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There are a variety of ways to track and benchmark your progress at safety initiatives; days without injury, the amount of employees who have completed training and, of course, how many overall injuries your company experiences in a month or year. One statistic that OSHA keeps track of, and therefore you should too, is your DART rate.
What is a DART Rate?
DART rate stands for days away, restrictions or transfers. The higher the amount of incidents that require days away from work, job restrictions or job transfers, the higher your DART rate will be. OSHA uses your DART rate and your incident rate to statistically compare your company’s workplace safety performance with that of other businesses. This helps them identify workplaces with high rates of injury and illness.
Why Your DART Rate is Important
Like your incidence rate, which is based on how many incidents per year per 100 employees you have, your DART rate gives an idea to how well your company is performing in workplace safety. If your business is considered to have a high DART rate compared to others in your industry, it can be included on OSHA’s primary target list, or “hit list.” The businesses on this list are principal targets for a comprehensive OSHA inspection.
How DART Rates are Calculated
To calculate the DART rate, first you’ll need to find out the total number of injuries that required at least one day away from work or restricted or transferred work. The number of injuries is multiplied by 200,000, which represents 100 employees working 40 hours a week, for 50 weeks. Then that number is divided by the total number of employee labor hours at your company. The overall formula looks like this:
DART rate = (Total number of DART incidents x 200,000) / Number of Employee Labor Hours Worked
You may be able to defer an inspection if your company finds yourself in this position. If your business has an OSHA Strategic Partnership, is taking part in an On-Site Consultation Program, is an applicant for a Voluntary Protection Program or is in the process of meeting Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP) requirements, you may be able to get an inspection deferral for 75 days to 18 months.
Calculating and taking notice of your DART rate is a good way to monitor how your business is doing on safety compared to years past, as well. Setting a goal of lower DART and incidence rates can help set a benchmark for risk and safety managers.
Contact The Safegard Group, Inc. for help calculating, monitoring and reducing your rate.