Industry benchmarks
These statistical benchmarks can be used for the evaluation of the occupational safety and health performance of organisations. Definitions for the rates can be found beneath the table.
Industry benchmarks 2005/06 to 2007/08
The statistical benchmarks for this period can be downloaded as a PDF. Download [38kb PDF]
LTI/D = Lost time injury and disease
Frequency rate
The frequency rate is the number of lost time injuries and diseases for each one million hours worked. The formula used for calculating frequency rates is:
- Frequency rate = number of LTI/Ds / number of hours worked x 1,000,000
The number of hours worked is defined as the total number of hours worked by workers covered by the compensation system during this period. The hours worked are usually represented in millions.
Incident rate
The incidence rate is the number of lost time injuries and diseases for each one hundred workers employed. The formula used is:
- Incidence rate = number of LTI/Ds / number of workers x 100
The number of workers is defined as the average number of workers covered by the compensation system who worked during the relevant period. As a result of treating casual, seasonal and part and full-time workers equally, incidence rates can give misleading indications of relative risk. This is relevant to industries with high levels of part-time employment where the number of workers employed may be comparatively high but the actual exposure to hazards (reflected in actual hours worked) may be less.
Averages
Frequency and incidence rate averages are calculated by averaging the number of LTI/Ds and the number of employees/hours worked over three years, then applying the formulas to the averages.