How to Calculate the OSHA Recordable Rate

The OSHA recordable rate is, in its simplest terms, the injury and illness rates that are used to evaluate a company's safety measures. An incidence rate is the number of recordable injuries and illness that occur among a certain number of full-time workers during a specified period of time, often one year. This number is then used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics to determine the rate of accidents and illnesses by category, such as industry, company size and region.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• OSHA form 300, or 300A

1. Calculate the number of total recordable injuries and illnesses, by counting the number of entries on the OSHA form 300. Alternatively, you may also get this figure by locating the entries for columns (G), (H), (I) and (J).

2. Determine the total number of work hours. This is the total number of hours worked during the whole year, found on OSHA form 300A.

3. Work out the DART rate. DART is an acronym for Days Away, Restricted, or Job Transferred. Determine the number of line entries which are checked off in columns (H) and (I) on form 300A. The DART rate can be calculated by using the standard formula of (N/EH) X 200,000, where N= number of injuries and or illnesses, with days away, restricted work or transfer and EH= total number of hours worked by all employees during the calendar year. The 200,000 represents the base figure for 100 full-time employees.

Tips & Warnings

• Contact OSHA at (800) 321-OSHA if you have any questions or concerns about calculating the OSHA recordable rate for your company.
• When calculating the recordable rate, the total number of employees doesn't matter. The important figures are the number of injuries and the total number of hours worked.

References

• OSHATrain.org
• OSHA-based Incident Rates

Resources

• Occupational Safety and Health Administration

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