ASTM E2920-26 is an international standard that provides a modern, consequence-based framework for recording occupational injuries, illnesses, and Serious Injury or Fatality (SIF) events. This updated standard replaces outdated “frequency-only” metrics by focusing on the severity and prevention of high-consequence incidents.
The goal is to establish a criteria for recording occupational injuries and illnesses to aid in continuously improving management systems; identifying and preventing serious injuries, illnesses, and fatalities; measuring safety performance; evaluating safety programs; and ensuring consistency in international comparisons and benchmarking. The measurement system needs to be precise, accurate, resistant to manipulation, meaningful for safety evaluations, and suitable for global accountability.
The new standard should help organizations move beyond traditional injury reporting and focus more closely on incidents that have the potential to result in life-altering or fatal outcomes.
To that end, for quite a few manufacturers, this represents a shift in how workplace incidents end up evaluated, investigated, and used to drive safety improvements.
New Way to Measure Hazards
For years, OSHA recordable rates and other lagging indicators were the main way to measure safety performance. No one is saying these are not important, but what is at issue is they offer a snapshot, but they do not always provide a complete picture of an organization’s exposure to serious hazards.
The ASTM E2920-26 standard emphasizes identifying incidents with SIF potential, even when no serious injury actually occurs. This approach encourages employers to focus on the severity of what could have happened, not just the final outcome.
For example, a dropped tool from an elevated work platform may not result in an injury. Under traditional reporting methods, it might be categorized as a near miss. Under the new ASTM framework, the event could be classified as having SIF potential if the circumstances could have resulted in a life-threatening or fatal injury.
4 Classifications
The standard establishes four classification levels to help organizations consistently evaluate workplace incidents:
- Level 1: SIF Actual/Fatality
— Incidents resulting in fatal injuries
— Designed to be benchmarkable across organizations and industries - Level 2: SIF Actual/Serious Injury or Illness
— Incidents involving life-threatening or life-altering injuries or illnesses
— Considered key performance indicators for safety management systems - Level 3: Minor Injury or Near Miss with SIF Potential
— Events that did not result in a serious injury but had the potential to do so
— These incidents provide valuable insight into serious risk exposures before a catastrophic event occurs - Level 4: Non-SIF Potential Incident
— Incidents that do not involve significant SIF risk
— Typically lower-consequence events that still warrant evaluation and corrective action
The goal of the updated standards is to identify and address high-risk exposures before they result in a serious injury or fatality.
ASTM said organizations should focus on identifying conditions, hazards, and system failures that create SIF risk, rather than relying solely on injury outcomes. This proactive approach helps organizations strengthen controls, improve investigations, and identify recurring exposure trends.
Click here for more on the ASTM E2920-26 standard.