Safety performance and its measurement: An empirical study concerning leading and lagging indicators

Abstract

When it comes to Safety Performance measurement, the literature has identified two types of indicators, the "leading" and the "lagging". This study aims to identify if there's any correlation between two "leading" indicators and the number of accidents reported (i.e. lagging indicator). The sample is composed by 174 participants who had management/supervisor responsibilities. Most of them had more than 40 years old, were college educated and almost half worked in medium-size to large companies in the industrial sector. The results obtained don't allow us to establish a significant link between the indicators considered.