The Top 7 Metrics That Will Matter for EHS Performance in 2026

Tracking incident rates used to be enough. Not anymore. In 2026, safety leaders are being asked sharper questions, about risk, speed, and accountability. It’s no longer just, “Did someone get hurt?” Now it’s, “Was the hazard known?” “Did we act fast enough?” “Are we learning anything?” The right metrics don’t just report the past. They answer what’s happening now, and what needs to happen next. In 2026, the strongest safety programs will be the ones that can answer these seven questions with data.

Key Takeaway

Traditional safety metrics like TRIR only capture past failures. In 2026, leading EHS teams will track forward-looking indicators, like unresolved hazards, delayed corrective actions, and AI-detected risks, that expose weak points before incidents happen. These metrics drive faster decisions, stronger accountability, and real cultural change.

1. Are we closing known hazards fast enough?

Unclosed hazards reflect real-time risk tolerance. They track how many identified risks remain unresolved beyond an acceptable window, typically 7, 14, or 30 days, depending on severity. For example, if a scaffold is missing guardrails and sits unresolved for 19 days, that’s not a hazard. That’s a management choice.

Unlike TRIR, this metric doesn’t rely on injury to trigger measurement. It captures failure to act. When safety leaders bring this metric into executive dashboards, they spotlight accountability gaps, not just incident outcomes.

2. Are critical training gaps putting us at risk?

Overdue training shows where critical knowledge is breaking down. It reflects how well teams retain essential skills, especially in high-risk tasks like lockout/tagout, confined space entry, or hot work. These gaps don’t just increase operational risk, they carry legal consequences.

During investigations, OSHA may classify missed refresher training as a willful violation, signaling plain indifference to safety requirements. That’s why it’s not enough to track who’s overdue. You also need to monitor how late they are, broken down by role, so you can target gaps before they become liabilities.

3. Is AI catching the risks our teams miss?

AI-detected hazards are now becoming the early warning system for blind spots. In 2026, advanced EHS systems include AI image recognition that scans photos taken during inspections, audits, or daily work.

Tracking the number and severity of AI-triggered flags can indicate whether your team’s risk recognition skills are improving, or whether machines are still doing the heavy lifting. If AI is consistently identifying more hazards than human inspections, it may be time to retrain or recalibrate frontline awareness.

4. How long does it take us to act on safety findings?

Lag time shows how quickly your organization turns awareness into action. It measures the average number of days between when a hazard is logged and when the first mitigation step begins, not when the issue is fully closed. That distinction matters. Closure might take time, but meaningful action should start almost immediately.

For example, a warehouse fails a pedestrian aisle inspection due to blocked egress. If it takes 11 days to address, workers are exposed the entire time. That’s not a pending task, that’s an active risk. Track lag time by facility or department to uncover where delays are happening. Longer delays often point to resource gaps or unclear ownership, and give you hard data to make the case for more support.

5. Are we fixing problems or just repeating them?

Repeat incidents reveal whether your system is actually learning, or just going through the motions. They track how often the same hazard leads to multiple events over time. Say your shipping area sees three back injuries in six months. If each investigation ends with retraining, but the job setup never changes, the risk remains. That’s not a behavior problem, it’s a design failure.

This metric cuts through cosmetic fixes. It highlights patterns that keep recurring, even after issues are marked “closed.” To get full value from it, tie each repeat incident to the type of corrective action taken. You’ll likely find that when fixes are procedural or behavioral, recurrence stays high. Real change happens when the solution targets the system itself.

6. Do workers trust the safety system enough to speak up?

Engagement rate measures how actively workers participate in safety. Why does it matter? Because people only participate when they believe their input leads to action. OSHA’s worker participation guidelines emphasize that engagement thrives when reporting systems are simple, anonymous options exist, and feedback loops close the communication gap. Monitor engagement by shift. Low participation on night shift? You might need different formats or better supervisor support.

7. How fast are we delivering corrective training after incidents?

This metric tracks how fast an employee receives targeted learning after a triggering event. For example, a maintenance worker violates lockout procedure. The incident is logged on Monday. How soon does the worker receive corrective micro-training? Time-to-corrective-training shows how tightly connected your learning loop is to your operational reality. Slow assignment = missed opportunity for retention and behavior change.

Measuring these signals is one thing. Acting on them, consistently and at scale, is where most systems fall short. That’s exactly where HSI steps in.

How HSI brings these metrics to life

You shouldn’t need spreadsheets, guesswork, or siloed systems to understand your risk. HSI connects the dots for you, automatically.

Our EHS System combines real-time data with built-in intelligence to surface the signals that matter and make them actionable. With HSI Intelligence, our embedded AI engine, you get faster insight, tighter accountability, and fewer blind spots.

Here’s what that looks like in practice:

• Unclosed hazards and lag time are auto-tracked and escalated before they’re forgotten
  

• Overdue training is flagged by site, job role, and risk priority
  

• Corrective actions and training are linked to incidents with precise timing
  

• AI image recognition scans field photos to detect hazards your team might miss
  

• Engagement metrics show who’s reporting, participating, and where trust is slipping
  

• Repeat incidents are tied to root causes, not just surface-level fixes
  

If you're ready to move beyond lagging indicators and start managing what matters, let’s talk.

Book a demo today and see how HSI helps safety teams act faster, learn smarter, and stay ahead of risk.