How is a Safety Score calculated?

Introduction

The Highwire safety score is central to a contractor’s success. For clients, it is one of the very first data points that they see. For contractors, it is their first indication of how they measure up against their peers in the industry and how they may be viewed by their clients.

The Highwire safety score ranges from 0 to 100. Lagging indicators, which cover past performance, account for 55% of the score. Leading indicators, which reflect your current safety programs, account for 45% of the score.

 

Lagging Indicators - 55% of the Safety Score

Lagging Indicators include EMR, DART Cases, Recordable Cases, fatalities, and OSHA citations. These factors indicate past safety performance; as such, there is no opportunity to improve your score as it relates to your lagging indicators.

*Please note: With each new year comes a new set of safety data. At the start of each year, Highwire will update the Injury & Illness page to allow you to enter your latest safety data. If there is a decrease in the number of injuries and illnesses compared to previous years, your score may improve.

The following data is uploaded to the Injury & Illness section of your profile and is found in your OSHA 300A forms and EMR Verification Letters.

  • Experience Modification Rating (EMR)
    • Average over the last three years
    • EMR averages are calculated and compared against the insurance benchmark of 1.0. An EMR average of less than 0.6 receives 10 points, while an average of 1.5 or greater receives 0 points.
  • Days Away, Restricted Duty, or Job Transfer (DART)
    • Average of the total cases for the last three years
    • A DART average of less than 60% of the industry average receives 15 points, while an average greater than 200% receives 0 points.
  • Recordable Cases
    • Average of the total cases for the last three years
    • A Recordable Cases average of less than 60% of the industry average receives 15 points, while an average greater than 200% receives 0 points.
  • Fatalities
    • Total number over the last three years
    • Each fatality results in a 10-point deduction
  • OSHA Experience
    • Highwire will regularly check OSHA’s database for citations reported against your company. Any citations that occurred within the last three years will impact your score.

By collecting the above data, Highwire calculates your average Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR) and average DART Rate over the three-year period. These averages are then compared to the most recent industry averages published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics for each trade division and sub-trade.

 

International Contractors

If your company is located outside the USA, the Dashboard and Injury & Illness pages may vary in terminology used, but scores are still calculated using three-year averages. For more information on the Injury & Illness pages for contractors outside of the USA, view the help articles linked below:

 

Leading Indicators - 45% of the Safety Score or 45 Points

Leading Indicators are proactive and preventive measures that may help improve your score. Your score in this area is determined by your answers to the questions asked in the Management Systems, Program Elements, and Advanced Initiatives sections. This is an opportunity to highlight the strength of your company’s safety program.

Documentation is required for affirmative responses to the questions in the aforementioned sections. A satisfactory response must be able to meet any or all of the following requirements:

Program Elements
This section presents a series of questions related to the programs contractors have in place to address specific hazards and activities. An example question:

“Are your employees EVER required to enter or work around trenches or excavations?”

Contractors are expected to have programs in place to address activities and hazards that are relevant to their scope of work. Using the above question as an example, a flooring contractor or painter is not expected to have an excavation and trenching program.

For any questions that do not apply to your company’s scope of work, select the third answer available, “This hazard/activity is not applicable to our scope of work,” and enter a brief explanation in the corresponding text box.

Management Systems
This section presents a series of questions relating to the policies, procedures, and practices companies have in place to address the following:

  • Successful execution of safety programs
  • Leadership involvement in safety
  • Employee onboarding and training
  • Team member performance accountability and evaluation

An example question:

“Does your company have a defined employee training and development program or process for workforce, foremen/supervisors, and managers?”

Management Systems questions are weighted more heavily than Program Elements. Without adequate management systems, it is very difficult for companies to execute essential programs such as fall protection and confined space entry, among others.

Advanced Initiatives
This section presents a series of questions relating to proactive strategies and programs your company may have in place to enhance the level of safety in your company.

An example question:

“Does your company have a ‘Return-to-Work’ program for employees who have been injured?”

Other questions center around substance abuse prevention programs and any special memberships/partnerships with OSHA, such as VPP and SHARP.

 

Requesting a Review from Our Team of CSPs

If you believe that your uploaded documentation sufficiently addresses one or more discrepancies, you can request that Highwire conduct an additional review.

To expedite the review of your documentation, provide the following information to support@highwire.com:

  1. Reference the specific deduction/question you would like us to review.

  2. Provide the file name of the uploaded document where the content can be reviewed.

  3. Provide the page number(s) where the content can be reviewed.

As an example: “Management Systems, Question 1, Safety Manual pages 3 through 5”

A manual review of the documentation can take a few business days for our Certified Safety Professionals to complete. We will notify you via email when this review is completed.

If you do not have a program to support the discrepancy, you can visit this help article for guidance on what a typical safety program should include and for guidance on the importance of safety management systems: Elements of a Safety Program.

Please feel free to contact us by clicking the Help Icon at the top right of your profile.

 

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