Work out incident frequency rate instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.
Incident frequency rate normalises incident count by exposure hours so organisations of different size can be compared. The base hours convention differs by region: 200,000 hours corresponds to 100 full time workers for a year and is the North American standard, while a million hours is common elsewhere.
Frequency rate
Rate = incidents x base hours / hours worked
Common bases
200,000 hours equals 100 full time equivalents for a year; 1,000,000 hours is the international convention
Rate = incidents x base hours / hours worked. Incident frequency rate normalises incident count by exposure hours so organisations of different size can be compared.
It is a lagging indicator dominated by low-consequence events and highly sensitive to reporting culture. A falling rate can reflect suppressed reporting rather than improved safety.
This calculator takes 3 inputs: Recordable incidents, Hours worked, Base hours for the rate. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic worked example — replace them with your own site or project figures.