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This document was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 283, Occupational health and safety management.

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This document is intended to help organizations to effectively monitor, measure, analyse and evaluate occupational health and safety (OH&S) performance.

OH&S performance evaluation includes the processes that the organization uses to assess the adequacy of activities that are expected to achieve intended results. OH&S performance is normally evaluated by using a combination of processes and sources of information such as incident investigations, inspections, audits, qualitative and quantitative indicators, culture surveys and interviews.

This document gives guidance on performance evaluation processes, including:

This document can be used by organizations of all types, regardless of whether they have implemented a formal OH&S management system (see ISO 45001 and ISO 45002).

This document provides examples which demonstrate how to evaluate performance to drive continual improvement and support the organization in achieving its intended results.

This document recommends a balanced approach based on selection of performance evaluation processes and indicators, with emphasis on proactive (leading) OH&S performance indicators. It recognizes that over-emphasis on past performance (lagging) indicators, such as incidence and frequency rates, can undermine efforts to improve OH&S performance.

As every organization is unique, and intended results vary, there is not a standardized set of performance evaluation processes or set of indicators that fulfil the needs of all organizations. Therefore, every organization has to identify performance evaluation processes and indicators to suit its needs.

Effective performance evaluation can help the organization to demonstrate continual improvement, and therefore may need to be adjusted when the organization’s performance changes. Effectiveness is the result of selecting the appropriate performance evaluation processes and properly implementing them. When performance evaluation processes are used inappropriately (e.g. in a way that is perceived to blame individuals for system deficiencies), they can produce unintended consequences. The most common of these consequences are discussed in this document.

This document is designed to complement ISO 45001 by providing performance evaluation approaches that align with requirements of that standard. This document can be used independently, by any organization, to improve OH&S performance.