What is Accident frequency rate?
Accident frequency rate or “AFR” is a key safety metric that allows businesses to measure the number and likelihood of accidents that happen over a specific period of time. Understanding the accident frequency rate in different areas of your organisation makes it easier to assess how safe your workplace is overall. It can highlight where safety processes could be improved and show you where you could save time and money through more proactive action.
When an accident is reported properly, this will impact your accident frequency rate number. Over time, with accurate reporting, you can see whether your accident frequency rate goes up or down. This can help show where you can take targeted action to improve safety in particular teams or departments, either via training or by improving procedures. The accident frequency rate can also call attention to longer-term trends to give you a holistic view of your organisations safety performance vs industry benchmarks.
How do you calculate the accident frequency rate?
Calculating the accident frequency rate in your workplace is fairly straightforward. Firstly, you need the number of accidents that have happened within a given timeframe – often one year. Multiply this number by 200,000 and then divide that total by the number of employee hours worked within the timeframe. This will give you an annual accident frequency rate per 100 employees, which is a standard rate of measurement for several important safety outcomes.
What is an example of an accident frequency rate?
Let’s look at an example of an accident frequency rate. An organisation records a total of 15 accidents that have happened within the last twelve months. Multiplying this number by 200,000 and then dividing by a total of 150,000 employee working hours across the year gives an accident frequency rate of 20. A total of 3 reported accidents in a year for the same size of organisation would result in a frequency rate of 4.
How can you combat a high accident frequency rate?
Of course, every organisation should aim for as low an accident frequency rate as possible. If your organisation is struggling with a higher rate, there are steps you can take to positively impact that number. Dealing with hazards before they escalate is crucial. Encouraging a culture of proactive and timely reporting of hazards and near-misses will help raise awareness of potential issues, making your teams and their environment safer.
When it comes to managing any aspect of workplace safety, good employee engagement is a central piece of the puzzle. Regular staff training is important to ensure that everyone knows how to carry out their roles and responsibilities with confidence. Ensuring your teams know who to come to with questions or suggestions about health and safety is also key. Open channels of communication, where employees feel like their suggestions are properly listened to and acted on, will always have a positive impact on reducing the rate of accidents in your workplace.
How can Notify help you manage your accident frequency rate?
Notify Technology’s customisable safety software can make managing your workplace health and safety easier than ever. When it comes to your accident frequency rate, Notify’s native mobile app enables your team to proactively report hazards and near-misses from wherever they work. Managers and your Health and Safety Teams will be notified in real time, meaning they can respond and implement corrective actions more quickly, before an accident occurs.
With Notify, you can also see all of your reporting data in one place with your own health and safety dashboard. This helps you quickly spot trends and take action before issues develop into serious incidents, keeping your accident frequency rate low. What’s more, Notify’s software takes your reporting and automatically calculates your accident frequency rate, ensuring data accuracy and saving you time. From incident reporting to full health and safety audits, Notify is your digital partner in making everyone happier, healthier and safer at work. Get in touch to find out more about how Notify can help manage and reduce your accident frequency rate, as well as other important health and safety indicators, with a free software demo.