New Report Links Safety Strategy to Fewer Workplace Deaths

Organizations that combine workplace safety efforts with larger risk management practices reported stronger safety outcomes, including lower rates of serious injuries and workplace fatalities, according to new research from Avetta.

The findings come from the company's Avetta Insights and Impact Report 2026, which analyzed data collected between 2022 and 2024 to examine health and safety performance across global operations.

According to Avetta, organizations using a coordinated approach reported workplace fatality rates that were up to 97% lower.

“Supply chains have become increasingly distributed and unpredictable, forcing organizations to navigate risk faster than ever before,” said Arshad Matin, CEO at Avetta. “Our 2026 report confirms that health and safety performance doesn't improve by simply adding individual programs in a vacuum. The organizations seeing the most dramatic results and building safer, more resilient operations are those that shift from a siloed approach to a connected, strategic system. They aren’t just managing compliance, they’re cultivating a state of readiness.”

The report pointed to three main findings:

1. Basic safety practices still matter: Organizations using safety audits, worker management, insurance verification and worksite controls reported lower rates of severe injuries and workplace fatalities. According to Avetta, some individual practices were linked to an average 18% reduction in severe injury rates and up to a 69% reduction in fatality rates.

2. Broader visibility was tied to better results: The report found organizations that improved visibility into sustainability, business and cyber risks reported an average of 25% fewer severe incidents and 54% fewer workplace fatalities.

3. The biggest gains came when everything worked together: Organizations combining multiple safety and risk efforts into a coordinated system reported a 39% improvement in severe injury rates and a 97% improvement in fatality rates.

The report also introduced a new metric called the Global Severe Injury Rate (GSIR), intended to provide a more consistent way to compare serious workplace injuries across regions.

“Truly safe organizations must embrace innovative solutions and embed safety in workplace culture for employees at every level and across international borders,” said Lorraine Martin, CEO at NSC. “As organizations work toward proactive risk mitigation and hazard control, studies like the Avetta Insights and Impact Report and voluntary consensus standards like ASTM E2920-26 are helping pave the way in translating insights into more effective action.”