Vision zero: Developing proactive leading indicators for safety, health and wellbeing at work

Abstract

The importance of leading occupational safety and health (OSH) indicators in complementing lagging indicators is an emerging topic for the promotion of a prevention culture in organizations. The purpose of this paper is to describe the development process of a set of proactive leading indicators for safety, health and wellbeing (SHW) at work, which was carried out as part of the International Social Security Association’s (ISSA) Vision Zero strategy. Principles of integrated knowledge transfer and exchange between research, policy and practice were followed in both the conception and development phases, and a mixed methods approach was applied across four stages consisting of: a literature review and input from industry; a quantitative evaluation through an online survey; a qualitative evaluation through feedback from organizational representatives and key stakeholders; and a consensus building workshop with the ISSA Steering Committee. A set of fourteen indicators was developed to complement the ISSA Vision Zero strategy, two in relation to each of its seven golden rules for promoting SHW at work. The indicators deal with integrating each aspect of SHW in e.g. visible and competent leadership, procurement, pre-work briefings, evaluating risk management and targeted programmes, learning from unplanned events, innovation and change, work organization, onboarding and refresher training. Results can be presented qualitatively and quantitatively as e.g. ‘yes’ or ‘no’ responses, on a Likert or continuum (five–point) scale, or with frequencies and percentages. The indicators are designed for use by both small and large organizations across all sectors, and can be used for benchmarking and as key performance indicators. They are not only intended to better direct and control SHW processes, but also to support the development of a prevention culture. Recommendations are provided on how the indicators can be refined and improved through future research.

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