 An effective Employee Safety & Health Program is just like any other aspect of your business, it needs a periodic review and update. All too often, a company Safety & Health Program exists from year to year and slowly degrades to a point of ineffectiveness. NKH Safety, Inc. can provide you with a comprehensive evaluation of your current program to identify those areas that are working well and those that need updating. We bring 21 years of experience and a fresh set of ideas to your safety program. We have seen what works and what doesn't. We can make this experience work for you.
The prevention of one serious accident will pay for these services many times over.
Although we provide custom desiged services, some ot the major elements of your program we evaluate include:
- Written Safety Program
- Training Programs
- RecordKeeping
- Company Policies
- Enforcement and Discipline
- Accident Investigations / Followup
- Accident / Injury History
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Safety & Health Program Visibility
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Staffing
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Safety "Culture"
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Program Implementation Effectiveness
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Safety Equipment Availability
Think about this:
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Cost of Workplace Injuries
 Workplace injuries are a significant problem for business. Workplace injuries are a significant issue in today's industrialized society, taking a toll not only on millions of workers and their families each year, but also on business productivity and profitability. While there is no easy answer to this problem, employees themselves can play an important role in avoiding injuries, accidents and illnesses in the workplace.
Significance
Each year, more than 6,000 employees in the United States die from workplace injuries and 50,000 more from illnesses caused by workplace hazards; that makes 17 workers dying on the job each day. Another 6 million Americans suffer from non-fatal workplace injuries and illnesses. These sheer numbers make workplace injuries not just a social problem, but also a financial one. Workplace injuries create estimated direct and indirect costs of $155.5 billion, which is almost 3 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product.
Types
According to the 2009 Liberty Mutual Workplace Safety Index, the top 10 types of incidents generate the vast majority (86.9 percent) of the costs associated with disabling workplace injuries. The top 10 categories, in descending order of impact, are overexertion, fall on same level, fall to lower level, bodily motion (i.e., slipping or tripping), struck by object, highway incident, caught in or compressed by machinery, repetitive motion, struck against object and assaults/violent acts.
Direct Costs
Direct costs created by workplace injuries total $51.8 billion annually and include workers' compensation payments, medical expenses, civil liability damages and litigation expenses. This sum represents one quarter of each dollar of pretax corporate profits.
Indirect Costs
Indirect costs may run as much as 20 times the direct costs of on-the-job accidents and illnesses. Examples of indirect costs include training replacement employees, investigating the accident and implementing corrective measures, lost productivity, repairing damaged equipment and property, and costs associated with lower employee morale and absenteeism.
Prevention
Corporations hold much of the responsibility for maintaining a safe work environment, for example, by having a structured health and safety program and adhering to OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Association) guidelines. There are also ways that employees can safeguard their own health and safety at work. First, be aware of any risks you may encounter in your workplace; if you are uncertain about how to do a certain aspect of your job or use a certain machine, alert your employer to the need for training before performing these tasks. Second, have and use the proper safety equipment. Use tools with manufacturer's guard in place and wear safety goggles and proper footwear if your job calls for it. Third, get the recommended 7 to 8 hours of sleep per day, as sleep deprivation contributes to a large number of on-the-job accidents. Fourth, avoid overexerting yourself; use safe lifting techniques and don't take on more than you can handle.
For information, contact:
Bill Neal
NKH Safety, Inc.
513-771-3839 |
