How to Take Workplace Safety to the Next Level

How to Take Workplace Safety to the Next Level Safety flaws lead to workplace injuries, and claims that involve medical records review. Here is how to develop a good safety program.

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Workplace safety is a very important consideration and the last thing anyone wants in the workplace is a safety hazard. However, accidents and injuries continue to happen, triggering workers’ compensation claims and related processes such as medical records review. Increasing awareness of the possibility of workplace injuries should be created to develop more effective safety programs.

Campbell Institute, the respected global thought leader for world-class knowledge on keeping people safe and stewarding the earth’s valuable resources, recently released a report that takes a detailed look at serious injuries and fatalities in the workplace and illustrates a new prevention model recommended by safety experts. This report was released during the 2018 National Safety Council Congress and Expo, the world’s largest gathering of safety professionals. The report highlights that the United States has witnessed huge gains in workplace safety over the past 20 years. The total recordable incident rate has dropped to 3.0 incidents per 200,000 working hours in 2016 from 8.5 incidents per 200,000 hours in 1993. Unfortunately, this significant reduction in workplace injuries is not balanced by an equivalent reduction in fatal incidents and lifealtering injuries. Worker fatalities are at an 8-year high—5,190 people died in the year 2016.

The Campbell report recommends a redesign of the classic safety triangle comprising non-injury accidents, minor injuries and major injuries. This model considers all minor safety incidents and near misses as if they had the potential of leading to more serious injury or fatality. It diverts attention from those incidents that have the most potential to lead to something serious. The redesign is based on understanding the root causes and contextual factors that lead to serious injuries and fatalities on the job. What organizations should focus on is the work process rather than the worker. This means that work processes should be designed to eliminate human error. The advantage of this safety model is that safety becomes less dependent on employee behavior and more dependent on the safety system.

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Organizations that look to take workplace safety to the next level will focus on continuous improvement. They are driven by the objective that they have to do more to protect their employees and focus on implementing a highly reliable program to prevent serious injuries and fatalities. This requires:  Identifying possible precursors to serious injuries and fatalities  Educating employees regarding these antecedents  Give greater focus to developing strategies that will help eliminate the potential for such incidents to occur.

Formulating a good injury and fatality prevention program and going on to implementing it requires careful planning as regards the strategies used and the responsibilities assigned. Moreover, the entire organization must be actively involved for the safety program to work flawlessly.

The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) recommends a 10-step safety plan that includes the following steps.  Strong leadership from senior management personnel: The senior management should lead the way and act as role models for how all workers contribute to a safe working environment.  Involvement of employees: If the safety program is to be effective, employees must be actively involved in it, and also recognized for their participation.  Quality medical care and return-to-work programs: Timely and superior quality medical treatment will help workers return to work more quickly. This also helps reduce workers’ compensation costs.  Regular safety and health communication: This will keep employees informed.

It is important to obtain their feedback and suggestions. Leaders should regularly share safety messages, and workers should be encouraged to identify and report obstacles to safety.

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 Timely notification regarding claims: Appropriate care should be arranged for the employee as soon as an injury occurs. Investigate and document the specific circumstances and report the injury to the claim handler.  Assign an accident-prevention coordinator: The coordinator should support management, employees, supervisors, and safety staff in their effort to achieve effective safety systems and processes.  Conduct training and orientation for all workers: It is important to develop a written safety and health training plan with specific objectives and instruction procedures. Included in the plan should be a safety and health policy statement, employee responsibilities, as well as the required OSHA training topics (recordkeeping, hazard communication, and safe work practices.)  Have safe work practices in writing: Publish safe work practices to clarify your understanding and the employees’ as regards safe work practices, consequences, and so on. Identify, document, and share general and job-specific safe practices with all workers.  Create a written safety and health policy: This written policy signed by the top leader should express the organization’s values and commitment to workplace safety and health. It can be introduced during new hire orientation and reviewed with all employees at least annually.  Make recordkeeping and data analysis more stringent: Use surveys, audits, and records review to evaluate the success of your safety program. Identify areas that need improvement. Good records are vital to a successful safety and health management system.

A company providing medical record review for attorneys knows how important a robust safety program is for any organization when it comes to minimizing workers’ compensation claims and improving employee satisfaction and performance. There is no doubt that such a program can work well only with wholehearted participation from the entire organization.

www.mosmedicalrecordreview.com

918-221-7791