This document discusses key considerations for developing performance indicators and executive reporting on health and safety. It addresses who needs information, what decisions they need to make, and what data is relevant. The challenges of measuring injury performance and selecting appropriate key performance indicators are explored. Effective indicators should focus on both leading and lagging measures, implementation as well as effectiveness of controls, and different levels from operations to the board. The importance of asking the right questions to identify useful information for important decisions is emphasized.
3. Informing Important Decisions
To identify information that is useful we must ask the
right questions
o Who needs information?
o Why – what problems are they trying to address?
o What decisions do they need to make?
o What data is relevant for informing those decisions?
o Are valid measures available? Can they be
measured reliably?
5. Information – who needs it?
Source: O’Neill & Wolfe: Measuring and Reporting on Work Health and Safety (2017),
Safe Work Australia, Australian Government. See:https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/
TOUNDERSTANDPERFORMANCE
TOCHANGEPERFORMANCE
6. Report – What?
To the Editor of the National Observer: 13
June 1891
“Sir, it has been wittily remarked that there are
three kinds of falsehood:
The first is a fib;
The second is a downright lie; and
The third and most aggravated is statistics.”
7. Officer’s due diligence – what do they need to
know?
Risk Knowledge:
» Ensure officers understand the risk picture of the
operations and the factors that influence risk (including
corporate/strategic decisions)
Resource, implement and evaluate controls:
» Verify that risk controls have been identified, approved,
implemented and are effective
» Management reports – focus on critical controls
Verify compliance:
» HOC principles, work is safe and healthy
» If not – consequences (injuries, legal, costs)
9. Contemporary WHS KPI’s – what is the problem?
1. Overly focussed on injury outcomes and the
wrong measures of injury
2. Positive performance measures are under-
developed and under-utilised
3. Reviewed too infrequently to ensure they remain
useful
10. Measuring Injury and Illness – what is the
challenge?
Measurement: a subjective process through which conceptual
qualities (eg objects, activities and events are) are quantified -
translated to numbers…
…the conceptual qualities that we quantify are not only similar, but by
being counted are deemed identical. (Robson, 1992)
(Ac)counting creates a picture of reality that may (not), represent reality
due to many subjective choices as to what is to be measured and
reported (i.e. made visible) and what is to be ignored (and thus
rendered invisible).
12. Does classification matter?
O’Neill, S & Wolfe, K, Issues in the Measurement and reporting of WHS, performance: a
review (Canberra, Safe Work Australia, 2013)
15. Can you make it become real?
Class
Category
Coding
Class 1
Class 2
Class 3
Class 4
16. Can you focus on WHS outcomes in isolation?
Lack of context
– Makes it difficult to
understand outcomes
– Disregards the role WHS
management and governance
play in ensuring WHS
– Can lead to critical issues
being overlooked
– Can result in dysfunctional
decisions and consequences
17. How do we respond to the risk?
• Choice of strategy is restricted by law
• Reduced role of cost benefit analysis
Avoid Reduce Transfer Accept
18. Measuring Performance – what is the challenge?
Hazard/risk recognition is guided by:
• Level of WHS understanding
• Sophistication of WHS processes and systems
Immature: reactive, resistant, compliance
Developing: informing, toward improvement
Maturing: proactive, learning, continuous improvement
19. Measuring Performance – what is the challenge?
Data collection is guided by:
• Quantitative vs Qualitative data
• Sophistication of your WHS system
Immature: reactive, resistant, compliance
Developing: informing, toward improvement
Maturing: proactive, learning, continuous improvement
20. Decisions – what information is needed?
Who needs WHS data to inform decisions?
What questions need to be answered?
What aspects of performance need to be
understood?
Is there a KPI
that can
represent that
aspect of
performance
Can that KPI be
measured in a
valid and
reliable way?WHS KPI
Source: O’Neill S, Driving WHS Performance: How the Choice
of lead and lag KPIs influence WHS outcomes
22. What to measure?
Implementation or effectiveness
Lead KPI
# investigations
completed
# staff consulted
% machines guarded
# completed
WHS Control
Hierarchy of control
Consultation
Guarding
Risk Register
Lag KPI
# machine-body incidents
# staff suggestions adopted
% corrective actions at HOC
level 1
%reviewed to schedule
Implementation
Effectiveness
32. How do I create something out of nothing?
I think it is by questioning. Amy Tan
33. Source documents
• Mauboussin MJ , True Measure of Success (Harvard Business review Oct 2012)
• ONeill, S, Driving WHS performance: How the choice of lead and lag KPI’s influence WHS outcomes?
(Presentation MSD Symposium 2016)
• O’Neill S, The Business Case for Safe, Healthy and Productive Work, (Canberra, Safe Work Australia,
2014)
• O’Neill, McDonald and Deegan , Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal 2015
• O’Neill, S & Wolfe, K, Measuring and reporting on work health & safety, (Canberra, Safe Work Australia,
2017)
• O’Neill, S & Wolfe, K, Issues in the Measurement and reporting of WHS, performance: a review
(Canberra, Safe Work Australia, 2013)
• Prior, M, ANSTO Event reports (unpublished)
• Pryor, P., Capra, M. (2012). Foundation Science. (In HaSPA (Health and Safety Professionals Alliance),
The Core Body of Knowledge for Generalist OHS Professionals. Tullamarine, VIC. Safety Institute of
Australia.)
• Hopkins, A., Toohey, J., Stacy, R., Else, D (2012) The Organisation (In HaSPA (Health and Safety
Professionals Alliance), The Core Body of Knowledge for Generalist OHS Professionals. Tullamarine,
VIC. Safety Institute of Australia.)