A new ASTM International subcommittee has been created to develop standards that will be meaningful and accurate performance indicators to measure work-related injury and illness performance throughout the world. Subcommittee E34.55 on Occupational Safety and Health Performance Improvement is under the jurisdiction of ASTM International Committee E34 on Occupational Health and Safety.
“Measuring safety performance is difficult because there is not a good system of leading indicators and the lagging indicators or injury rates are often complicated, subjective and unrelated to performance,” says Thomas Slavin, global safety and health director, Navistar Inc., and vice chairman, E34. Slavin says that the first standard to be developed by E34.55 will address a global method for recording work related injuries and illnesses.
“Several countries have established rules for recording work related injuries and illnesses that vary widely and are not comparable,” says Slavin. “For example, there are significant differences in recording commuting injuries and injuries that result in time off work or change in assignment. Moreover, record-keeping systems that are designed for statistical purposes can differ from those that evaluate safety program performance and are often complicated by issues of fault, preventability and compensability.”
The initial proposed standard to be developed by the subcommittee, ASTM WK33270, Guide for Recording Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, will define work-related injuries and illnesses in a way that can be easily understood across countries, that are related to safety management systems and that can be used to evaluate and compare safety programs.
All interested parties, particularly representatives of global companies, are invited to join E34.55. “In addition, we would like involvement from the public sector, professional safety and industrial hygiene organizations and employee representatives,” says Slavin.
ASTM International welcomes and encourages participation in the development of its standards. For more information on becoming an ASTM member, visit www.astm.org/JOIN.
Technical Contact: Thomas Slavin, Navistar Inc., Chicago, Ill., Phone: 312-836-3929; tom.slavin@navistar.com
ASTM Staff Contact: Kevin Shanahan, Phone: 610-832-9737; kshanaha@astm.org
ASTM PR Contact: Barbara Schindler, Phone: 610-832-9603; bschindl@astm.org
Release #8871