What is the DART rate, and how do you calculate it?
So many metrics serve as key performance indicators in the workplace. You use this key performance indicator to track your progress while working in a workplace. Many safety key performance indicators exist, such as TRIR, LTI, LTIFR, etc. And the DART rate is one of them.
What is the DART rate?
As one of the key performance indicators, DART rate is designed to track any OSHA-recordable workplace injury and illness resulting in time away from work, restricted job roles, or an employee’s permanent transfer to a new position.
The DART is an Acronym for Days Away, Restricted, or Transferred.
The DART rate mainly measures the effectiveness of a safety management program and the impact of incidence on the overall organization’s performance.
DART rate Vs. TRIR.
- DART rate and TRIR are not the same, but the DART rate provides more insight into the effect of the incidents on the organization than the TRIR. TRIR means total recordable incident rate.
- DART rate will always consider the incident that takes the worker away or restricts the worker or the incident that transferred the worker from their normal Duty to another Duty.
- TRIR is expected to be higher than the DART .
- TRIR uses total recordable incidents, but the DART rate uses an unlimited number of incidents that made workers stay away from work, restricted them from Duty, or transferred them to another job.
How do you calculate the DART rate?
The DART rate is calculated using the following formula below.
A total number of OSHA recordable injuries and illnesses resulted in days away, restricted, and transferred x 200000 divided by employee hours worked.
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For example, Company ABC had a lost time incident 10 (Days away, restricted, and transferred) within a year. The company had 1,000 employees working for 40 hours each every week.
The DART rate is 10 x 200000 / 50 weeks x 40 x 1000 = 0.01.
The 200,000 in the formula represents 100 employees working 40 hours a week for 50 weeks. If you check from the formula, this 200 000 is divided by the total number of hours the workers worked within that year.
How does OSHA see the DART rate?
DART rate is an important metric that gives an idea about what is happening in a company. For instance, if a high-risk industry records a relatively high rate, this may indicate little of a problem. But when a low-risk company, for example, an office area, has a high rate of DART, this is a big sign that that company needs to take serious steps to address the problem.
What is a good DART rate?
Because Industries are different, there is no way that DART rates will be the same. Some Industries have a higher risk than others. However, many organizations compare themselves to others with the same NAICS code to determine a good DART score.
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