Guide to Workplace Safety

GUIDE TO

WORKPLACE SAFETY

Introduction

Around 3.3 million people are injured at work each year in America. In many cases they spend days, weeks, or even months out of work as a result of those injuries. Some never return to work. Because of this, it’s critical to develop a culture that believes all accidents are predictable, preventable, and unacceptable.

WHERE DO WE START?

The most critical component of creating a safety culture is to have complete buy-in from the very top of the company. If the President/CEO of the company doesn’t believe all accidents are predictable, preventable, and unacceptable, neither will the middle managers, supervisors, or employees.

Data should be compiled to evaluate accident trends. Is there a high frequency of incidents coming from one area vs. another? Is a certain shift, department, or job classification leading the trends? Answering these types of key questions will allow you to focus on the root cause of those accidents.

ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION TRAINING

Next it’s time to train the supervisors on accident investigation and root cause analysis. It’s not enough to assume “employee error” or “fluke incident.” Accidents should be investigated immediately to determine who was involved, who may have witnessed it, and what items or equipment were involved.

Having a good accident investigation form that addresses these questions helps to keep the supervisor on task of discovering the root cause of the incident. It is critical that the true root cause be determined every time so corrective measures can be taken swiftly to prevent reoccurrence.

It’s critical to develop a culture that believes all accidents are predictable, preventable, and unnacceptable.

SAFETY COMMITTEE INVOLVEMENT

Once the root cause is determined, corrective measures can be put in place. The most effective way to develop corrective measures is to have a safety committee engaged in evaluating all accident investigation forms to ensure a thorough investigation has been done. Committee members will determine if any, some, all, or other actions are needed to correct the problem: employee training, preventative maintenance, better job procedures, and hazard recognition training.

Effective safety committees should include personnel from multiple areas in the company and include top management, supervisors, and frontline employees.

CHANGE ISN’T FAST OR EASY

Changing from a culture that tolerates accidents won’t happen overnight. It takes a concerted effort at all levels of the company, committed for the long-term, to make small changes that lead to the desired end results.

following:

• Cost of lost-work hours (days away from work or restricted hours or job transfer)

• Time spent in orienting temporary help

• The programs and services that may suffer due to fewer service providers

• Stress on those providers who are picking up the absent workers’ share

• Worse case, having to suspend or shut down a program due to lack of providers

A recent Liberty Mutual poll of executives shows that for every $1 spent on direct costs related to an accident, there are another $3 to $5 worth of indirect costs...putting the actual cost of an accident (with direct medical and compensation costs of $15,000) at somewhere between $45,000 and $75,000. Most executives polled by Liberty Mutual said that for every $1 their company spent on workplace safety, they saved at least $3.

There is an abundance of data to support the value of workplace safety programs, and while many employers support the concept of workplace safety, they aren’t sure how to put a program in place. It all starts with creating a corporate culture that promotes safety at every level of your organization.

Creating a Culture of Safety

What is a safety culture and how can it help your business? Safety culture is the sum total of all the efforts undertaken by organization members with the goal of improving the workplace every day. Creating a safety culture is about more than eliminating hazards and putting safety procedures in place. It’s about working with people to change their attitudes, behaviors and thoughts, and improve their situational awareness.

Safety culture is the sum total of all the efforts undertaken by organization members with the goal of improving the workplace every day.

A culture of safety starts at the top with company leaders, who are charged with appointing health and safety officers, and setting the tone for the safety vision of the entire organization. This includes conveying the relevance of safety at company-wide meetings and occasionally gauging employees’ perceptions of safety through impromptu polls, surveys, or focus groups.

According to workplace safety researcher Dr. William Selkirk, more than 90% of all workplace injuries are rooted in employees’ attitude, behavior, and culture, rather than dangerous working conditions or unsafe circumstances. As a result, safety needs to start during the hiring process by putting in place screening tools that can help you identify candidates that are likely to take safety seriously. Once employees are hired, proper training is key to ensuring that they are prepared to perform their responsibilities in a way that will protect them and their coworkers from injury or illness.

Roles and Responsibilities

AA culture of safety is created when the collective attitudes of management, supervisors, and employees places priority on the value of workplace safety. In most organizations, the responsibility for safety is spread across a variety of people and/or departments. Ensuring these efforts are coordinated is key to effective implementation, and defining roles and responsibilities of each party is a good way to set expectations and measure performance.

FACILITY MANAGEMENT TEAM

In most organizations, the facility management team is responsible for establishing responsibilities and accountability for safety throughout all levels of the company. In addition, the team should create annual health and safety benchmarks and assign responsibility for their achievement throughout the organization to personnel such as coordinators, supervisors, and area managers.

SUPERVISORS

Within the context of a safety culture, the role of the Supervisor is to communicate and maintain job-related safety protocols, and to act as a role model for employees. This might mean ensuring that safety devices and personal protective equipment (PPE) are regularly used by employees, and that safety inspections and weekly safety briefings are held according to schedule.

In addition, Supervisors are responsible for:

• Ensuring that employees under their direction receive job-specific health and safety training and are aware of any workplace hazards

• Promptly reporting all injuries

• Reporting safety violations

• Proactively investigating and addressing any hazardous conditions brought to his or her attention by employees

In most organizations, the responsibility for safety is spread across a variety of people and/or departments.

HEALTH AND SAFETY MANAGER

The health and safety manager’s job is to apprise management of safety and health requirements, oversee training and maintain all employee health and safety records. In addition, the health and safety manager should monitor the health and safety performance of the organization to ensure that it conforms with established benchmarks and continuously evaluate the risk of injury to increase regulatory compliance.

