1. What is OSHA Severity Rate?

The OSHA Severity Rate is a safety metric that measures the severity of workplace injuries and illnesses by calculating the number of lost workdays per 200,000 employee hours worked.

2. How Does the Calculator Work?

The calculator uses the OSHA Severity Rate formula:

Where:

• \( Days \) — Total days lost due to work-related injuries or illnesses
• \( Hours \) — Total hours worked by all employees during the period
• 200,000 — Base for 100 full-time equivalent workers (50 weeks × 40 hours × 100 workers)

Explanation: The rate standardizes injury severity across different sized workforces, allowing for meaningful comparisons.

3. Importance of Severity Rate

Details: The severity rate helps organizations assess the impact of workplace injuries, prioritize safety improvements, and benchmark against industry standards.

4. Using the Calculator

Tips: Enter total days lost and total hours worked. Days can be decimal (e.g., 3.5 days). Hours must be greater than zero.

5. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1: What's a good severity rate?
A: Lower is better. Industry averages vary, but rates below 50 are generally considered good for most industries.

Q2: How does this differ from OSHA incident rate?
A: Incident rate counts number of injuries, while severity rate measures days lost per injury.

Q3: What counts as "days lost"?
A: Calendar days (including weekends) the employee was unable to work due to the injury or illness.

Q4: Should restricted work days be included?
A: No, only days when the employee was completely unable to work. Restricted days are tracked separately.

Q5: What time period should be used?
A: Typically calculated annually, but can be used for any period (monthly, quarterly) for trend analysis.