DALLAS, TX – ISN released the Sixth Edition of its Serious Injury & Fatality (SIF) Insights White Paper, highlighting a new methodology of analyzing contractor injuries through an Energy-Based Safety lens.

Across industries, recordable incident rates continue to decline, however SIFs have not followed the same trajectory. The publication aims to provide organizations with insights needed to help proactively identify risk using a data-driven approach. Through the iterations of the Serious Injury & Fatality Insights series, SIF trends from 2017 through 2024 have been identified by analyzing more than 178,000 OSHA recordable incidents.

Building on prior editions, the latest White Paper expands ISN’s analysis to provide a broader view of life-altering injuries by applying multiple reporting frameworks and examining the role of high-energy hazards in SIF outcomes.

“Leading organizations with mature safety cultures recognize historical recordable injury rates, such as Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR), to be less reliable indicators for reducing serious incidents and fatalities,” said Joe Schloesser, Senior Vice President at ISN. “The latest Serious Injury & Fatality Insights publication highlights the need to move toward more impactful metrics and take a data-driven approach to how hazards are recognized and addressed, including SIF and potential SIF events. By improving how high-energy risks are identified and controlled, organizations can better address the conditions leading to life-altering incidents and continue to help strengthen worker safety.”

Key highlights from ISN’s White Paper include:

Based on ASTM's Level One injury classification, Lacerations, Cuts, and Fractures account for over 80% of ISN contractor SIF cases

Gravity, Motion, and Mechanical energy sources account for nearly 90% of ISN contractors' Serious Injury cases

Among nearly 2,400 OSHA fatality inspection records, Gravity and Motion were the leading energy source categories

Over the past 25 years, ISN has been committed to helping its customers develop and streamline best-in-class contractor management programs, benchmark performance, and gain data-driven insights into company safety culture and leading indicators to help advance workplace safety.

To request a copy of ISN’s Sixth Edition of its Serious Injury & Fatality Insights White Paper, visit ISN’s Publications page.