THE ROLE OF EMPLOYEES

Employees play a crucial role in workplace safety. They actively participate in and contribute to the creation of a safe and healthy work environment,

fulfilling a number of responsibilities including:

• Internalizing the health and safety rules that they agreed to

• Accepting personal responsibility for a safer workplace

• Helping the safety team and coordinator with safety suggestions

• Reporting unsafe conditions, as well as accidents and injuries, to supervisors

For all of this to work, employees, managers, and supervisors must be held accountable for violations of the health and safety protocol. Factors like positive reinforcement, incentive programs, and/or disciplinary action programs can ensure accountability at all levels of a safety culture.

Obtaining Management Commitment

While most employers appreciate, in principal, the economic impact that workplace injuries and illness can have on their business, obtaining the commitment and resources required to implement a comprehensive workplace safety program can be challenging. Often, it is these common roadblocks that prevent safety programs from being implemented.

#1: BUDGET

Some employers avoid introducing workplace safety programs because of their high perceived cost. But, according to OSHA, work related injuries and illnesses cost employers almost $1 billion a year in direct costs alone. If you add indirect costs like training replacements, lost productivity, investigation and corrective measures, you have numbers that will catch any employer’s attention.

Solution: Grab your employer’s attention with a specific analysis of direct and indirect costs relating to workplace safety from previous years. Your workers comp advisor can help you with this.

#2: RETURN ON INVESTMENT (ROI)

Business leaders are typically focused on cost containment and revenue maximization. Workplace safety programs are not normally seen as a

necessary cost of doing business like utilities and business equipment. Because they are perceived as discretionary, most employers will only put them in place if they perceive there to be ROI.

Solution: A good risk management program reduces the number of worker injuries, and this means fewer claims, greater productivity, and improved employee morale. OSHA puts that savings at 28% reduced costs, 43% increased productivity, and 6% increased morale. If you are able to reduce your claims, you will also pay lower workers’ compensation insurance premiums. Communicating these benefits can help develop buy-in from management.

#3: MANAGEMENT MOTIVATION

Management has a fiduciary responsibility to serve its shareholders’ interests, however owners and executives often think at cross purposes. They have

big-picture worries, yet they live very much in the moment when it comes to daily operations. It takes effort and education to get them to accept workplace safety as a business initiative requiring their support and enforcement.

Solution: Profit is a legitimate motive, but successful executives are quick to learn that profit is more than the simple difference between gross revenue and expenses, and that expenses include much more than operating costs. The Baldridge Performance Excellence Model is a helpful tool that sets up a points structure that motivates management to endorse and remain engaged in safety initiatives for their effect on strategic planning, customer and market interests, performance metrics, human resources management, quality process, and business results.

#4: SHARED ACCOUNTABILITY

To the extent that decision makers leave workplace safety issues and enforcement to the Human Resources department, they walk away from effective support. Workplace safety is not HR’s job alone. It takes the full commitment and engagement of the management from the top to the bottom of the organization.

Solution: There is a connection to be drawn between environmental health and safety functions and enhanced business value. It may take some effort to outline the connection between employee safety and lean manufacturing and quality initiatives. But, you can take advantage of your relationship with your organization’s workers’ comp advisor to create training programs and utilize other resources at their disposal.

Combining Safety and Health Strategies to Boost Workplace Wellness

Workplace health and occupational safety programs, when combined, offer more benefits to employee health and quarterly profits than either can when implemented separately, according to recent research by the Harvard School of Public Health.

These two initiatives – workplace health and occupational safety – affect the resilience and safety of employees and the workplace environment by streamlining occupational safety, reducing down time and enhancing employee productivity.

One way to promote the integration of corporate health and safety initiatives is to establish a management oversight committee that can ensure workplace health initiatives are working in tandem with your company’s safety and health departments.

The preliminary stages of an integrated health and wellness program should ideally combine the following four elements:

• An evaluation of workplace safety and employee health risk

• An action plan for incorporating wellness research into day-to-day actions

• A way to assess outcomes vis-a-vis wellness and safety initiatives

• A way to appraise the ongoing value of wellness and safety programs

In addition, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recommends that all workplace health initiatives clearly define, in advance, their objectives, target audience, and type of campaign. For example, an objective for a wellness program might be increasing productivity, health outcomes, and employee loyalty by a certain percentage and lowering truancy.

Implementing an Integrated Workplace Safety & Health Program

Establishing internal contact between your company’s safety and health departments and your wellness program can help sustain gains in workplace health and occupational safety. Start by finding out the preferences, needs, and attitudes of your employees. Interviews or informal surveys are an excellent way to gauge employees’ buy-in and chances of success. After determining employee needs, develop an action plan that establishes realistic timelines and targets as well as ongoing ways to maintain interest in the safety and wellness.

OSHA offers employers a number of resources and tools for building safety and wellness programs. Some of the initiatives they suggest putting in place include:

• Biometric screenings

• Health risk assessments

• Focus on workplace safety

• Seminars on healthy lifestyles

To encourage employees to sustain positive changes in their behavior, companies can also offer skill building exercises and use communication tools such as e-mails, messages on bulletin boards, or even demonstration days.

There is no denying that safety and wellness programs demonstrate positive results for the companies that implement them, with research showing that occupational safety and wellness initiatives can reduce group health, turnover, disability, and workers’ compensation expenses.

Conclusion

Creating a safety culture within the workplace requires leadership at all levels and a sustained commitment to safety training and monitoring. When implemented correctly, these efforts pay off in both financial terms as well as human capital performance.

THE GIBSON EDGE

Gibson is a firm of advisors and consultants that help clients get to the proactive side of insurance. We specialize in working with companies looking to find their edge—where they are growing as an organization, differentiating themselves in the marketplace, and preparing for current and future risk. Together with the client, we strive to find the perfect combination of insurance and consulting.