What does “PSIF (potential serious injury or fatality)” mean?
Short answer
PSIF means potential serious injury or fatality: an event that could have caused death or life-changing harm. It is a safety term, not an OSHA category.
Also known as: PSIF, potential SIF, SIF precursor
Rating by what could happen
A PSIF rating asks what the event could have caused, not what it did. A load that falls near a worker is a PSIF though no one was hurt.
A minor sprain from a routine task is not. The goal is to investigate by possible harm, because outcomes are partly luck.
OSHA does not define PSIF. The term is not in its recordkeeping definitions (29 CFR 1904.46).
OSHA's own severe categories differ: a work-related death within 8 hours, and an in-patient hospital stay, amputation or loss of an eye within 24 hours (29 CFR 1904.39). Groups also define serious in different ways.
Using the rating
OSHA tells employers to investigate close calls to find hidden hazards and root causes. A PSIF flag sends the highest-risk events to a deeper investigation. The fix should aim high on the hierarchy of controls, such as removing the hazard or changing the equipment.
Example: during repairs, a machine starts while a technician is inside the guard. No one is hurt. That is a PSIF and a lockout/tagout failure. It needs investigation even though it never reaches the OSHA 300 Log.
Mix-up: SIF is a serious injury or fatality that happened. PSIF is one that could have. Track PSIF events apart from TRIR, because a rate that counts all cases equally hides them.
Frequently asked questions
Is PSIF an OSHA term?
No. OSHA's recordkeeping definitions do not include it. PSIF is a practice term, so write your own criteria and apply them the same way each time.
How is a PSIF different from a near miss?
A PSIF is a smaller group of events: the possible result was death or life-changing harm. Many are near misses. Some are minor injuries.
Who decides whether an event is a PSIF?
Someone trained in your criteria, usually the EHS lead with the supervisor, asking the same questions each time. Write down the rating and the reason.
Sources
- 29 CFR 1904.46: Definitions (recordkeeping rule)
- OSHA 29 CFR 1904.39: Reporting fatalities, hospitalizations, amputations, and losses of an eye
- OSHA: Recommended practices, hazard identification and assessment (incident investigation)
- CDC NIOSH: Hierarchy of controls
- OSHA 29 CFR 1910.147: The control of hazardous energy (lockout/tagout)
Reviewed against the sources above on Oct 5, 2026. Rules change: confirm current requirements with the issuing body or your counsel before relying on any summary.
Put the definition to work.
IncidentKit turns these terms into workflow: reports, investigations, corrective actions and packets.