How do you calculate the DART rate?

Multiply your DART cases (days away, restricted, or transferred) by 200,000 and divide by total hours worked. With 3 DART cases and 500,000 hours, that is 3 x 200,000 / 500,000 = a DART rate of 1.2 per 100 workers.

What is the difference between DART and TRIR?

TRIR counts all recordable cases; DART counts only the serious ones involving days away, restricted duty, or transfer. DART is always less than or equal to TRIR — it filters out recordables like medical treatment that caused no work disruption.

What is the difference between DART and LTIR?

LTIR counts only cases with days away from work. DART adds restricted-duty and job-transfer cases on top, so DART is broader. A case put on light duty but never sent home counts in DART but not LTIR.

What is a good DART rate in manufacturing?

Most manufacturing DART rates fall roughly between 1.5 and 3.0 depending on NAICS code. The worked example's 1.2 is below that band and considered good; OSHA flags sites whose DART rate sits well above their industry average.

Why does OSHA care about the DART rate?

DART captures the cases with real human and operational cost, so OSHA uses it to target inspections through its Site-Specific Targeting program. A high DART relative to peers raises your odds of an inspection.

Does a restricted-duty case count in DART even if no days were missed?

Yes. Any case involving restricted work activity or a job transfer counts in DART regardless of whether the employee also missed days. That is exactly what distinguishes it from the lost-time rate.

Safety & Workforce calculator

DART Rate Calculator

The DART rate counts the OSHA-recordable cases serious enough to cause Days Away, Restricted duty, or job Transfer per 100 full-time-equivalent workers per year. It sits between the broad recordable rate and the narrow lost-time rate: it captures every injury that changed how — or whether — someone could do their job. OSHA uses DART as a key targeting metric, and its Site-Specific Targeting program pulls in establishments whose DART rates run high relative to their industry. For plant managers and EHS teams, DART is often the single most actionable severity number because it includes the restricted-duty cases that lost-time rates miss but that still disrupt staffing and production.

What this calculator does

Calculate DART rate for Safety & Workforce from DART cases and total hours worked, using the OSHA 200,000-hour basis.
Use it to benchmark safety performance for Safety & Workforce against OSHA and industry averages.
It computes your DART rate per 100 full-time workers from your count of days-away, restricted, and transfer cases and total hours worked.

Formula used

DART rate = DART cases × 200,000 ÷ total hours worked
200,000 = 100 full-time workers × 2,000 hours per year

Inputs explained

DART cases (days away, restricted, or transferred): Number of DART cases in the period (usually a calendar year).
Total hours worked: All employee hours worked in the same period (overtime included).

How to use the result

Use it for OSHA recordkeeping, to check whether your site risks Site-Specific Targeting, and to track serious-case severity alongside your overall recordable rate.
A single case is counted once even if it involves both days away and later restricted duty, so DART measures case counts, not total days of impact.

Current U.S. benchmarks

Manufacturing hourly earnings average $30.27 (BLS, Jun 2026), up 4.4% from a year earlier. Median machinist pay is $28.24/hr (OEWS 2025), with state medians on each state page. Manufacturers have 529k open positions nationally (BLS JOLTS).

Common questions

How do you calculate the DART rate? Multiply your DART cases (days away, restricted, or transferred) by 200,000 and divide by total hours worked. With 3 DART cases and 500,000 hours, that is 3 x 200,000 / 500,000 = a DART rate of 1.2 per 100 workers.
What is the difference between DART and TRIR? TRIR counts all recordable cases; DART counts only the serious ones involving days away, restricted duty, or transfer. DART is always less than or equal to TRIR — it filters out recordables like medical treatment that caused no work disruption.
What is the difference between DART and LTIR? LTIR counts only cases with days away from work. DART adds restricted-duty and job-transfer cases on top, so DART is broader. A case put on light duty but never sent home counts in DART but not LTIR.
What is a good DART rate in manufacturing? Most manufacturing DART rates fall roughly between 1.5 and 3.0 depending on NAICS code. The worked example's 1.2 is below that band and considered good; OSHA flags sites whose DART rate sits well above their industry average.
Why does OSHA care about the DART rate? DART captures the cases with real human and operational cost, so OSHA uses it to target inspections through its Site-Specific Targeting program. A high DART relative to peers raises your odds of an inspection.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.