Leading Indicator
A leading indicator is a proactive safety metric that measures activities and conditions that prevent incidents, such as training completion rates, inspection frequency and near-miss reports.
What Is a Leading Indicator?
Leading indicators are forward-looking metrics that measure the inputs to your safety program - the activities and behaviours that prevent incidents. They contrast with lagging indicators, which measure outcomes after they have occurred (injury rates, lost-time incidents).
Examples of Leading Indicators
- Number of safety inspections completed per month
- Percentage of workers with current safety training
- Near-miss reporting rate
- Toolbox talk frequency and attendance
- Corrective action close-out rate
- BBS observation frequency
- Percentage of JHAs reviewed and current
Why Leading Indicators Matter
Lagging indicators tell you what already went wrong; leading indicators tell you whether you are doing enough to prevent the next incident. Organizations that track leading indicators consistently see improvements in lagging indicators over time.
Track Leading Indicators with Make Safety Easy
Make Safety Easy dashboards display leading indicators in real time: inspection completion rates, training status, open corrective actions and near-miss trends - giving safety leaders actionable insight.