TRIR - total recordable incident rate - has long served as the standard metric for tracking workplace injuries. However, events with the potential to result in a serious injury and fatality - or SIF-potential - demand more attention than standard metrics provide. While TRIR has long been used as a benchmark for safety performance, it doesn’t reflect the presence of high-risk exposures that could lead to life-altering or fatal outcomes. TRIR remains a key safety metric, but recognizing and responding to SIF-potential events is essential for organizations committed to true safety excellence.

A Tale of Two Projects
For example, look at how an overreliance on TRIR can impact two separate jobsites. Both projects have worked 150,000 hours with a significant amount of high-risk activities including site work, steel erection, precast concrete and curtain wall installation.

Reprinted courtesy of David Tibbetts, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved.