Key Takeaways

• Evolution of Workplace Safety: The five eras of workplace safety maturity highlight how safety management has evolved from a reactive, dangerous environment during the "Era of Death" to a proactive, data-driven approach in the current "Era of Assurance."
• Era of Death: The late 1800s to early 1900s was marked by high industrial fatalities and unsafe working conditions, with little to no safety protocols in place. Tragic events like the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire pushed the need for safety reforms.
• Era of Engineering: From the early 1900s to the 1970s, engineering solutions like safer machinery and fire escapes were introduced to mitigate risks, but safety improvements were inconsistent and lacked standardization across industries.
• Era of Compliance and Era of Consensus Standards: Starting in the 1970s, formal regulations like OSHA were established, making compliance mandatory. By the 1990s, industries adopted consensus standards (ISO, ANSI) to go beyond compliance and continuously improve safety practices.
• Era of Assurance: Since the 2010s, organizations have focused on ensuring the effectiveness of safety systems through data, evidence, and cross-functional collaboration. The goal is not just compliance but proving that safety processes are delivering tangible improvements and reducing risks.

Introduction

From the late 1800s to the present day, the approach organizations have taken towards workplace safety has changed dramatically, reflecting advancements in industrial practices, regulatory oversight, and organizational culture. These eras demonstrate how safety management has gradually moved from a reactive, compliance-based approach to a more proactive, systemic one.

In this blog, we will look at each of the Five Eras of Safety Maturity:

In addition to bringing to light industry's changing approach to safety management, this historical progression will also serve as a foundation for our next post on the levels of safety maturity that organizations should strive for.

1. Era of Death (Late 1800s – Early 1900s)

The Era of Death refers to the early days of industrialization, when workers transitioned from rural agricultural work to hazardous industrial environments. As factories grew and cities expanded, workers found themselves in dangerous, unregulated conditions, operating heavy machinery and building skyscrapers with little to no safety protocols in place. This era earned its grim name because once incidences were finally being tracked, the number of fatalities was startling. The new data revealed just how deadly industrial jobs were at the time.

During this era, safety knowledge was practically non-existent. Employers prioritized production over protection, and workers faced high fatality rates due to unsafe working conditions. Accidents were seen as an unavoidable part of the job and there were no safety standards, regulations, or oversight. Without legal requirements, employers rarely invested in worker safety.  

A formative incident from this period was the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire of 1911, where 146 garment workers — most of them young women — died in a high-rise building with no proper fire escapes or emergency plans. The fire underscored the tragic consequences of ignoring basic safety practices like fire safety measures and proper equipment. While this terrible incident galvanized public attention, it is seen as a key moment in safety history that highlighted the critical need for workplace safety reforms and standardized safety practice. This in turn lead to the advancement of workplace health, and safety regulations in the United States through the creation of new groups such as the American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP) and National Safety Council (NSC).

Though this era is marked by high death rates and unsafe conditions, it laid the groundwork for future safety improvements. The tragedies of the Era of Death pushed industry leaders and the public to recognize the importance of protecting workers.

2. Era of Engineering (Early 1900s to the 1970s)

The Era of Engineering was driven by the need to address widespread industrial fatalities and accidents. This period saw safety concerns begin to be taken seriously as organizations sought to engineer solutions to prevent the deadly incidents of the past.

The tragic events of the early 1900s highlighted the inadequacies of existing workplace structures and practices. Engineering solutions, like fire escapes and safer building designs, were introduced in response. The era was characterized by a focus on improving machinery, equipment, and facilities to prevent accidents.

During this time, professional organizations began to form, most notably the American Society of Safety Professionals (originally called the American Society of Safety Engineers), which played a key role in promoting safety through engineering. Safety improvements were largely technical, aimed at mitigating the hazards of dangerous equipment, poor ventilation, and unsafe building designs.

However, despite these advancements, there was still no standardization across industries. Different sectors lacked a unified approach to safety, which limited the effectiveness of these early engineering-driven improvements. While organizations were becoming more aware of the importance of worker safety, the absence of consistent safety regulations meant that many hazards persisted.

This era marked the beginning of systematic efforts to reduce workplace risks through technology and design, laying the groundwork for the next phase in safety evolution. The Era of Engineering brought critical improvements but showed that engineering solutions alone were not enough without formal standards.

3. Era of Compliance (1970s – 1990s)

The Era of Compliance began in the 1970s with the establishment of formalized safety regulations, marking a significant shift in workplace safety. The creation of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in the United States in 1970, along with similar regulatory agencies like the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in the UK, set the foundation for this era. These organizations introduced legal requirements for workplace safety, which enforced standards for training, protective equipment, and injury reporting.

