China Safety Science Journal ›› 2026, Vol. 36 ›› Issue (7): 12-19.doi: 10.16265/j.cnki.issn1003-3033.2026.07.1479

• Safety Science Theories and Methods • Previous Articles     Next Articles

A study on correlation between safety leading and lagging indicators based on Meta-analysis

Jiang Wei(), Zhang Zhuoye, Ma Shengxiang, Li Mushan, Xu Yuan   

  1. School of Emergency Management and Safety Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology-Beijing, Beijing 100083, China
  • Received:2026-02-26 Revised:2026-05-07 Online:2026-07-28 Published:2027-01-28

Abstract:

In order to enhance the level of active accident prevention and optimize the allocation of safety management resources, the correlation between leading and lagging indicators was quantitatively studied by using Meta-analysis method. Firstly, based on the 24 Model accident cause theory, the leading and lagging indicators classification framework of "safety culture-safety management system-safety capability" was constructed. And 19 leading indicators and 3 lagging indicators were classified. Secondly, the Chinese and English databases were searched to screen out 25 articles that met the criteria for meta-analysis, and extracted and preprocessed the correlation coefficients. Finally, the correlation effect size of the leading and lagging indicators was calculated using Meta-analysis. The performance of the correlation results in different industries (high-risk/general). And cultural background (Chinese/foreign) was tested by subgroup analysis, and safety implications were summarized based on the results. Results shows: safety psychology(r=0.617) and safety participation(r=0.571) are strongly correlated with accident frequency. And inspection and maintenance(r=0.54) and safety procedures(r=0.514) are strongly correlated with accident loss. In high-risk industries, safety commitment(r=0.37) can more impact on accident loss. In a foreign cultural context, the influence of safety conditions(r=0.314) on the frequency of accidents is more prominent.

Key words: Meta-analysis, leading indicator, lagging indicator, safety management, 24 Model

CLC Number: