The Michigan Department of Labor & Economic Growth, in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), is authorized to implement an on-going annual occupational safety and health survey program. Data collection is conducted in accordance with provisions of the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Act (MIOSHA), Public Act 154 of 1974, as amended. The purpose of MIOSHA is to ensure safe and healthful work environments free from recognized hazards to all Michigan employees. In order to realize this objective, MIOSHA requires that employers keep records of work-related fatalities, all occupational illnesses, and work-related injuries which result in loss of time, loss of consciousness, restriction of work or motion, transfer to another job, or medical treatment other than first aid.

The occupational injury and illness data reported through the annual survey are based on records which employers, who are sampled from the following industries, maintain under MIOSHA: Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing; Oil and Gas Extraction; Construction; Manufacturing; Transportation and Public Utilities; Wholesale and Retail Trade; Finance, Insurance and Real Estate; Services; and State and Local Government. Self-employed individuals; farmers with fewer than 11 employees; employers regulated by other federal safety and health laws, such as railroads; selected mining industries; and federal government agencies, are excluded from the survey. Data conforming to the definitions of recordable occupational injuries and illnesses for coal, metal and non-metal mining, and railroad transportation are provided by the Mine Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, and the Federal Railroad Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, respectively. Data for independent contractors who perform services or construction on mining sites are also included.

The annual survey provides occupational injury and illness data which facilitate yearly comparisons for each industry within the scope of the survey in Michigan. Incidence rates which represent the number of occupational injuries and/or illnesses or lost workday cases per 100 full-time workers are also obtained from the survey data. The incidence rates are a measure of injuries and illnesses which are comparable over a period of time, and are a useful tool with which to monitor occupational injury and illness trends.

Incidence rates are a better measure of change than year-to-year comparisons of cases which may be influenced by growth or decline in industry employment. The results of the survey are used as part of the tools for measuring and evaluating the effectiveness of occupational safety and health programs by the administering agencies in both the private and public sectors at the state and national levels. The survey data provide a guide to occupational safety and health occurrences and help education and training consultants determine which industry groups may have the greatest need to improve their safety programs. The BLS and cooperating agencies, including the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), use the survey results as a statistical base for reports and research activities. The private sector and individual work establishments may also use the survey results to assess their own occupational injury and illness experience. The individual in charge of safety and health for a particular work establishment may then review the incidence rate of the industry group to which that particular establishment belongs, as well as the incidence rates for the state as a whole, in order to compare the establishment's experience.