DART Rate

The DART rate (Days Away, Restricted or Transferred rate) is an OSHA safety metric that shows how many recordable injuries and illnesses per 100 full-time workers resulted in days away from work, restricted duty or job transfer. It is calculated as the number of DART cases multiplied by 200,000, divided by total employee hours worked.

Because it counts only cases serious enough to affect a person's ability to do their normal job, the DART rate is often read as a measure of injury severity. Safety managers use it alongside other rates to compare performance over time and against industry averages.

What Is a DART Rate?

DART stands for "days away from work, or job transfer or restriction, or both." The term comes from OSHA's injury and illness recordkeeping rules in 29 CFR Part 1904, which require covered employers to record work-related cases on the OSHA 300 Log. Each recordable injury is classified by its most serious outcome: death, days away from work, job transfer or restriction, or other recordable case.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the DART rate is computed by adding the cases in Column H (days away from work) and Column I (job transfer or restriction) of the OSHA 300 Log, then applying the standard incidence rate formula. BLS uses the same approach when it publishes national DART rates by industry.

DART Rate Formula

The formula is:

DART rate = (Number of DART cases × 200,000) ÷ Total hours worked by all employees

The 200,000 figure is a standard base. It represents 100 full-time employees working 40 hours a week for 50 weeks a year. Using this base lets organizations of any size express their rate as cases per 100 full-time workers, which makes comparisons fair between a 40-person shop and a 4,000-person manufacturer.

What counts as a DART case

A case counts toward the DART rate if it is recorded on the OSHA 300 Log with either of these outcomes:

• Days away from work: the employee could not work on at least one calendar day after the day of the injury or illness.
• Job transfer or restriction: the employee was kept from performing one or more routine job functions, could not work a full shift, or was moved to another job because of the injury or illness.

Under 29 CFR 1904.7(b)(4), routine functions are work activities the employee regularly performs at least once per week. A restriction that applies only to the day of the injury is not recorded as a restricted case.

What hours to include

Total hours worked should include actual hours worked by all employees covered by the log, including overtime, part-time and seasonal staff, and temporary workers you supervise day to day. Exclude vacation, sick leave, holidays and other paid time off, because those are not hours worked.

How to Calculate the DART Rate: Worked Example

The following numbers are hypothetical and are used only to show the math.

1. Count DART cases. A distribution center's OSHA 300 Log for the year shows 3 cases in Column H (days away) and 5 cases in Column I (job transfer or restriction). That is 8 DART cases.
2. Find total hours worked. Payroll records show 220 employees worked a combined 452,000 hours during the year.
3. Apply the formula. (8 × 200,000) ÷ 452,000 = 1,600,000 ÷ 452,000 = 3.54.
4. Interpret the result. The facility had about 3.5 DART cases for every 100 full-time-equivalent workers during the year.

To check your own numbers, you can use the SMS360 OSHA Injury and Incident Calculator.

Why the DART Rate Matters

The DART rate gives a clearer picture of injury severity than total case counts. Two sites can have the same number of recordable cases, but if one site's cases mostly involve medical treatment only and the other's involve days away and restrictions, the DART rate will show the difference.

• Benchmarking: BLS publishes DART rates by industry, so you can compare your rate with the average for your NAICS code.
• Customer and contractor prequalification: many owners and general contractors ask bidders for several years of DART and total recordable rates.
• Regulatory attention: OSHA collects injury data from many establishments electronically, and injury rates can influence where the agency focuses outreach and inspections.
• Cost control: cases with days away or restrictions usually carry higher costs through workers' compensation claims, lost productivity and replacement labor.

DART Rate vs. TRIR and LTIR

The DART rate is one of several injury rates calculated with the same 200,000-hour base. What changes is which cases go in the numerator.

• Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR): includes every OSHA recordable case, so it is always equal to or higher than the DART rate.
• DART rate: includes only cases with days away, restrictions or job transfer (Columns H and I).
• Lost Time Injury Rate (LTIR) or days away rate: includes only cases with days away from work (Column H), so it is always equal to or lower than the DART rate.

Reading these rates together is useful. A high TRIR with a low DART rate suggests many minor recordables. A DART rate close to the TRIR suggests most recordable cases are severe enough to affect work. A gap between the DART rate and the days away rate shows how often you use restricted or transitional duty instead of lost time.

Counting Days and Avoiding Calculation Errors

How to count days for DART cases

The DART rate itself counts cases, not days, but accurate day counts determine how each case is classified and are required on the 300 Log. OSHA's rules in 29 CFR 1904.7(b)(3) state:

• Count calendar days, including weekends, holidays and scheduled days off, not just scheduled workdays.
• Do not count the day of the injury or illness. Start counting the next day.
• If a physician or other licensed health care professional recommends days away and the employee works anyway, record the recommended days.
• You may stop counting at 180 calendar days and enter 180.

Restricted and transfer days are counted using the same method. A single case with both days away and restricted days is recorded in Column H, because days away is the more serious outcome, so it is counted only once in the DART rate.

Common calculation mistakes

• Using scheduled hours or headcount instead of actual hours worked.
• Counting a case twice because it had both days away and restricted days.
• Forgetting cases that become DART cases after the log entry, such as a delayed restriction.
• Comparing a single site's annual rate with a multi-year industry average without noting the difference.
• Treating a low rate at a small site as proof of safety. With few hours, one case can swing the rate significantly.

How to Lower Your DART Rate the Right Way

The goal is fewer serious injuries, not fewer entries on the log. Underreporting or misclassifying cases to improve a rate violates OSHA recordkeeping rules and hides the risks you need to fix.

1. Analyze your DART cases. Group them by body part, task, department and cause to find patterns.
2. Investigate root causes. Use a structured method such as root cause analysis for every DART case, not just the most severe ones.
3. Control the highest risks. Prioritize engineering controls for the tasks behind repeat cases, such as manual handling, slips and machine contact.
4. Track leading indicators. Monitor near miss reports, observations, inspections and training completion so you can act before an injury occurs.
5. Manage cases early. Prompt reporting, appropriate care and a well-run return-to-work program help injured employees recover and return safely.

How SMS360 Helps

The SMS360 OSHA Injury and Incident Calculator helps you calculate OSHA injury and incident rates, such as the DART rate, from your case counts and total hours worked. Running the same calculation each period keeps your reported rates consistent. Within the wider SMS360 platform, incident records and reporting dashboards help safety teams track cases and compare injury trends across sites and reporting periods.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a good DART rate?

There is no single good DART rate, because injury risk varies widely by industry. The best benchmark is the BLS rate for your specific industry code, which you can find in BLS injury and illness tables. A rate below your industry average is a positive sign, but the most useful comparison is your own trend over several years, because a single year can be skewed by a few cases.

How do you calculate a DART rate?

Add the number of cases in Column H (days away) and Column I (job transfer or restriction) of your OSHA 300 Log. Multiply that total by 200,000, then divide by the total hours worked by all employees during the same period. For example, 4 DART cases and 250,000 hours worked gives (4 × 200,000) ÷ 250,000 = 3.2.

Is the DART rate the same as the lost time injury rate?

No. The lost time injury rate usually includes only cases with days away from work. The DART rate also includes cases where the employee stayed at work but was restricted or transferred to another job. Because it covers more cases, the DART rate is always equal to or higher than a lost time rate calculated for the same period.

Do first aid cases count toward the DART rate?

No. First aid cases, as defined in 29 CFR 1904.7(b)(5)(ii), are not recordable and do not appear on the OSHA 300 Log. Only recordable cases that result in days away from work, job transfer or restricted duty count toward the DART rate. Recordable cases with medical treatment but no lost or restricted time count toward TRIR only.