The time period during which an occupational safety and health intervention takes place (time
frame) is typically much shorter than the time period during which the consequences of the
intervention take place (analytic horizon). The analytic horizon should thus be long enough to
capture all the economic consequences. Some diseases, for example asbestos-related diseases,
have latency periods of more than 20 years. From the societal perspective, the analytic horizon
could be 40 years for an illness which affects a worker for the rest of his/her life, or even longer
if there are effects for future generations.
These periods are far too long in the context of company decision-making. Planning horizons
(at operational and tactical level) are usually three to four years. In many industries, investments
have payback periods of two to three years. The risk of having new, more effective and cheaper
methods available within a few years is too big.