FEATURE STORIES | APRIL 2008

10 Traits of an Effective Worker-Safety Program

By Laurence D. Edelman, CSP, CPCU
Warren, McVeigh & Griffin, Inc.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that in 2006 (latest year data) there were 4,085,400 recordable non-fatal injuries with 1,183,500 days away from work due to injury. There were 5,703 fatal injuries for the same year. Although there have been isolated reports that injury frequency is declining, such a trend is not verifiable and therefore speculative at this time. We do know, however, that medical costs have risen sharply in 2006 and 2007 and may continue to rise.

As businesses and government entities scrutinize their financial burdens, they find that the direct and indirect costs of injuries in the workplace cannot be ignored.

Managing the Worker-Safety Risk

Once employers understand the toll of workplace injuries--economic and otherwise--they can start to implement an effective workers' compensation accident prevention and injury mitigation program.

Employers serious about reducing the frequency, severity, and cost of employee injuries do the following:

(1) Create a safety/loss control department, appointing an experienced and credentialed safety/loss control professional to a permanent management position (reporting to the finance, human resources, legal, or risk management department) or contracting with an independent, experienced safety/loss control consultant.

(2) Empower the safety professional to commence a detailed inspection with written results of all the company's facilities and exposures.

(3) Direct the safety professional to conduct an audit of all written safety material (for compliance with regulators), costs of safety equipment and facilities, and training documents and sessions.

(4) Support the safety professional's efforts in all phases of the company, including mandatory access to key department heads, managers, and supervisors.

(5) Consider all safety recommendations and makes safety part of the budgeting process.

(6) Encourage a safety culture through the support of a user-friendly, non-technical, written safety program. This manual, written in a simple, easy-to-understand manner, will serve as a safety/loss control guide for all employees.

(7) Emphasize initial training and annual refresher training in safety/loss control for all positions.

(8) Require all specific job training to be on-going, documented, and tested.

(9) Direct investigations of all accidents and "near-misses" by the safety/loss control department and requires all department heads to participate in sessions discussing causes of accidents costs, corrections, and mitigation.

(10) Create with the safety professional and the cooperation of company leaders a safe workplace--a company that cares for and about its workforce--and send a clear message by top management that a culture of safe work practices is a permanent and essential part of the company's success.

Organizations that institute and support a safe workplace, accident avoidance and/or mitigation, cost control, cooperation and interaction among all company personnel, compliance with regulations, and that are managed efficiently by inside or outside professionals can turn their safety/loss control departments from loss toward success. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Laurence D. Edelman, CPCU, a Certified Safety Professional (CSP), is a senior safety consultant with Warren, McVeigh & Griffin, Inc., specializing in safety and loss-prevention issues. Larry is highly experienced in developing and auditing written safety loss-prevention and crisis management programs, OSHA-compliance inspections and training, and regulatory liaison. His assignments have included safety program auditing; creating safety, environmental, and HAZMAT programs; employee training; program implementation; and a wide range of specialized safety and loss-prevention assignments. Larry can be reached at 949-752-1058.

riskVue | The webzine for risk management professionals
April 2008