Many in our profession seem to be on this kick that “what gets measured gets manipulated”. That is NOT the fault of the metric but rather a very immature (in safety) management group. Go to the finance group and tell them we are going to stop measuring profit and losses, after all, they can’t be trusted as “what gets measured gets manipulated“. Instead, we are only going to count bounced checks. Sound insane? Sure it does, but that’s how 99% of businesses measure AND REWARD safety performance – LAGGING METRICS.
And we should be more clear about what metrics this anit-measurement movement is decrying; as I am pretty sure it is not talking about measuring exposures to physical agents or atmospheric measurements before entering into a permit-required confined space. Of course, these metrics can also be manipulated so maybe they do mean to end all metrics in OSH/Process Safety.
If anything, the profession needs MORE metrics and the maturity in the SMS to have a QC/QA element so that these metrics are VALIDATED on an ongoing basis. Any manager found manipulating his/her metrics/data gets the same response as if they were manipulating the financials of their department.
The problem is not “metrics”, the problem is what gets measured. Everything we do in life gets measured, especially in business. So if safety gets measured like production, quality, and finance and not the old ways many measured it with lagging indicators, the data derived from those leading indicators can be a game changer in reducing risks.
