New Voluntary Consensus Standard

The American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP) has published a new voluntary consensus standard for measuring health and safety performance, updating the version first released in the 1960s, known as the “Method of Recording and Measuring Work Injury Experience.” The new standard addresses the challenges with performance measurement and provides a roadmap for occupational safety professionals to establish a methodology that considers their organization’s unique needs.

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI)/ASSP Z16.1-2022, Safety and Health Metrics and Performance Measures, updates the old standard (ANSI Z16.1). The Z16.1-2022 standard can supplement requirements from government agencies, non-government organizations, and other groups such as rating agencies that may have their own private or public reporting requirements. It applies to all organizations and provides flexibility based on their size, type of management system, and level of organizational risk.

According to ASSP, the Z16.1-2022 standard balances risk management factors and safety management systems by incorporating leading, lagging, and impact metrics. Lagging metrics include after-the-fact data, like OSHA injury and illness statistics. Leading indicators track preventive measures, which ASSP considers predictive and incentivizing.

“We need a complete, systematic method to influence what happens while understanding how and why it happens. This standard’s balanced approach measures actions that drive improvement. It’s a major development that can help businesses thrive, especially in today’s challenging environment,” Alexi Carli, MS, CSP, chair of the Z16 committee, said in a statement.

ASSP describes the Z16.1 standard as defining “requirements and expectations for organizations to establish effective measurement systems that assess safety and health performance, reduce risks, identify gaps in safety and health management systems, and drive needed improvements.”