If you've ever filled out a contractor prequalification form, you know the drill: they want your TRIR. If you're tracking safety metrics for your team, you're probably calculating it quarterly. And if you've been asked to "get our incident rate down," this is the number everyone's watching.
This TRIR calculator takes the math off your plate. Enter your hours worked and recordable incidents, and you'll have your Total Recordable Incident Rate in seconds—along with a clear assessment of where that number puts you compared to industry standards.
Whether you're a safety manager preparing for an ISNetworld audit, an HR director pulling numbers for your annual review, or a business owner trying to qualify for a project bid, this tool gives you the answer you need without digging out the formula.
What is TRIR?
TRIR—Total Recordable Incident Rate—tells you how many OSHA-recordable injuries and illnesses your workplace experiences, adjusted for company size. It's the safety equivalent of comparing batting averages instead of total hits: it levels the playing field so a 50-person shop can be compared fairly against a 5,000-employee operation.
The rate is calculated per 200,000 hours worked. Why 200,000? That's roughly what 100 full-time employees work in a year (100 people × 40 hours × 50 weeks). So when someone says their TRIR is 2.5, they're saying: "For every 100 full-time workers over a year, we'd expect about 2.5 recordable incidents."
Here's why TRIR matters beyond the math:
For contractors: Most general contractors set TRIR thresholds for subcontractor qualification. In construction, a TRIR above 1.0 can knock you out of the running for major projects. Oil and gas operators often require 0.8 or lower.
For insurance: Your workers' comp premiums factor in your incident history. A climbing TRIR often means climbing premiums at renewal.
For OSHA: High incident rates can trigger targeted inspections. OSHA uses industry data to identify employers with rates significantly above average.
For your people: Behind every TRIR point is a real person who got hurt at work. Tracking this number keeps that reality visible.
The TRIR Formula
The calculation itself is simple:
TRIR = (Number of Recordable Incidents × 200,000) ÷ Total Hours Worked
Let's walk through three examples at different company sizes:
Small contractor (25 employees):
- 2 recordable incidents last year
- 52,000 total hours worked
- TRIR = (2 × 200,000) ÷ 52,000 = 7.69
That looks alarming—but with a small workforce, a single incident swings the rate dramatically. This is why many clients look at three-year rolling averages for smaller companies.
Mid-size manufacturer (200 employees):
- 8 recordable incidents last year
- 416,000 total hours worked
- TRIR = (8 × 200,000) ÷ 416,000 = 3.85
This rate is slightly above the manufacturing industry average of around 3.2. There's room for improvement, but it's not a red flag.
Large construction firm (1,500 employees):
- 12 recordable incidents last year
- 3,120,000 total hours worked
- TRIR = (12 × 200,000) ÷ 3,120,000 = 0.77
This company would qualify for virtually any contractor prequalification requirement. At this scale, their safety program is clearly working.
Notice how the small contractor with just 2 incidents has a worse TRIR than the large firm with 12 incidents. That's the normalization at work—and why raw incident counts don't tell the full story.
How to Use This Calculator
Step 1: Gather Your Hours Worked
You need the total hours worked by all employees during your measurement period. This includes:
- Regular hours
- Overtime hours
- Hours worked by temporary employees (if you direct their work)
It does not include vacation, sick leave, or other non-work hours. Most payroll systems can generate this number, or you can estimate: (Number of employees) × (Average hours per week) × (Weeks in period).
Step 2: Count Your Recordable Incidents
Pull from your OSHA 300 log. Recordable incidents include any work-related injury or illness resulting in:
- Death
- Days away from work
- Restricted work or job transfer
- Medical treatment beyond first aid
- Loss of consciousness
- Significant diagnosis by a physician (fractures, punctured eardrums, chronic conditions)
First-aid-only cases don't count. Neither do incidents that happen during commutes (unless driving is part of the job) or pre-existing conditions that weren't aggravated by work.
Step 3: Enter and Calculate
Input both numbers into the calculator. You'll get your TRIR instantly, plus an assessment rating that indicates where you fall on the performance spectrum.
Step 4: Know Your Context
A TRIR of 2.0 means different things in different industries. Check the benchmark table below to see how your rate compares to your specific sector.
Understanding Your Results
Your TRIR is just a number until you put it in context. Here's how to interpret it:
TRIR | Performance Level | What This Typically Means |
|---|---|---|
0.0 - 0.5 | Elite | Top-tier safety culture; often seen in companies with mature safety programs and strong leadership commitment |
0.5 - 1.0 | Excellent | Qualifies for most stringent contractor requirements; significantly better than average |
1.0 - 2.0 | Good | Solid performance; meets most contractor thresholds; room for continued improvement |
2.0 - 3.5 | Average | Typical for many industries; may face questions on contractor applications |
3.5 - 5.0 | Below Average | Likely facing insurance premium increases; should prioritize safety improvements |
5.0+ | High | Urgent attention needed; may be ineligible for many contracts; potential OSHA scrutiny |
The contractor qualification reality:
Different clients set different bars. Here's what we typically see:
- Major oil & gas operators: TRIR below 0.8, often below 0.5
- Large general contractors: TRIR below 1.0
- Industrial/manufacturing clients: TRIR below 2.0
- Commercial construction: TRIR below 1.5 to 2.0
If you're above these thresholds, you're not automatically disqualified everywhere—but your options narrow. Some clients will accept a letter explaining high rates (especially if due to a single serious incident) along with documentation of corrective actions.
