Guide Modern EHS Practices with the Heinrich Pyramid of Safety

In the world of workplace safety, few ideas have endured like the Heinrich Pyramid of Safety. First introduced in 1931 by safety pioneer Herbert Heinrich, this simple triangular model forever changed how organizations understand and prevent workplace incidents. While our tools, technologies, and strategies have evolved, the logic behind Heinrich’s framework still shapes how we think about risk, behavior, and culture on the job today.

The most recent stats available indicate that U.S. workplace fatalities and injuries saw a modest decline in 2023, with 5,283 fatal work injuries, down 3.7% from 2022’s 5,486, but there's still a long way to go. It’s a timely moment to reflect on where safety culture came from and how far it’s come. Let’s explore Heinrich’s legacy, why his pyramid still holds value, and how modern software solutions are advancing his foundational ideas.

From Chaos to Clarity: How Heinrich Transformed Industrial Safety

Prior to the 1930s, industrial safety was mostly reactive. Accidents were often considered unavoidable, the cost of doing business in heavy industry. Safety departments, where they existed, focused on basic rule enforcement and a minimum of personal protective equipment (PPE) such as goggles, boots, or gloves. The idea of proactively preventing incidents by studying trends, behaviors, and near-misses was unheard of.

Herbert Heinrich, an assistant superintendent at Travelers Insurance, changed that. By analyzing thousands of case files, he uncovered a striking pattern: for every one major injury, there were dozens of minor injuries and hundreds of near-miss incidents. This observation led to what became the Heinrich Pyramid of Safety, a model that visually represented the ratio between different levels of incidents. 

Heinrich concluded that preventing frequent, low-severity events at the base of the pyramid would also reduce the rare, high-severity events at the top.

Heinrich’s original model proposed a 300:29:1 ratio. For every 300 near-misses or unsafe acts, organizations could expect 29 minor injuries and one major injury or fatality. Even more provocatively, he claimed 88% of workplace accidents were caused not by unsafe conditions, but by unsafe acts, suggesting that changing the environment alone would be an inadequate response to his work. Human behavior needed attention as well.

These ideas revolutionized workplace safety. Accident prevention would have to expand beyond hard hats and warning signs. Companies began analyzing behaviors, investigating near misses, and fostering accountability across every level of the workforce.

How the Heinrich Pyramid of Safety Still Informs Today’s Best Risk Strategies

Despite being nearly a century old, Heinrich’s pyramid continues to shape how safety teams think about risk. The central insight is simple and powerful. Frequent low-severity events and weak signals at the base reveal where systems are brittle. If leaders learn from those signals and remove the underlying causes, they also reduce the likelihood of rare high-severity losses at the top. 

Leading and lagging indicators help translate the pyramid into daily management and take your EHS program beyond compliance. 

Lagging indicators summarize outcomes that have already happened, such as OSHA recordables, days away from work, total recordable incident rate, and workers compensation costs. Leading indicators focus on conditions and behaviors that predict risk, such as near miss reporting quality, hazard observations, preventive maintenance completion, training and certification currency, audit findings closed on time, and corrective actions verified for effectiveness. When managers track both sets in one view, they can use the broad base of data to spot precursors with serious injury potential and intervene before losses occur.

The practical takeaway is relevance rather than rigidity. Don't chase a magic ratio. Use the pyramid’s structure to prioritize high potential near misses, examine the concentrations at the base, and close the loop on corrective actions. When paired with a culture that encourages reporting and with tools that surface patterns quickly, the pyramid remains a clear guide for modern risk strategies, directing attention to the earliest detectable signals that prevent the most serious harm.

Why Heinrich’s Analog Pyramid Still Matters in a Data-Driven World

In a time when organizations track metrics across every department, safety professionals need tools to spot early warning signs before tragedy strikes. This is where the core insight of Heinrich’s pyramid proves its enduring value.

Small incidents reveal larger risks. Organizations that encourage near-miss reporting and early intervention often see quantifiable results that lead to real change.

The pyramid doesn’t predict future incidents. It helps surface patterns that would otherwise go unnoticed and promotes proactive investigation, encouraging safety teams to ask not just “What happened?” but “What could have happened?”

Modern Tools Bring the Pyramid to Life: The Role of EHS Software

While Heinrich relied on insurance reports and paper files, today’s safety leaders have powerful software at their fingertips. Modern Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) platforms allow organizations to capture, analyze, and act on safety data in real time.

Software like the EHS-Dashboard™ by Higher Elevation Software enables:

• Mobile near-miss reporting, making it easier for frontline employees to share observations.
• Automated trend analysis that surfaces recurring issues before they escalate.
• Customizable dashboards showing risk by location, department, or type of incident.
• Workflow automation to ensure follow-up actions are tracked and completed.

These platforms align perfectly with the pyramid’s philosophy by gathering broad data at the base to stabilize the entire structure. Rather than chasing lagging indicators like OSHA-recordable injuries, safety teams can shift to tracking leading indicators, including unsafe behaviors, unplanned equipment shutdowns, or housekeeping issues. 

Companies that leverage Heinrich’s pyramid empower all departments to shift safety management from a reactive process to a proactive one.

Take Safety Beyond Compliance with the EHS-Dashboard™

The EHS-Dashboard™ is a modern tool that gathers safety data and makes it meaningful, actionable, and immediate. 

With the EHS-Dashboard™, users can:

• View real-time incident maps and key performance indicators.
• Track near-miss reports and completion of corrective actions.
• Benchmark across teams or locations to identify leaders and laggards.
• Configure alerts for high-risk trends or overdue investigations.

The platform enables organizations to see the full picture of their safety culture, creates a single source of truth for all stakeholders from the boardroom to the shop floor, and brings the logic of the pyramid into the digital age.

As safety professionals embrace data, technology, and smarter workflows, Heinrich’s insights are more relevant than ever, but managing today’s risks takes connected, predictive tools.

Want to see how The EHS Dashboard brings proactive safety to life? Schedule a demo today and start improving workplace safety one insight at a time.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Heinrich Pyramid of Safety?
Heinrich's Pyramid is a model that shows how frequent, low-severity events at the base (near misses and minor injuries) are connected to rare, high-severity losses at the top. By learning from small signals early, teams can prevent serious incidents later.

How do leading and lagging indicators fit into the pyramid?
Lagging indicators track what has already happened, such as OSHA recordables or days away from work. Leading indicators capture conditions and behaviors that predict risk, like near-miss quality, timely corrective actions, and preventive maintenance completion. These strengthen the base of the pyramid and reduce severe events.

What practical steps should my EHS team take to apply the pyramid today?
Encourage near-miss reporting, investigate for serious-injury potential, and close the loop on corrective actions. Establish a single view of leading and lagging indicators so managers can spot patterns, assign ownership, and verify effectiveness.

How does EHS software improve outcomes compared with manual processes?
EHS platforms enable mobile reporting, trend analytics, automated workflows, and real-time dashboards. This makes weak signals visible sooner, ensures follow-through on corrective actions, and helps leaders focus on risks with the highest potential for serious harm.