Which is the most important source of safety data to you as a new safety practitioner?

• A. External incident reports
• B. Industry benchmarks
• C. A combination of reactive and proactive sources
• D. Personal opinions from engineers

Answer: (C)

A safety program benefits from gathering information from multiple sources so you can learn from past events and anticipate future risks. The best approach for a new safety practitioner is to use a combination of reactive sources, like external incident reports that show what went wrong and why, and proactive sources, such as industry benchmarks, audits, risk assessments, and best-practice guidelines that help you prevent issues before they happen. This blend gives you both the lessons from real incidents and the standards used across the field to drive safer operations. Relying on personal opinions alone isn’t enough, and relying on only one type of data can miss important gaps or emerging risks. By integrating incident data with benchmarking and proactive assessments, you build a more complete, forward-looking safety program.