Federal and state regulations in the United States, such as the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), became the benchmark for evaluating whether employers were meeting safety standards. Compliance with these standards became essential, and failure to do so resulted in penalties, fines, or other enforcement actions. This era was characterized by a strong focus on compliance metrics like total recordable incident rate (TRIR), which became the primary indicator of safety performance.

As organizations adhered to these new standards, this era saw a marked improvement in safety, with injury rates significantly decreasing even as the workforce grew in numbers. However, by the late 1990s, it became evident that while compliance had significantly reduced injury rates, it had limitations. Fatalities in the workplace had plateaued and even began to rise slightly, signaling that compliance alone could not fully address the complexities of modern industrial risks.

4. Era of Consensus Standards (1990s – 2000s)

The Era of Consensus Standards emerged in the late 1990s as organizations realized that compliance alone could not fully address workplace safety. As such, this era introduced consensus-based standards that moved beyond legal compliance, focusing on best practices and continuous improvement.

During this period, industry experts, researchers, and international bodies developed standards such as the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). These standards, including ISO 45001 (formerly OHSAS 18001), provided frameworks for safety management systems that allowed organizations to address safety more comprehensively. The Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle became widely adopted as a method for ongoing risk management and process improvement.

Unlike regulatory standards, consensus standards were not enforced by law but were seen as best practices recognized globally. They allowed organizations to keep pace with the evolving complexities of modern industries, such as faster machinery, new chemical processes, and ergonomic challenges. Regulatory bodies like OSHA even began incorporating consensus standards by reference, acknowledging that these guidelines often outpaced formal regulations.

The Era of Consensus Standards helped organizations go beyond compliance to proactively manage safety risks, address emerging hazards, and drive continuous improvement. It emphasized a systems-based approach that integrated safety into business operations.

5. Era of Assurance (2010s – 2020s)

The Era of Assurance, beginning in the early 2010s, marks a shift toward evidence-based safety practices that go beyond compliance and consensus standards, while still remaining dependent upon them as foundational. This era emphasizes not only having safety management systems in place but also proving their effectiveness through data and measurable results. Organizations moved from focusing on simply having safety processes to ensuring those processes deliver real, tangible improvements in workplace safety.

In this era, safety management has become more integrated across business functions such as procurement, operations, and human resources. Companies have begun adopting leading indicators, which measure proactive safety efforts (such as training and hazard identification) rather than just lagging indicators like injury rates. This approach has allowed organizations to predict and prevent incidents rather than simply react to them.

The Era of Assurance has also brought a focus on cross-functional collaboration within organizations, where safety became a shared responsibility across departments. Safety management systems (SMS) are increasingly driven by data, evidence, and continuous improvement frameworks like ISO 45001. Auditing and verification of safety practices have become key components, with companies needing to demonstrate that their safety systems are actively working to reduce risk.

By collecting and analyzing data, organizations can demonstrate assurance that their safety efforts are not just theoretical but effective in practice. This era reflects a mature understanding of safety, where compliance is seen as a baseline and the goal is to continuously improve through a proactive, evidence-based approach. As companies strive for higher safety performance, the Era of Assurance has paved the way for more innovative and transformative safety cultures.

Conclusion: Looking Ahead to Safety Maturity Levels

The evolution of safety practices has taken organizations from the uninformed, hazardous days of the Era of Death through the structured approaches of the Era of Assurance, where safety is driven by data, proactive measures, and cross-functional collaboration. We’re fortunate to be part of an era where industry’s understanding of safety has reached such an advanced level of maturity.

Understanding the history of safety maturity, however, is only part of the equation. In Blog 2, we’ll dive deeper into the specific levels of organizational safety maturity — from Pathological to Transformative — to explore how businesses can progress through these stages. We’ll discuss how organizations can elevate their safety performance, not just by meeting compliance requirements, but by creating innovative and collaborative safety cultures that go beyond mere prequalification and compliance.

Watch Our Safety Maturity Webinar!

If you would like to learn more about safety maturity and how your organization can evolve toward becoming truly transformative in your approach to safety, watch our recent webinar Breaking Barriers: Going Beyond Traditional Risk Management.

Avetta is a SaaS software company providing supply chain risk management solutions. Avetta’s platform is trusted by over 130,000 suppliers in over 120 countries. Visit Avetta.com to learn about how our new Safety Maturity Index can help you go beyond compliance and prequalification.

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