Today's economy is taking its toll on businesses everywhere. Whether you are in manufacturing, service, or construction, you cannot help but feel the impact. Unemployment rates continue to climb as both large and small business owners struggle to survive. Lay-offs and budget cuts are an everyday part of business. Jobs and customers are scarce and the competition is fierce. Clients today expect the best for less. That pushes companies to compete for a shrinking customer base while trying to maintain the highest level of product quality and employee safety.

Unfortunately, many employers still view safety as an expense and the safety budget and/or staff is usually one of the first to experience cutbacks. This, despite research that has repeatedly demonstrated the economic value of a strong workplace safety program. When safety truly is "job one," the result is fewer on-the-job injuries, which means lower workers' compensation costs, which means a lower experience mod ratio, which means lower insurance premiums, which means significant savings to the bottom line.

During the "good" years, when the economy was soaring, most mid-sized and large companies enjoyed a full safety staff and safety-related expenditures were approved with little or no debate. That's not the case today. Many companies have reduced their safety staff and are approving expenditures only for critical items. The remaining safety personnel find themselves with increased workloads, increased responsibility, and an uncertain future.