Why Establish a “Best Practices” Workplace Injury and Illness Prevention Program? Taking risks is a part of running a business, particularly for small business owners. You take risks in product development, marketing, and advertising in order to stay competitive. But some risks are just not worth the gamble. One of these is risking the safety and health of those who work for you. A “Best Practices
” safety program is one that not only addresses the Cal OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) minimum requirements, but also maximizes credits and savings available to clients who represent a “better” risk to the company underwriting the risk. Accidents Cost Money
Safety organizations, states, small business owners and major corporations alike now realize that the actual cost of a lost workday injury is substantial. For every dollar you spend on the direct costs of a worker’s injury or illness, you will spend much more to cover the indirect and hidden costs (typically more than 10 to 1). Consider what one lost workday injury would cost you in terms of:
Productive time lost by an injured employee;
Productive time lost by employees and supervisors attending the accident victim;
Clean up and start up of operations interrupted by the accident;
Time to hire or to retrain other individuals to replace the injured worker until his/her return;
Time and cost for repair or replacement of any damaged equipment or materials;
Cost of continuing all or part of the employee’s wages, in addition to compensation;
Reduced morale among your employees, and perhaps lower efficiency;
Increased workers’ compensation insurance rates;
Cost of completing paperwork generated by the incident (incident investigation). Citations and/or fines from Cal OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration);
Lawsuits filed by employees and/or attorneys;
Possible jail time if negligence is involved. Controlling Losses
If you would like to reduce the costs and risks associated with workplace injuries and illnesses, you need to address safety and health along with production. Having an effective Injury and Illness Prevention Program is likely the best investment any company will ever make- unfortunately most are not. In developing the program, you identify what has to be done to promote the safety and health of your employees and worksite, and you outline, and enforce policies and procedures to achieve your safety and health goals. It starts with a free assessment of your current situation. To schedule your assessment simply contact us at 909 210-5448. Sincerely,
John Crumpton
Senior Management Advisor