On average, thirteen Americans are killed on the job every single day of the year and nearly 4 million workers are seriously injured on the job each year. Under the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act, employers are responsible for providing a safe working environment. Furthermore, employers “MUST provide their workers with a workplace that doesn’t have serious hazards and must follow all OSHA safety and health standards.”
Good for Employees and Good for Workers Compensation Insurance Rates
Obviously, this is the right thing to do, but the fact is that providing a safe work environment also helps the employer by providing more healthy, happy, and prosperous employees; lower absenteeism; and lower workers’ compensation costs.
Safety Training Applies to Every Job
Safety is probably top of mind in industries such as construction where more than 20% of the fatalities in 2013 occurred. But working in an office also comes with its share of hazards, such as slipping and falling, misusing equipment, stacking and lifting, and poor lighting. Whether your employees sit behind a desk inputing data all day or climb 100 foot poles to work on electrical wires, all employees should receive workplace safety training appropriate to the type of job they perform.
Here are 10 Training Guidelines for Safer Employees and Lower WC Costs:
- Educate new employees about company safety and health policies and emergency procedures.
- All employees should be trained on the specific hazards of their jobs.
- Retrain employees when equipment or processes change and when employees change jobs or return from a long absence.
- Adapt training to your audience. Different people learn in different ways, so use a variety of teaching methods, such as hands-on, lecture, discussion, videos, etc.
- Consider reaching out to local organizations, such as fire departments or medical facilities to help you with training.
- Educate management about key workers’ compensation concepts and how workers’ compensation expenses impact the business.
- Arrange small-group employee training events to allow for discussions.
- Include information about who a worker should contact in the event of a work-related injury and what their responsibilities are if they see an injury occur.
- Ensure that workers sign off on an in-service acknowledgement showing they have received training.
- Check out OSHA’s website - https://www.osha.gov/dte/index.html - for training courses, educational programs and training materials. OSHA offers a wide selection of training courses and educational programs to help broaden worker and employer knowledge on the recognition, avoidance, and prevention of safety and health hazards in the workplace.
Get the Right Workers Compensation Insurance Protection
To further protect your company and your employees, contact Amerian Insuring Group at (800) 947-1270 or (610) 775-3848 to learn more about business insurance options, including worker's compensation insurance and more.
