Safety Score Methodology

How we compute company safety grades from OSHA enforcement data.

Important Disclaimer

Safety scores and grades are computed estimates based on publicly available OSHA enforcement data. They are not official OSHA ratings, certifications, or endorsements. These scores should be used as one of many factors when evaluating workplace safety.

Overview

Each company in OSHARecord receives a safety score from 0 to 100, which maps to a letter grade (A through F). The score is a weighted composite of several factors derived from the company's OSHA enforcement history, normalized against their industry peers.

A
80-100
B
65-79
C
50-64
D
35-49
F
0-34

Scoring Factors

The safety score is calculated using a weighted combination of the following factors:

Violation Severity Index

30%

Weighted count of violations by type. Willful violations carry the heaviest weight (10x), followed by repeat (7x), serious (5x), and other-than-serious (1x). Normalized by inspection count and compared to industry average.

Penalty Magnitude

25%

Total penalties assessed, normalized by inspection count. Higher per-inspection penalty amounts indicate more severe violations. Compared against the industry median.

Fatality & Hospitalization Record

20%

Presence and count of fatality or hospitalization investigations. Any fatality significantly reduces the score. Multiple events compound the reduction.

Recency Weight

15%

More recent violations and inspections carry greater weight. A decaying time function applies less significance to older records (beyond 5 years). Companies with only historical violations and clean recent records score better.

Inspection Frequency & Compliance

10%

Ratio of inspections that resulted in no violations. Companies with a higher rate of clean inspections receive a bonus. Complaint-driven inspections versus programmed inspections are also factored.

Industry Normalization

Raw scores are normalized against industry peers using the company's SIC code. This ensures that a construction company is compared to other construction companies, not to office-based businesses with inherently lower risk profiles.

The normalization uses percentile ranking within the industry group. A company at the 50th percentile of its industry receives the median score for that factor. This approach ensures grades are meaningful within each industry context.

Limitations

  • OSHA inspections are not exhaustive. OSHA can only inspect a fraction of workplaces each year. A low inspection count does not necessarily mean a safe workplace.
  • Data reflects enforcement actions only. Companies that proactively invest in safety but have never been inspected will have no data in our system.
  • Company matching is approximate. OSHA data uses establishment-level records. Our company grouping algorithm may occasionally merge or split entities incorrectly.
  • Penalties may be reduced or contested. The penalty amounts shown are "current" penalties, which may differ from initial assessments after settlements or contests.
  • State Plan states have separate data. States that operate their own OSHA programs may have different reporting practices.

Methodology Updates

We periodically refine our scoring methodology as we analyze more data and receive feedback. When changes are made, all company scores are recalculated. Significant methodology changes are documented here.

Last methodology update: January 2026

Current version: 2.0