Page 92 - Occupational Health & Safety, July 2017

EHS SOFTWARE
How EHS Software Can Ensure Worker Safety and Increase Your Bottom Line
A comprehensive EHS platform can also restructure once-manual safety procedures and contribute to the company’s digital transformation efforts.
BY JAGAN GARIMELLA T
year after falling down stairs at a construction site. The stairway had no intermediate rail or protective mesh- ing, failing to meet industry safety standards.
OSHA continues to ramp up its enforcement efforts for companies ignoring safety. It conducts nearly 41,000 inspections and, in 2016, issued more than 35,000 citations. OSHA identified fall protec- tion as the most-cited violation for the sixth straight year, with hazard communication and scaffolding completing the list of the top three most-cited cat- egories—unchanged from 2015. By creating a strong safety environment, organizations can reduce costs significantly while mitigating risks and protecting brand reputation.
Fostering a Safety Culture
A successful workplace safety culture ensures organi- zational safety is efficiently and effectively managed and reflective of employee and management values, and it starts from the top. To fully embrace safety as a key component of work life, company leadership must promote and foster a safe environment, setting the tone that organizational safety is a top priority.
Recommendations for creating a successful safety culture include:
■ Having a clear vision: Recognize that safety should be of the utmost importance for the organiza- tion and focus the overall strategy around taking the necessary steps to ensure it is.
■ Incorporating the right team: When building a safety culture, it’s important to not only appoint a task force, but also to speak with supervisors and employ- ees on the ground. They can provide valuable insights on pain points that need to be addressed and incorpo- rated into a safety program.
Rally all employees around the safety initiative and provide them with the tools and resources needed to embrace safety as a core part of their daily work lives.
■ Communicating the change: Rally all employees around the safety initiative and provide them with the tools and resources needed to embrace safety as a core part of their daily work lives.
Creating a culture that promotes safety can mean big savings for companies. For example, according to the American Society of Safety Engineers, a Massa- chusetts company saw a return on investment of $8 for every $1 it invested in its environmental, health,
88 Occupational Health & Safety | JULY 2017
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he numbers are staggering: In 2016, nearly 3 million people suffered an employer-re- ported illness or injury in the private sector and more than half required days away from
work, job transfers, or restrictions on ability to work, according to the Department of Labor’s Bureau of La- bor Statistics. According to the bureau, based on rates of injuries, the most injury-prone sectors are animal production, nursing and residential care facilities, couriers and messengers, wood product manufactur- ing, and air transportation.
One of the most important assets for any organiza- tion is its employees, and company leadership must ensure employee safety and well-being to abide by OSHA guidelines, maintain productivity, and miti- gate high workers’ compensation costs. Further, when profit margins are not met, laying off workers or clos- ing plants that are producing below average may seem like a smart approach to save money; however, these organizations should take a closer look at their safety practices and invest in human capital instead.
When profit margins are not met, laying off workers or closing plants that are producing below average may seem like a smart approach to save money; how- ever, these organizations should take a closer look at their safety practices and invest in human capital instead.
The Hidden Costs of Deferred Risk
Today, many organizations have fallen into the prac- tice of accepting that accidents on the job are the norm, leading to thousands spent on employee com- pensation. In fact, according to the National Safety Council (NSC), U.S. companies can spend more than $1 billion per week on direct workers’ compensation costs—medical plus indemnity—significantly im- pacting gross profits.
Not investing in the right safety resources can also hurt a company in the long run. Just recently, a con- struction company was fined $135,000 for the head, spinal, and chest injuries an employee suffered last