Understanding and Calculating DART

Posted on 4/2/2013 by Roger Marks

Last month, OSHA issued letters to employers whose Days Away, Restricted and Transferred (DART) rates are above average for their industry sector. DART is a measurement of workplace injuries and illnesses that result in time away from work, restricted job roles, or permanent transfers to new positions. To calculate a company’s DART rate, OSHA uses data from the employer’s OSHA 300 logs, which are used to track recordable workplace injuries and illnesses during the year as required by 29 CFR 1904.

OSHA issued DART letters to about 9,400 employers this year. Due to the relatively high frequency of injuries and illnesses at their facilities, DART letter recipients are often targeted for inspection by OSHA. According to the letters that were sent, OSHA “may target up to 2,500 general industry workplaces identified in the survey for inspection in the next year” under its site-specific targeting (SST) program.

If you received one of these DART letters, you may want to prepare for a thorough health and safety inspection in the near future. This may include an in-depth review of your records to see that all plans, logs, procedures, and other documentation required by OSHA standards is in place and up to the standards’ expectations. In addition, you should make sure your employee training is up-to-date.

For a review of the four major stages of an OSHA inspection, see this week’s LionNews article, “What to Expect from an OSHA Inspection.”

How to Calculate a DART Rate:

Add the totals from Columns H and I of the OSHA 300 log ( total reportable injuries and illnesses resulting in days away from work, job transfer, or restricted job duties).
Multiply this number by 200,000 (base hours worked for 100 full-time–equivalent employees).
Divide the result by the total number of hours worked by all employees (including management, temporary, and leased workers).

This year, OSHA adjusted the criteria used to determine which employers receive DART letters. In the past, an employer’s DART rate was compared to the national average of all employers included in the survey. For 2013, OSHA used DART data to compare facilities within a specific industry sector. OSHA believes this will result in a more meaningful comparison.

Insufficient training is one of the most commonly cited causes of preventable workplace injuries. Lion Technology offers both hazard-specific training and a comprehensive 10 Hour General Industry Online course to help your employees identify, avoid, control, and prevent workplace hazards.

An example of OSHA’s 2013 DART letter is available here.

Tags: osha

Find a Post

Search for:

Compliance Topics

Compliance Archives

Course instructor was better prepared and presented better than other trainers. Course manual and references were easier to use as well.

Marty Brownfield

Hazardous Waste Professional

We have a very busy work schedule and using Lion enables us to take the course at our own time. It makes it easy for me to schedule my employees' training.

Timothy Mertes

Hazmat Shipping Professional

Lion is at the top of the industry in compliance training. Course content and structure are updated frequently to make annual re-training enjoyable. I like that Lion has experts that I can contact for 1 year after the training.

Caroline Froning

Plant Chemist

This is the best RCRA training I've experienced! I will be visiting Lion training again.

Cynthia L. Logsdon

Principal Environmental Engineer

I have been to other training companies, but Lion’s material is much better and easier to understand.

Mark Abell

Regional Manager

The instructor was very dedicated to providing a quality experience. She did her best to make sure students were really comprehending the information.

Stephanie Venn

Inventory Control Specialist

My experience with Lion training, both online and in the classroom, is that they are far better organized and provide a better sequential explanation of the material.

Robert Roose

Manager, Dangerous Goods Transportation

Very well structured, comprehensive, and comparable to live training seminars I've participated in previously. I will recommend the online course to other colleagues with training requirement needs.

Neil Luciano

EHS Manager

This was the 1st instructor that has made the topic actually enjoyable and easy to follow and understand. Far better than the "other" training providers our company has attended!

Lori Hardy

Process & Resource Administrator

I have over 26 years of environmental compliance experience, and it has been some time since I have attended an environmental regulations workshop. I attended this course as preparation for EHS Audits for my six plants, and it was exactly what I was looking for.

Frank Sizemore

Director of Regulatory Affairs

Download Our Latest Whitepaper

What to do before, during, and after a RCRA hazardous waste inspection to defend your site from rising State and Federal penalties.

Download

By submitting your phone number, you agree to receive recurring marketing and training text messages. Consent to receive text messages is not required for any purchases. Text STOP at any time to cancel. Message and data rates may apply. View our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.