Workplace Safety

Related Terms: Ergonomics; Industrial Safety; Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Workplace safety refers to the working environment at a company and encompasses all factors that impact the safety, health, and well-being of employees. This can include environmental hazards, unsafe working conditions or processes, drug and alcohol abuse, and workplace violence. Workplace safety is monitored at the national level by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). OSHA has three stated goals that serve as the cornerstones of its policies and regulations: 1) Improve the safety and health for all workers, as evidenced by fewer hazards, reduced exposures, and fewer injuries, illnesses, and fatalities; 2) Change workplace culture to increase employer and worker awareness of, commitment to, and involvement in safety and health; 3) Secure public confidence through excellence in the development and delivery of OSHA's programs and services. The federal guidelines imposed by this agency are complemented by state regulations that are often tougher than those proposed by OSHA.

NATIONAL WORKPLACE INJURY AND ILLNESS DATA

Every year the Department of Labor, through its Bureau of Labor Statistics, publishes the workplace injury and illness data that it gathers and compiles. In 2004, 5,764 people lost their lives while on the job in the United States. These fatalities were caused, primarily, to traffic-related incidents (45 percent), followed by assaults and violent acts (18 percent), falls (15 percent), contact with objects and equipment (14 percent), and finally, exposure to harmful substances.

The nonfatal injuries and illnesses reported in 2004, serious enough to require time-away from work, numbered 1.27 million, a rate of injury equivalent to 141.3 per 100,000 full-time workers. These data include all work-related injuries and illnesses that resulted in time-away from work beyond the day on which the injury occurred. The median number of days away from work per incident in 2004 was 7 days. By category of injury, the national data break down as follows: Sprains and strains (41.7 percent), bruises and contusions (9.1 percent), cuts and lacerations (7.8 percent), fractures (7.5 percent), heat burns and carpal tunnel syndrome (1.5 percent each), and other injuries and illnesses make up the remaining 5.8 percent of workplace injuries. The goods-producing industries have a higher rate of on-the-job injury than do the service industries with one exception. Businesses in the transportation sector are part of the service industry but they have a very high rate of on-the-job injuries.

IMPROVING WORKPLACE SAFETY AT A SMALL BUSINESS

Most small business owners take steps to try and assure that their place of work is a safe one because it is the right thing to do. Beyond being the right thing to do, smaller companies usually recognize that the benefits to be gained by a safe work environment are many. Attention to safety issues can not only help businesses avoid legal penalties, but also improves employee morale, productivity, and retention. Moreover, effective workplace safety programs often have a tremendous impact on a company's bottom-line financial performance. In addition to the hidden benefits in retention and productivity that go hand-in-hand with such programs, businesses armed with solid workplace safety policies and records realize enormous benefits in the realm of insurance. An employer's workers' compensation premium is based on several factors. These include payroll, a classification of employees by occupational type, and the company's accident history. No factor has more control over insurance premiums or is less understood by policy holders than the experience modification or 'mod.' The mod is an indicator of how an individual operation's accident rate compares to other businesses within its industry. Three consecutive years of actual workers' compensation claims provide the statistical basis for an employer's mod. Under this system, companies that are deemed to have a higher accident rate (as determined by workers' compensation claims over a three-year period) than the industry average pay higher premiums. Conversely, companies that boast a claim rate lower than the industry average will benefit by paying less expensive premiums.

Workplace safety programs can take many forms and cover many potential areas of concern. The sorts of actions taken by companies to maximize the safety of the work environment that they create are varied and include:

• Providing for personal safety equipment
• Installing equipment controls
• Creating and disseminating operational manuals
• Establishing and enforcing hazardous materials handling policies
• Adopting a drug and alcohol testing program
• Offering employee counseling services
• Implementing safety training programs.

Following are several avenues that small firms can pursue when implementing or updating a workplace safety program.

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