Understanding safety metrics is crucial for maintaining a safe and healthy work environment. One such metric that plays a significant role in this is the Days Away, Restricted, or Transferred (DART) rate.
Whether you’re a safety officer or site technician, mastering the calculation of DART rate can help you implement better safety initiatives and eventually protect your workforce.
Contents:
What Is the DART Rate?
DART Rate, which stands for Days Away, Restricted, or Transferred, is an indicator that measures the number of work-related injuries and illnesses resulting in employees missing work, being placed on restricted duty, or being transferred to different tasks.
This safety metric highlights incidents that result in significant consequences for employees, illustrating the effectiveness of a company’s safety protocols and training programs.
DART encompasses three types of incidents as defined by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA):
- Days away: Incidents that result in missed employee workdays after the date of the injury.
- Restricted work: Incidents that prevent an employee from performing their usual duties, resulting in a restricted or modified role.
- Transfer to another job: Incidents requiring the injured or ill employee to transfer to another job temporarily or permanently.
By tracking these incidents, alongside other metrics such as the Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR) and the Lost Time Incident Rate (LTIR), you can gain clarity about the impact of injuries on you operations and workforce.
DART Rate Formula
Number of DART Incidents × 200,000 / Total Hours Worked = DART Rate per 100 employees.
As you see, the formula involves several steps. First, identify the number of DART incidents within a specific period, such as a month, quarter, or year.
Next, calculate the total hours worked by all employees during that period, making sure to exclude holidays, sick days, and vacation days. This calculation should include hours for both exempt and nonexempt workers.
For example, if your company recorded 5 DART incidents over a year and the total hours worked amounted to 500,000, you would use these values in the DART formula. Multiply the number of DART incidents (5) by 200,000 and then divide by the total hours worked (500,000). This results in a DART rate of 2 incidents per 100 employees.
What Is a Good DART Rate?
Many managers and business owners wonder what a “good” DART should be. The answer varies by industry since some sectors naturally carry a higher level of risk than others.
Generally, a DART below the average for your industry suggests positive performance in workplace safety. Companies can strive to reduce the DART as low as possible with the ultimate goal of zero accidents and incidents.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes an annual DART rate by industry, which includes all illnesses, injuries and fatalities.
You can use this resource to see where your company stands in comparison to other businesses in the same sector. The overall rate in 2022 for private companies in all industries was 1.7 incidents per 100 workers.
Read More Read More A full guide to the OSHA 300 Log and related forms, with downloadable templates included
How to Reduce the DART Rate
Companies can implement a range of strategies to reduce incidents and reduce DART rate. Regular and comprehensive safety training for employees effectively addresses hazards and supports a collaborative culture of safety.
Developing and enforcing programs tailored to the specific needs and risks of each job site can significantly improve DART safety performance.
As you introduce new safety protocols and programs, encourage employees to participate. Engagement in these initiatives can improve alignment and boost worker satisfaction. At the same time, provide clear channels for them to report unsafe conditions or practices.
Improving your DART and overall safety performance isn’t a one-time project. Regularly review DART and other metrics so you can identify and address hazards.
For example, consider tracking measures such as lost time injury frequency rate, lost time incident rate, and total recordable incident rate. Continually evaluate and improve procedures so your safety programs remain relevant and effective.
Simplifying Safety Management with Fluix
The DART metric is key to building a safer workplace, giving you insights into the severity and impact of work-related injuries.
Fluix can help with this. It’s a workplace safety software that lets your teams quickly report safety incidents and hazardous conditions.
With digital checklists, automated reports, and risk tracking, Fluix makes it easy to keep an accurate DART rate at your fingertips. This helps you spot trends and make improvements to keep everyone safe. And always stay compliant.
