS colleagues found peculiar at Day One of the Safety In Action Conference was that most of the CEO presenters continued to use LTIFRs (Lost Time Injury Frequency Rates) as the primary safety performance indicator.
In Australian OHS fields, LTIFR has been established as an inaccurate indicator of safety performance but, apparently, it is the indicator that Board members like.
At lunch Michael Thompson of the ASSE said that the continuing prevalence of LTIFR is our fault, the fault of OHS advisers. We have allowed LTIFR to persist far beyond their relevance and use. I think he is probably right as OHS organisations have not pushed alternatives or educated the MBAs and future directors.
The use of Positive Performance indicators has been the way forward for some time. It was sad that PPIs weren’t emphasised more in the CEO stream of Day One.