Manitoba Safety and Health Index methodology

The Manitoba Safety and Health Index (MSHI) is comprised of four components, each of which contains two to four key performance metrics that contribute to their respective components and the overall Index. When combined, these metrics provide a balanced view and indicate the direction in which Manitoba workplaces are trending when it comes to safety and health.

The Index score is calculated for the province overall, as well as five industry sectors: construction, manufacturing, health care, retail and public administration.

Each metric is calculated using data from various sources and complex calculation processes. This methodology ensures the reliability and integrity of the data and resulting Index scores.

Calculating the Index

Step 1: Assign group weights

The methodology of an unbiased, equal weighted scoring system was adopted to capture whether Manitoba’s workplace safety and health is improving or worsening.

For the initial implementation of the model, each of the four key components contributes 25 per cent (equal weight) to the overall MSHI. Each metric has an overall metric weight, reflecting its contribution to the MSHI as a whole. Each metric also contributes an equal weight towards the respective component weight. The table below illustrates this:

Component	Metric / measure	Component weight	Overall metric weight
Prevention	Perception of workplace prevention activities	25.0%	8.3%
	Perception of workplace safety support		8.3%
	% of total payroll that is SAFE Work Certified		8.3%
Compliance	Proportion of no-order inspections	25.0%	12.5%
Compliance	Risk-based score of orders issued during inspections	25.0%	12.5%
Injuries	Time loss injuries rate	25.0%	6.3%
	No time loss injuries rate		6.3%
	Severe injuries rate		6.3%
	% of injured workers returning to safe and suitable work after 10 days		6.3%
Workplace culture	Leadership involvement	25.0%	6.3%
	Worker involvement		6.3%
	Awareness of legislation		6.3%
	Worker’s experience of safety culture		6.3%

The weighting methodology is periodically reviewed to determine if the equal weight assigned to each component remains appropriate or requires adjustment.

Step 2: Gather data for all the input metrics

The current and previous years’ data is gathered for all metrics.

Data sources
Each metric’s data is derived from one of the following sources:

Workers Compensation Board of Manitoba
SAFE Work Manitoba Annual Survey
Manitoba’s Workplace Safety and Health Branch

Desired direction
Each metric has a defined desired direction, and changes in a metric’s score indicate whether workplaces are moving toward improved overall safety and health. The desired direction specifies the ideal trend for that particular metric:

for some metrics, an increase in value (+1) signifies improvement, meaning the score is higher than in previous years
for other metrics, a decrease in value (-1) is favourable, indicating the score is lower than in previous years

A change in the desired direction signifies a positive impact, reflecting improvements in workplace safety and health in Manitoba. Conversely, a change opposite to the desired direction indicates that the safety and health performance is worsening.

Step 3: Normalize the data

To allow the comparison of the Index between years, the metric data is normalized by dividing their volume by an appropriate denominator. This normalization is only performed on metrics that are not already captured as rates or survey data.

For instance, Risk based score of orders issued during inspections is calculated by dividing the risk score of orders by total inspections that resulted in orders.

Step 4: Calculate change of current year from weighted previous years

Method 1
For the metrics listed below, changes are calculated using data from the previous five calendar years:

proportion of no-order inspections
risk-based score of orders issued during inspections
time loss injuries rate
no time loss injuries rate
severe injuries rate
% of injured workers returning to safe and suitable work after 10 days

The current calendar year is excluded. For example, if calculating the index in 2024, data from 2019 (year 5), 2020 (year 4), 2021 (year 3), 2022 (year 2), and 2023 (year 1) is used. Each year is assigned a weighted value, with more recent years given greater weight. The metric result for each year is multiplied by the assigned weight to obtain the weighted value. The weighted values from years 2 to 5 are summed, compared with the value from year 1, and multiplied by the desired direction to determine the change.

Method 2
For the metrics listed below, changes are calculated using data from the previous two calendar years:

perception of workplace prevention activities
perception of workplace safety support
% of total payroll that is SAFE Work Certified
leadership involvement
worker involvement
awareness of legislation
worker’s experience of safety culture

The current calendar year is excluded. For instance, if calculating the index in 2024, data from 2022 (year 2) and 2023 (year 1) is used. The value from year 1 is compared to year 2 and multiplied by the desired direction to determine the change.

Step 5: Calculate individual metric weighted scores and Index score

Each metric’s change is multiplied by its respective metric weight (overall metric weight) to calculate the metric weighted scores. These scores are then aggregated to derive the overall Index score, which is subsequently converted into a percentage.

Metric results assist the WCB, its partners and stakeholders in determining which areas need attention and focus to improve future outcomes and strengthen the provincial injury and illness prevention system.

It is essential to periodically review the Index model and its weighting system to ensure it accurately reflects the status of the workplace injury and illness system in the province. Therefore, we have decided to review the Index model every three years to assess its suitability.

Click here to review the 2023 Index score and key highlights.