One serious on-the-job injury can potentially cost a businessowner tens of thousands of dollars in wage-replacement costs,replacement-hire costs, regulatory fines and lost productivity.

One important way insurance agents can provide a valuableservice that strengthens their client relationships is to helpbusiness owners establish a culture of workplace safety.

In addition to reducing the risk of incurring injury-relatedexpenses, making the necessary investments to become a saferworkplace can save a company money over the long-run. The Occupational Safety and Health Associationestimates that business owners can save $4 to $6 for every dollarinvested in a safety program. Also, many workers' compensationinsurance carriers offer discounts to companies that have workplacesafety plans, which can result in lower premium costs.

Creating a culture of workplace safety often starts with awritten plan that demonstrates a business' commitment to make it astrategic priority. Fortunately, OSHA and some insurance carriersprovide free resources, tools and services that agents can offer tohelp their clients get started.

Here is a four-step framework that agents can recommend to theirclients to use to create a culture of workplace safety:

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1. Assess and evaluatehazards

Agents can encourage their clients to conduct an initial hazardassessment to identify potential ways employees could get hurt onthe job.

OSHA has a comprehensive, easy-to-follow job hazard analysis that should be considered whendeveloping any workplace safety plan. A good assessment shouldaccount for both risks specific to the business type or industry,as well as job-specific tasks that could lead to an employeeinjury.

For example, in a busy restaurant, a line cook's job likelyinvolves using knives, hot oil and ovens, which could causelacerations or burns, whereas wait staff may be more susceptible toinjuries caused by slippery surfaces.

Related: Top 5 most common workplace accidents and injuries

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2. Develop an actionplan

After a hazard assessment is done and any imminentdangers are addressed right away the next step is todevelop an action plan that can help your client minimize risk.

At a minimum, the safety plan should describe the stepsemployees should take to reduce the likelihood of an injuryoccurring.

For example, the safety plan can specify that spilled liquidsneed to be cleaned up immediately, or blocked off with clearwarning signs until they can be mopped up, so that employees andothers in the worksite don't slip, trip or fall.

Related: Here are the top 10 most costly U.S. workplaceinjuries

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3. Promote and enforce theplan

Although having a plan written down is important, it doesn't doany good if it just collects dust on a shelf and isn't adhered toevery day.

An important step in implementing a workplace safety initiativeis to get the client's senior leadership on board and personallycommitted. No matter how good the plan is, if management isn'tinvolved and held accountable, employees won't feel compelled tolive by the rules, either.

Some insurance carriers can help agents and their clients designtraining workshops and produce collateral materials to communicatethe specifics of the safety plan to managers. Once managers are onboard, they need to be responsible for cascading information aboutthe policies to their direct reports and correcting safetyviolations whenever they occur.

Related: 3 steps to take to create a saferoffice

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4. Recordkeeping anddocumentation

Diligent recordkeeping and documentation are crucial formanaging risk and the successful implementation of a workplacesafety plan.

Proper documentation allows for accountability and effectiveplan management. Additionally, it's important to have up-to-daterecords in the event of an OSHA inspection or insurance audit.Agents should check in periodically and encourage their clients tomaintain the following documents:

• Training records.
• Employee injury records.
• Accident/injury investigations.
• Inspection records/corrective actions.
• OSHA 300 Logs (where required).

By helping clients understand how taking a proactive approach toworkplace safety can ultimately benefit their bottom-line — andprotect their employees' well-being — agents can affect positivechange and serve as meaningful, valued business partners who helptheir clients be more successful.

Related: Here's how to manage a successful workers compclaim

David Quezada is vice president of loss control service, forReno, Nevada-based Employers Holdings Inc., a small-business and workers'compensation insurer.