Future development areas for safety performance measurement

Abstract

Several studies have shown that safety management and culture are linked to safety performance, but the role of safety performance measurement is unclear. At best, performance measurement is an important management tool. However, the use of performance information in safety management is often inefficient. There is a need for an overview of the development areas that are essential in achieving the safety benefits of performance measurement. This study aims to identify the status of safety performance measurement in industrial companies, proposing future research and development areas for safety performance measurement. The study was conducted as a multiple case study involving seven companies from different industries. The results show that the participating industrial companies’ safety performance measurement status was developed. Future development efforts should highlight the supportive practices and structures of performance measurement, essentially leadership and management. This study structures future development areas for safety performance measurement and supports organizations in better utilizing measurement information in their safety work.