NCHRP Synthesis Topic 55-15 Tracking Safety Leading Indicators to Improve DOT Employee Safety Performance

Follow-up Interview Questions

What are your most frequently collected safety leading indicators? What are some unique safety leading indicators you use or ones that you wish your DOT used?

Describe your implementation strategies and results.

What training is needed for the safety leading indicators that are used? How is it delivered and how frequently?

To what degree is DOT leadership involved in the safety leading indicators program?

How do you get employee buy-in and participation?

What benefits have you realized?

What challenges have you encountered and how were they overcome?

What lessons learned do you have for DOTs that would likely increase and improve their safety leading indicator use?

Tracking Safety Leading Indicators to Improve DOT Employee Safety Performance
2025

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Lagging indicators in occupational safety and health are required reporting figures that provide an industry-standard metric to measure the number of employees injured annually or impacted by a recordable injury. Recognizing the weaknesses of traditional lagging indicators to proactively manage occupational safety, many organizations and industries have emphasized safety leading indicators; that is, metrics to identify safety-related activities to consider before an incident occurs.

NCHRP Synthesis 637: Tracking Safety Leading Indicators to Improve DOT Employee Safety Performance, from TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program, explores issues related to safety leading indicator practices used by state departments of transportation (DOTs) to track and prevent occupational injuries and other incidents. The synthesis also includes findings from a survey related to safety leading indicators of practices used by state DOTs.

Additional materials

Appendix D

Publication information

180 pages · 8.5 x 11 · paperback
ISBN Paperback: 0-309-73194-1
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-73195-X
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17226/28599

Suggested citation

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2025. Tracking Safety Leading Indicators to Improve DOT Employee Safety Performance. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

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Front Matter i-x
Summary 1-2
1 Introduction 3-5
2 Literature Review 6-14
3 Survey Results 15-32
4 Case Examples 33-57
5 Summary of Findings 58-61
References 62-63
Appendix A: Survey Questionnaire 64-70
Appendix B: Survey Results 71-165
Appendix C: Case Example Questions 166-166
Appendix D: DOT Safety Leading Indicator Policies 167-170

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Tracking Safety Leading Indicators to Improve DOT Employee Safety Performance (2025)

Chapter: Appendix C: Case Example Questions

APPENDIX C

Case Example Questions