Lost Time Incident Rate Calculation

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Lost Time Incident Rate (LTIR) Calculator

Calculate your organization's safety performance metric based on OSHA standards.

Incidents resulting in at least one day away from work (excluding the day of injury).
Cumulative hours worked by all employees during the specified period.

Calculation Result

0.00

Incidents per 100 full-time employees per year.

function calculateLTIR() { var injuries = document.getElementById('lost_injuries').value; var hours = document.getElementById('total_hours').value; var resultArea = document.getElementById('ltir_result_area'); var scoreDisplay = document.getElementById('ltir_score'); if (injuries === "" || hours === "" || parseFloat(hours) <= 0) { alert("Please enter valid positive numbers. Total hours must be greater than zero."); return; } var injuriesVal = parseFloat(injuries); var hoursVal = parseFloat(hours); // OSHA Formula: (Number of Lost Time Injuries x 200,000) / Total hours worked // 200,000 represents 100 employees working 40 hours per week, 50 weeks per year. var ltirResult = (injuriesVal * 200000) / hoursVal; scoreDisplay.innerHTML = ltirResult.toFixed(2); resultArea.style.display = "block"; }

Understanding the Lost Time Incident Rate (LTIR)

The Lost Time Incident Rate (LTIR) is a critical safety metric used by companies and regulatory bodies like OSHA to measure the frequency of serious workplace injuries. Unlike the Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR), which tracks all injuries, the LTIR specifically focuses on injuries that result in an employee losing time from work.

The LTIR Formula

The standard calculation for LTIR is designed to normalize the data so that companies of different sizes can be compared fairly. The formula is:

LTIR = (Number of Lost Time Injuries x 200,000) / Total Employee Hours Worked

The "200,000" in the equation represents the total hours worked by 100 employees, each working 40 hours per week for 50 weeks in a year. This provides a baseline rate per 100 full-time workers.

What Qualifies as a Lost Time Injury?

For an incident to be classified as a "Lost Time Injury" (LTI), it must meet two criteria:

  • The injury or illness is work-related.
  • The employee is unable to work their next full shift because of the injury.

Note: The actual day of the injury is not counted as a "day away." The count begins the following day.

Practical Example

Imagine a manufacturing plant with 250 employees. In one calendar year, they recorded a total of 500,000 work hours. During that year, 3 employees suffered injuries that required them to stay home to recover.

Calculation:
(3 Injuries x 200,000) / 500,000 Hours = 1.20

In this case, the LTIR is 1.20. This means for every 100 employees, roughly 1.2 of them suffered a lost-time incident over the year.

Why Tracking LTIR is Essential

Tracking this safety KPI offers several strategic advantages for an organization:

  1. Insurance Premiums: Insurance providers often look at LTIR to determine workers' compensation rates. A lower rate can lead to significant cost savings.
  2. Benchmarking: Companies can compare their safety performance against industry averages to identify if they are lagging behind.
  3. Bidding for Contracts: In many industries, such as construction and oil & gas, a high LTIR can disqualify a company from bidding on major contracts.
  4. Safety Culture: High rates indicate potential systemic failures in safety protocols, allowing management to intervene before a fatal accident occurs.

How to Improve Your LTIR

To reduce your incident rate, focus on proactive safety management. This includes conducting regular safety audits, providing comprehensive training for new hires, maintaining equipment properly, and fostering a "safety-first" culture where employees feel comfortable reporting near-misses without fear of retribution.

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