Accident Costs Rethinking ratios of indirect to direct costs

摘要

The literature on direct and indirect costs does not present a uniformly accepted computation method. Differences in the various systems are substantial. More importantly, no published ratios are currently valid because the increase in direct costs (indemnity and medical costs resulting from an injury or illness) has exceeded the increase in indirect costs substantially in the past 15 years.Computations in this article updating the Stanford study indicate that the ratio of indirect to direct accident costs is currently about 0.8:1. That ratio is given as an approximation. Safety professionals who use a 1-to-1 ratio can be reasonably comfortable. This author recommends avoiding the use of ratios for which there are no supporting data (4:1, 6:1,10:1 or higher).