Serious injury and fatality (SIF) exposure is a person’s exposure to a hazard or event mechanism capable of causing serious injury or death, considered in relation to the safeguards in place. Assessment considers the potential consequence, how a person can be harmed, and the presence and effectiveness of safeguards, rather than relying only on the injury outcome recorded after an event.
In forklift operations, an example is a pedestrian entering a moving vehicle’s path with credible potential for crushing or a severe impact. Assessment considers vehicle movement, separation, visibility, traffic arrangements, and the controls intended to protect the person. Proximity alone does not establish the severity of every interaction.
SIF exposure can exist without an injury or a reported near miss. A SIF precursor is a condition or signal indicating potential severe exposure, while pSIF is an event classification under a defined assessment framework. If an organization tracks exposure counts or scores, it should define the qualifying conditions, observation coverage, and measurement method so that trends can be interpreted consistently.