Risk & Business Magazine Hardenbergh Insurance Group Magazine Summer 2018 | Page 26

WORKPLACE SAFETY
Keeping Your
Workplace Safe
And Productive
BY CHRISTOPHER J POWELL
A
re you looking for strategies
to improve worker safety and
enhance productivity? Nobody
wants to see an employee get
hurt on the job and have to
face a long work absence and rehabilitation.
There are a number of proactive strategies
you can utilize to help avoid costly workers’
compensation claims and keep your
employees on the job where they belong. believes that all employers “can and should”
implement Injury and Illness Prevention
Programs. Topics covered in such a plan
should include hazard identification,
education and training, accident prevention
and control, and periodic program
evaluation and improvement. OSHA
provides a long list of recommendations for
employers to help them avoid or minimize
workplace injury, including the following:
INJURY PREVENTION
According to the National Safety Council,
the cost of workplace illnesses and injuries
totals nearly $200 billion a year. As part of
this equation, the government factors in
such variables as workers’ compensation
payments, medical expenses, new
employee recruiting and training costs, lost
productivity, equipment repair, and even
legal expenses. In fact, workplace injury is
so rampant that US employers pay nearly $1
billion per week on workers’ compensation
benefits alone. • creating a workplace free from
recognized hazards
The truth is that most on-the-job
injuries can be prevented with the proper
assessment and implementation of injury
prevention measures. Not only do business
owners owe it to their employees to provide
a safe work environment on a moral basis,
but healthy workers will also make a
workplace more efficient and profitable. In
addition, a workplace with fewer illnesses,
injuries, and accidents is a better place to
work and is more attractive to potential
employees.
OSHA’S ROLE
OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration arm of the US government,
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• providing safety training in a language
and vocabulary workers can understand
• posting of employee rights and
responsibilities
• recordkeeping and reporting of
workplace-related injuries or deaths
• ensuring that employees have and use
safe tools and equipment
• establishing and communicating proper
operating procedures
FATIGUE MANAGEMENT
One of the major causes of workplace injury
is fatigue and loss of focus. In addition to
making life uncomfortable for millions
of workers, fatigue is extremely costly
to employers as it reduces productivity
and can greatly impact the bottom line.
More of your employees may experience
fatigue than you might imagine. In fact, a
study in the Journal of Occupational and
Environmental Medicine found that nearly
40 percent of US workers experience fatigue,
costing companies an astounding $136
billion per year in lost productivity.
Fatigue can be caused by myriad factors—
not just long hours on the job. Inadequate
sleep, stress, and health issues can
contribute to fatigue, with symptoms
manifesting in a whole host of potentially
serious physical ailments, including loss
of appetite, depression, digestive problems,
and irritability. Not only are manual
laborers affected but office workers too,
who may spend long hours in sedentary
positions focused on their computers.
These employees are particularly prone to
repetitive stress injuries from overusing
particular muscle groups.
As our workforce ages, it is especially
important for employers to recognize the
significance of this problem and develop
strategies to combat employee fatigue.
Techniques employers can introduce
to keep employees focused and alert
may include diaphragmatic breathing,
stretching exercises, and frequent short
work breaks. Free coffee in the workplace is
not a bad idea either.
THE IMPORTANCE OF ERGONOMICS
Ergonomics is the process of designing
or arranging workplaces, products, and
systems so that they fit the people who use
them. Smart ergonomic design can help
relieve repetitive stress injuries, reduce
workplace fatigue, and improve overall
productivity. Today, more and more
companies are becoming educated on the
benefits of good ergonomic design for
employees’ work spaces, and studies bear
out its advantages.
A study in EHS Today, which covers
environment, health, and safety in the