The Importance of Leading Indicators

According to Miles Ewing, Principal of Deloitte Consulting LLP, leading indicators are valuable because they provide insight into future events where history may not. To apply this to safety performance, Ewing says he would begin by looking at past performance to identify what metrics seem to be correlated with safety incidents. From there, you can model the relationship to be used as a forecast method for safety incidents based on the leading indicator. “You have to monitor to begin to develop your leading indicators. If you’re not measuring stuff, it’s hard to figure out what is actually happening,” he says. To gain management buy-in, trends and measurements must be available. “The ability to present data and to show trends and improvement is how you get management involved,” he says. “Then you can educate in a way they understand and can take action on.” To read the full interview, click here.