TRIR vs DART Rate: What's the Difference?
You'll see both metrics requested on prequalification forms. They're related but measure different things:
TRIR counts every OSHA-recordable incident—from a laceration requiring stitches to a fatality.
DART (Days Away, Restricted, or Transferred) only counts the more serious incidents: those where the employee missed work, was put on restricted duty, or had to transfer to a different job.
Here's how they relate in practice:
Scenario | TRIR Impact | DART Impact |
|---|---|---|
Employee gets stitches, returns to full duty next day | +1 | No change |
Employee sprains ankle, works light duty for a week | +1 | +1 |
Employee breaks arm, misses 3 weeks | +1 | +1 |
Employee treated with prescription medication, no work restrictions | +1 | No change |
A company might have:
- TRIR of 3.2 and DART of 1.1 → Many minor incidents, few serious ones
- TRIR of 2.0 and DART of 1.8 → Most incidents are serious enough to affect work
Which matters more? Both. TRIR shows how often people get hurt at all. DART shows how often they get hurt badly enough to impact their ability to work. A high TRIR with low DART suggests lots of minor incidents—annoying but less concerning than the reverse.
Industry Benchmarks
Your TRIR should be compared against your industry, not the all-industry average. A transportation company and a tech firm have completely different risk profiles.
Based on Bureau of Labor Statistics data:
Industry Sector | Typical TRIR Range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
Oil & Gas Extraction | 0.5 - 0.9 | Strict safety requirements; high-consequence environment drives compliance |
Professional & Business Services | 0.7 - 1.2 | Office-based work; lower inherent risk |
Finance & Insurance | 0.5 - 1.0 | Primarily office environments |
Mining (except O&G) | 1.6 - 2.3 | Heavy regulation post-historical incidents |
Utilities | 1.8 - 2.6 | Mix of field and office work |
Construction | 2.3 - 2.9 | High physical demands; variable site conditions |
Manufacturing | 2.7 - 3.4 | Equipment hazards; repetitive motion injuries |
Wholesale Trade | 2.5 - 3.2 | Warehouse and material handling risks |
Retail Trade | 2.6 - 3.4 | Customer-facing plus backroom hazards |
Transportation & Warehousing | 4.0 - 5.2 | Vehicle incidents; manual material handling |
Healthcare & Social Assistance | 3.6 - 4.8 | Patient handling; needlesticks; workplace violence |
Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing | 4.5 - 5.5 | Equipment, animals, environmental exposure |
Reading this table: If you're in construction with a TRIR of 1.8, you're outperforming your industry significantly. If you're in professional services with a TRIR of 1.8, you have a problem.
Practical Tips to Lower Your TRIR
Improving your incident rate isn't about paperwork—it's about preventing people from getting hurt. Here's what actually moves the needle:
1. Fix What's Already Hurting People
Pull your OSHA 300 log and categorize your incidents. Most companies find that 2-3 injury types account for the majority of their recordables. Common culprits:
- Strains and sprains (especially back and shoulder) → Usually tied to lifting, awkward postures, or repetitive tasks
- Cuts and lacerations → Often from inadequate guarding or dull/improper tools
- Struck-by incidents → Frequently involves material handling or falling objects
- Slips, trips, falls → Housekeeping, walking surfaces, weather conditions
Attack your top injury categories first. A manufacturing plant that finds 40% of incidents are hand lacerations should be laser-focused on machine guarding, cut-resistant gloves, and knife safety—not running generic safety training.
2. Take Near Misses Seriously
For every recordable incident, there are typically 10-30 near misses with the same root cause. A near miss where a pallet almost fell on someone is an injury that got lucky.
Create a simple way for workers to report close calls—without blame, without bureaucracy. Then actually investigate them. Companies that track near misses and fix the hazards identified typically see their TRIR drop within 12-18 months.
3. Front-Load Safety for New Workers
Across industries, workers in their first year have significantly higher injury rates than experienced employees. They don't know the hazards, the equipment, or the shortcuts that lead to trouble.
Don't just hand new hires a safety manual. Pair them with experienced workers. Do task-specific training before they touch equipment. Check in frequently during their first 90 days.
4. Make Supervisors Accountable (And Give Them Tools)
Supervisors see hazards daily—but only address them if safety is genuinely part of their job. Include safety metrics in supervisor performance evaluations. Give them authority to stop work for safety issues. Train them to conduct meaningful safety observations, not checkbox exercises.
5. Investigate Every Recordable Thoroughly
When an incident happens, the question isn't "Who screwed up?" It's "What allowed this to happen?" Use the 5 Whys or a similar method to get to root causes. If someone cut their hand, don't stop at "employee didn't wear gloves." Ask why. Were gloves available? Were they the right type? Did production pressure discourage wearing them?
Then fix the system, not just the symptom.
6. Track Leading Indicators
TRIR is a lagging indicator—it tells you what already happened. Leading indicators tell you what might happen:
- Safety training completion rates
- Inspection/audit findings (and closure rates)
- Near miss reports submitted
- Safety meeting attendance
- Corrective actions completed on time
Organizations that track and improve leading indicators typically see lagging indicators (like TRIR) follow.