The Days Away, Restricted, or Transferred (DART) rate is a metric used to evaluate workplace safety performance. It quantifies the number of work-related injuries and illnesses that result in an employee missing time from work, being restricted in their duties, or being transferred to another job. As an example, a DART rate of 3.0 indicates that for every 100 full-time employees, three experienced injuries or illnesses that led to time away from work, job restrictions, or job transfers during a one-year period. This calculation relies on data related to the number of incidents, hours worked by employees, and a constant value representing the equivalent number of hours worked by 100 employees in a year.
This metric serves as a valuable tool for businesses to assess their safety programs and identify areas for improvement. Lower rates generally reflect a safer working environment and effective safety management practices. Tracking these rates over time enables companies to monitor the effectiveness of safety interventions and identify emerging hazards. Furthermore, many organizations utilize the rate as a benchmark against industry averages to gauge relative safety performance. Historically, tracking workplace injuries and illnesses has been a key component of promoting worker safety and health, with various methodologies evolving to provide standardized metrics for comparison.
