What is the formula for calculating incident rates?

The formula for calculating incident rates is crucial for understanding workplace safety performance. The correct formula is based on the number of incidents, adjusted for a standardized number of hours worked to allow for fair comparison across different sizes of organizations or different industries.

In this context, the formula is represented as the number of incidents multiplied by 200,000, and then divided by the total employee hours worked. The reason for using 200,000 hours is that this figure represents a base of 100 full-time equivalent employees working 40 hours a week for 50 weeks a year (100 x 40 x 50 = 200,000). This standardization helps organizations assess their safety performance against the national rate, facilitating benchmarking and trend analysis.

Using this formula allows companies to calculate a rate that reflects how many incidents occur per 100 full-time workers over a set period, which can drive improvements and foster a safer work environment.