Advancing safety analytics: A diagnostic framework for assessing system readiness within occupational safety and health

Big data and analytics have shown promise in predicting safety incidents and identifying preventative measures directed towards specific risk variables. However, the safety industry is lagging in big data utilization due to various obstacles, which may include lack of data readiness (e.g., disparate...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Safety science 2022-02, Vol.146, p.105569-105581, Article 105569
Main Authors: Ezerins, Maira E., Ludwig, Timothy D., O'Neil, Tara, Foreman, Anne M., Açıkgöz, Yalçın
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Big Data
Data acquisition
Data analysis
Data analytics
Data collection
Decision analysis
Injury analysis
Mathematical analysis
Medical diagnosis
Missing data
Nomenclature
Norms
Occupational health
Occupational safety
Readiness assessment
Safety analytics
Safety management
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Summary:Big data and analytics have shown promise in predicting safety incidents and identifying preventative measures directed towards specific risk variables. However, the safety industry is lagging in big data utilization due to various obstacles, which may include lack of data readiness (e.g., disparate databases, missing data, low validity) and personnel competencies. This paper provides a primer on the application of big data to safety. We then describe a safety analytics readiness assessment framework that highlights system requirements and the challenges that safety professionals may encounter in meeting these requirements. The proposed framework suggests that safety analytics readiness depends on (a) the quality of the data available, (b) organizational norms around data collection, scaling, and nomenclature, (c) foundational infrastructure, including technological platforms and skills required for data collection, storage, and analysis of health and safety metrics, and (d) measurement culture, or the emergent social patterns between employees, data acquisition, and analytic processes. A safety-analytics readiness assessment can assist organizations with understanding current capabilities so measurement systems can be matured to accommodate more advanced analytics for the ultimate purpose of improving decisions that mitigate injury and incidents.
ISSN:0925-7535
1879-1042
DOI:10.1016/j.ssci.2021.105569