Write Up:

The total and rate of recordable incidents are tracked to measure the department’s goal of fewer injuries. MoDOT’s goal is for every employee to go home every night to their families unharmed. Reporting injuries allows the department to arrange for prompt treatment and to learn from mistakes or remediate hazards. The total number of recordables for 2023 has continued to decreased from 2022 and 2021. In 2020, the number of recordables was unusually low compared to historical rates, as such 2019 is included for comparison. There has been a significant decrease when compared to 2019. The number of incidents has also decreased compared to last year. There was a 22.5% decrease from 2022 for the number of recordables and a 20% decrease for the rate of incidents.

Leading causes of injuries this year were slips, trips and falls at 21.4%; strains with 14.6%; and employees being struck or injured by an object at 14.11%.

Purpose of the Measure:

This measure tracks the number of recordable injuries in total and as a rate of injuries per 100 workers.

Measurement and Data Collection:

The calculation for incidence rate is the number of recordables times 200,000 divided by the number of hours worked. The 200,000 used in the calculation is the base for 100 full-time workers (working 40 hours per week, 50 weeks per year). MoDOT defines a recordable incident as a work-related injury or illness that results in death, days away from work or medical treatment resulting in cost to the department.  It should be noted this is a more rigorous method than is used by OSHA and the Texas DOT, both of which only count medical treatment if it is beyond first aid or loss of consciousness. The injury data is collected from Riskmaster, the department’s risk management claims administration software. The number of hours worked is taken from MoDOT’s payroll data.

The targets for total recordable incidents and rate of recordable incidents are updated annually. The target is calculated by subtracting 10% from the year-to-date comparison period.