There is a growing urgency in our industry. While total recordable rates may fluctuate, the needle on Serious Injuries and Fatalities (SIFs) has remained stubbornly difficult to move. At ASSP, we aren’t just observing this trend; we want to neutralize it.

We’ve heard the questions from the field regarding how the Society is addressing SIFs. The answer lies in a paradigm shift: moving away from reactive and toward the proactive, powered action required of today’s safety and health leaders.

The Evolution of the "Lethal Leader"

To conquer SIFs, we must address the "lethal leaders," those top workplace hazards that have the highest potential for catastrophic outcomes. Traditional metrics like the Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR) often act as a veil, showing "good" numbers while high-risk precursors remain hidden in the shadows.

The ANSI/ASSP Z16.1-2022 standard was built specifically to balance the scorecard to move occupational safety and health excellence forward.  It guides the focus from minor, high-frequency incidents to the high-gravity risks that lead to life-altering events.

Does Z16 Truly Cover SIFs?

Absolutely. While some have asked why the standard doesn't offer a single, rigid definition of a SIF, the reason is strategic: flexibility drives impact.

• Risk-Based Precision: Z16.1 emphasizes tracking SIF precursors, those "near-miss" high-risk situations where a fatality could have occurred, even if no one was hurt.
• A Balanced Approach: We utilize a three-pillar system to provide a 360-degree view of risk:
  • Leading Metrics: Proactive hazard identification and training to stop a SIF before it starts.
  • Lagging Metrics: Tracking actual SIF occurrences to understand and break the chain of trends.
  • Impact Metrics: Quantifying the true business and operational "catastrophic costs" associated with SIFs.
• Universal Application: Because the standard focuses on the process of measurement rather than a prescriptive outcome, it is applicable to every organization, from small businesses to global enterprises.

Join the Movement

We aren't just creating documents; we are gathering leaders dedicated to ending workplace fatalities once and for all. If you are ready to move beyond "counting accidents" and start managing risk, there is a seat for you at the table.

Take your next step with us:

• Educate Your Team: Check out the available resources:
  • A Model for Defining Serious Injuries & Fatalities:  By Arnaldo Bayona, Siddharth Bhandari, Matthew Hallowell, Fred Sherratt, Jennifer M. Bailey and James Upton Jr.
  •  Confronting Serious Injuries & Fatalities (SIFs): Lessons From Data & Experience
  •  Three Keys to Preventing Serious Injuries and Fatalities, May 2021
  •  Episode 76: How the Z16 Standard Can Help You Improve Metrics and Performance Measures
  • Leading With Safety and Health Metrics
  • Benchmarking Panel on Serious Injuries and Fatalities (SIFs)
  • Serious Injuries and Fatalities: What’s the Problem and What Can You Do About It?
• Implement Change: Leverage the Z16.1 framework to identify the "lethal leaders" in your own operations today.
• Join our Standards-Based User Groups (SBUGs)
  • For those ready to lead the industry, we have launched Standards-Based User Groups (SBUGs). These practitioner-led, cross-sector communities are designed to move beyond simple compliance and toward strategic, data-informed business performance. By joining an SBUG, you can participate in real-world validation of standards, gain access to ROI benchmarking, and collaborate with peers on focus areas like AI in Safety, Fall Protection, and Lockout/Tagout (LOTO).
  • To find more information on how to join an SBUG and help us decrease SIFs through collective data and shared expertisepage.

Together, we can shift the industry from tracking failures to powered, life-saving action.