A Minimum Cost Sequential Test To Monitor Injury Incidence

Costs associated with workplace illnesses and injuries continue to increase despite their effect on profitability. A new statistical test is developed to monitor industrial injuries on an operation. The test is unique because of its sequential nature and its optimization of test parameters based upon severity of injury and operation redesign costs. The procedure can be used by practitioners to determine if the incidence rate of an operation is out of control with respect to an acceptable rate as a function of injury severity and redesign costs. The procedure is based on the cumulative sum test for the exponential distribution. Injury incidence is monitored by collecting data on the exposure time between injuries, which is assumed to be exponentially distributed. It is possible that the test could be used as an injury surveillance and cost-reduction tool to decrease both the incidence and severity of injuries, resulting in higher profits and safer workplaces.