How to Calculate OSHA TCIR and When the Number Misleads You

TCIR (also called TRIR) = total recordable cases × 200,000 ÷ total hours worked, where the cases are the sum of 300A columns G, H, I, and J. The 2024 private-industry average was 2.3, but at small sites one case moves the rate by several points, so show the case count next to it.

TCIR looks simple until a small establishment has one case and the rate swings sharply.

Gather these first, and keep them with the record afterward:

• The payroll report used for hours worked, with the date it was pulled
• Adjustments: paid leave removed, supervised temporary workers added
• The pay periods and headcounts behind the annual average employees figure
• The rate calculation with the case counts it used

OSHA incidence rates scale case counts to 200,000 hours, which is 100 full-time workers at 40 hours a week for 50 weeks. TRIR (also called TCIR) = total recordable cases (300A columns G + H + I + J) × 200,000 ÷ total hours worked. DART = (cases in columns H + I) × 200,000 ÷ total hours worked. The 300A itself asks for the annual average number of employees and the total hours worked by all employees covered by the log (29 CFR 1904.32(b)(2)). For comparison, the BLS private-industry averages for 2024 were a TRIR of 2.3 and a DART rate of 1.4.

1. Confirm the recordable case count.
2. Verify the hours worked.
3. Calculate and round to two decimals.
4. Annotate unusual changes in operations.

Tip: Multiply total recordable cases by 200,000 and divide by hours worked.

Teams often combine locations for leadership dashboards but forget OSHA establishment-level logs. Calculate the rate for each establishment first, then roll up, and show the case count and hours next to every rate.

The denominator does as much work as the numerator. One wrong hours figure moves every rate, and the same hours also go on the 300A and into the ITA submission. The fix is to document the method once (which payroll report, which exclusions, which estimates) and use the same hours for the 300A, the ITA, and every rate.

EHS managers usually run the monthly review, which is the best point to catch the late medical updates that change a case.

• Low-hours sites can show dramatic rates that need context, not excuses.
• Small establishments swing sharply: one recordable case at 40,000 hours is a TRIR of 5.0.

A 20-person shop worked 41,000 hours and had one recordable case: TCIR = 1 × 200,000 ÷ 41,000 = 4.88, twice the national average. The next year, with no cases, it is 0.00. Reporting “1 case in 41,000 hours” next to the rate keeps leadership from reading a trend into one event.

Enter your recordable cases and hours in the TRIR calculator to check the arithmetic and compare with the listed industry benchmark.

Hours worked and average employees appear on the posted 300A and in the ITA submission, so a figure that is wrong for the rate is also wrong on two regulatory documents.

300log totals each establishment's columns as cases are recorded and keeps average employees and hours worked with the 300A, so the rate, the posted summary, and the ITA submission all use the same numbers.

For a quick answer without an account, use the free rate calculator.

• Annual Average Employees on OSHA 300A: How to Calculate the Field
• Total Hours Worked on OSHA 300A: What to Include and What to Exclude
• Calendar Days vs Workdays in OSHA Recordkeeping
• Updating the OSHA 300 Log After Year End: What Changes and What Does Not