Determination of Key Safety Performance Indicators Using Delphi Method: A Case Study on Electricity Distribution Company in Alborz Province

Many general indicators have been proposed to assess an organization’s safety performance. However, due to their holistic nature, these indicators may not always reflect safety-specific aspects of an organization’s performance. In other words, the nature of an organization’s activities necessitates the use of specific criteria to better reflect safety performance. This study aimed to identify and measure key safety performance indicators using the Delphi method in Alborz Province Electric Power Distribution Company.

This descriptive, survey-based study utilized the Delphi method to collect the opinions of 11 safety experts in the electric power distribution industry. Opinions were gathered in four phases, and key indicators were determined in the last phase of the study. These indicators were subsequently used to evaluate the safety performance of Alborz Electric Power Distribution Company for three months.

This study identified and documented 34 safety activities. The expert group proposed 20 indicators in the first phase of the Delphi method. In the second and third phases, four and one indicators were eliminated, respectively, because they did not receive the required score. The content validity ratio (CVR) and content validity index (CVI) were calculated for the remaining 15 indices in the fourth phase. The results revealed that the mean quarterly performance scores of Alborz Province electric power distribution districts and departments in 2016, including Nazarabad, Savojbolagh, Mehrshahr, Fardis, West, East, Taleghan, and Eshtehard, were 78.9, 54.7, 78.8, 75.9, 75.7, 80.8, 61, and 83.5 out of 100 points, respectively.

The Delphi method is useful for identifying key safety performance indicators. The indicators discovered using this technique are active indicators (pre-accident) that are crucial in determining Alborz Electric Power Distribution Company’s safety performance. These indicators are suggested for use in evaluating the safety performance of other electric power distribution companies.