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Dart Rate Calculator

Calculate your workplace DART (Days Away, Restricted, or Transferred) rate using OSHA's standard formula: DART Cases x 200,000 / Total Hours Worked.

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Inputs

Number of DART Cases

Total Hours Worked by All Employees

DART Rate (per 100 FTE)

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DART Rate (per 100 FTE)—per 100 FTE

The formula

How the
result is
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What Is the DART Rate?

The DART rate (Days Away, Restricted, or Transferred rate) is a standardized workplace safety metric established by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to measure the frequency of serious work-related injuries and illnesses per 100 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees. Unlike broader incident metrics, the DART rate focuses exclusively on cases severe enough to result in an employee missing workdays, performing restricted duties, or transferring to a different job role. Employers, safety professionals, insurers, and regulators rely on this rate to benchmark safety performance, identify high-risk operations, and evaluate the effectiveness of injury-prevention programs.

The DART Rate Formula

The formula for calculating the DART rate is standardized by OSHA and the Bureau of Labor Statistics:

DART Rate = (DART Cases × 200,000) ÷ Total Hours Worked

The constant 200,000 represents the annual hours worked by 100 full-time employees (100 workers × 40 hours/week × 50 weeks). Multiplying by this baseline normalizes raw case counts into a rate expressed per 100 FTE workers, enabling valid comparisons across organizations of different sizes, industries, and workforce compositions.

Variable 1: DART Cases

DART cases are drawn directly from OSHA Form 300 (Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses). Add the year-end totals from Column H (days away from work cases) and Column I (job transfer or restriction cases). Do not double-count a single case that appears in both columns — OSHA requires that each case be recorded in only one column, with the more severe outcome taking precedence. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Incidence Rate Calculator, a recordable case qualifies as a DART case only when a physician or licensed health care professional recommends days away, restricted activity, or job transfer.

Variable 2: Total Hours Worked

Total hours worked must reflect the actual hours all employees worked during the calendar year, as reported on OSHA Form 300A. This figure must include full-time, part-time, temporary, seasonal, and leased employees. Exclude paid leave, vacation, sick time, and holidays — only hours physically worked count. If precise payroll records are unavailable, multiply the number of FTE employees by 2,000 hours (the standard FTE annual assumption) as an estimate. The Hawaii Occupational Safety and Health Division confirms this 2,000-hour FTE convention as the accepted approximation for standard annual full-time hours.

Step-by-Step Calculation Example

Consider a regional logistics company with the following calendar-year data:

Days-away-from-work cases (Column H, OSHA Form 300): 9
Restricted-duty or job-transfer cases (Column I, OSHA Form 300): 6
Total hours worked by all employees: 650,000

Step 1: Sum DART cases — 9 + 6 = 15 DART cases

Step 2: Apply the formula — (15 × 200,000) ÷ 650,000 = DART Rate of 4.62

This result means the company experienced approximately 4.62 DART incidents for every 100 FTE workers during the year. Compared to the BLS private-industry average of roughly 1.1, this elevated rate signals a need for targeted safety interventions in high-incident job functions.

Industry Benchmarks and Practical Significance

OSHA and the BLS publish annual DART rate benchmarks organized by NAICS industry code. According to Delaware's SafeDE workplace safety program, average DART rates vary widely by sector: warehousing and storage frequently exceeds 3.5, general merchandise retail averages around 2.0, and professional office environments often fall below 0.5. The U.S. Department of Energy's Policy Awareness guide on TRC and DART rates emphasizes that organizations tracking DART rates year-over-year can detect emerging safety trends months before they escalate into costly incidents or regulatory citations. A consistently declining DART rate correlates with reduced workers' compensation premiums, improved workforce morale, and stronger standing during OSHA inspections.

DART Rate vs. TRIR: Key Differences

The Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR) counts every recordable work-related injury or illness, including cases requiring only medical treatment beyond first aid. The DART rate is a subset of TRIR, capturing only the most consequential cases. Organizations with low TRIR values but elevated DART rates may control minor injuries effectively while still struggling to prevent severe incidents. Monitoring both rates provides safety leaders with a layered view of incident severity distribution across the workforce.

Recordkeeping Requirements

Accurate DART calculation depends on disciplined OSHA recordkeeping. Most private-sector employers with 10 or more employees must maintain OSHA Form 300 throughout the calendar year and post OSHA Form 300A from February 1 through April 30 annually. Both forms must be retained for five years. Entries in columns H and I of Form 300 must be made within seven calendar days of learning that a recordable case meets DART criteria. Accurate, timely recordkeeping is not only a legal obligation but the essential foundation of a reliable dart rate calculator result.

Reference

Frequently asked questions

What is a good DART rate for my industry?

A good DART rate is one that falls below the Bureau of Labor Statistics benchmark for a specific NAICS industry code. The BLS reports that private industry averaged approximately 1.1 in recent years. Manufacturing typically ranges from 1.5 to 3.5, while office-based industries often fall below 0.5. High-hazard sectors such as construction, warehousing, and agriculture regularly exceed 3.0. Always compare against the published BLS industry-specific average rather than a universal target, since safe performance is relative to sector-specific hazard exposure and workforce composition.

How is the DART rate different from TRIR?

TRIR (Total Recordable Incident Rate) counts all recordable work-related injuries and illnesses, including those requiring only medical treatment beyond first aid. The DART rate is a narrower subset: it counts only cases that resulted in days away from work, restricted duty, or job transfer. A company can carry a low TRIR alongside a high DART rate, indicating minor incidents are controlled but severe injuries still occur at a disproportionate frequency. Tracking both metrics together gives safety managers a complete, layered picture of incident frequency and severity across the workforce.

What does DART stand for in workplace safety?

DART stands for Days Away, Restricted, or Transferred. It refers to OSHA-recordable injury and illness cases that resulted in one or more of three serious outcomes: an employee taking days away from work to recover, an employee performing restricted duties because of an injury or illness, or an employee being transferred to a different job assignment. These outcomes represent the most consequential workplace incidents and are documented separately in columns H and I of OSHA Form 300 throughout the calendar year.

How do I calculate total hours worked for the DART rate formula?

Total hours worked must include actual hours from all employees on the payroll: full-time, part-time, temporary, seasonal, and leased workers. Paid leave, vacation, sick time, and holidays must be excluded since only hours physically worked count. Pull figures directly from payroll or timekeeping records and enter the annual total on OSHA Form 300A. If precise records are unavailable, multiply the number of full-time equivalent employees by 2,000 hours, which is the standard FTE annual work-hour assumption recognized by both OSHA and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which OSHA forms provide the data needed to calculate the DART rate?

DART rate data comes from two OSHA forms. OSHA Form 300 (Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses) supplies DART case counts: add the year-end totals from column H (cases with days away from work) and column I (cases with job transfer or restriction). OSHA Form 300A (Annual Summary) supplies the total hours worked figure for the calendar year. Both forms are required for employers with 10 or more employees in most covered industries and must be retained for five years following the end of each calendar year.

Why does the DART rate formula use 200,000 as a multiplier?

The 200,000 multiplier normalizes DART incident counts to a baseline of 100 full-time equivalent employees working a standard year: 100 workers multiplied by 40 hours per week multiplied by 50 weeks equals 200,000 hours. This standardization enables meaningful comparisons between organizations of vastly different workforce sizes. Without this normalization, a 500-person company would almost always show more raw incidents than a 50-person firm even if the smaller operation maintained a far more dangerous work environment. The multiplier converts raw case totals into a consistent rate per 100 FTE workers.