Reducing your lab’s overall injury and exposure rate

How can laboratories calculate their injury rate and use this to improve their safety programs?

Laboratories can use the following equation from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to calculate their overall injury and exposure rate: (Number of injuries and illnesses X 200,000) / Employee hours worked = Incidence rate)

This formula is known as the Total Case Incident Rate, and because it is a rate calculation, labs can use it over time to compare their data to national data or their own historical data no matter how lab or staffing size has changed over a time period.

If a laboratory calculates their rate for a given year of OSHA “recordable” incidents (i.e., those that require medical treatment beyond first aid, lost workdays, job restrictions, or transfers), they can then compare their data to national benchmarks. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS.gov) provides annual national recordable rate data for medical and diagnostic laboratories. This allows labs to compare their own annual rates with those of other reporting labs across the nation.

Using this benchmark data can help labs to identify safety issues in certain areas while also providing labs with a realistic goal to aim for. If your lab is performing better than the national rate in a particular area, then it is acceptable to focus on other areas of your lab safety program. If not, be sure to review the root causes of the incidents and look for common causes or repeat occurrences as well. Once these are identified you can create a focused action plan which is specifically designed to reduce those incidents in your lab.

Should a laboratory track injuries and exposures that may not be “recordable” under OSHA’s definition?

It is important to investigate all injuries and exposures that occur in the lab, not just those that are recordable. Slips, trips, and falls, for example, should have follow-up even if they don’t result in time lost or medical treatment. The downside to tracking this non-recorded data is that there is no national benchmark to compare it with.

In order to create your own goal for non-recorded injuries and exposures, it is necessary to collect laboratory data over a period of time. It may even mean gathering incident rates for a year or two before you feel comfortable setting a reasonable non-recordable incident goal for your lab.

Once a rate goal is established, it is important to communicate it to laboratory leadership and staff so that everyone is aware of the current lab standing and the hoped-for target goal. If the lab then reaches the goal, reduce the target rate over time with the intent of consistently reducing the number of laboratory accidents and injuries.

What are some specific steps that labs can take to reduce their injury rates?

There are several different types of injuries and exposures that can occur in the lab setting, including splash exposures, sharps injuries, ergonomic disorders, and falls. While collecting the incident rate data for your lab, you should also look at each individual event. Talk to the staff involved, find out exactly how the accident occurred, look at the location, and check for system failures such as faulty procedures or inadequate engineering controls or personal protective equipment. Ask for input from the staff involved about how to prevent the incident from happening again. Closing the loop on all safety events and working to actively reduce your departmental injury and exposure rates will play a vital role in improving your overall lab safety program.

Dan Scungio, MLS (ASCP), SLS, CQA (ASQ), is a laboratory safety officer for Sentara Health, a hospital system in Virginia and North Carolina. He also works as Dan the Lab Safety Man — a trainer, speaker, and lab safety consultant. +Email: [email protected]