Zero Tolerance for Accidents!

The workers' compensation system continues to provide a significant challenge to its various stakeholders, including employers and insurance carriers. Despite the positive news of declines in claim frequency, issues such as rising medical costs, terrorism exposures, and an aging workforce continue to challenge this line of insurance.

To help address these issues, employers need to recognize and understand that dual management of loss costs by themselves and their insurance carriers can significantly impact their costs. Employers and an insurance carrier's risk control staff need to continue to view themselves as being on the same team and execute a synergistic approach to loss prevention.

A reduction in both accident frequency and severity should be the focus of a well-designed safety program, with the ultimate goal being zero accidents. One of the components of the plan should be a mitigation strategy to prevent serious or catastrophic injuries (e.g., fall protection).

A critical foundation for structuring a high-performance safety program is ensuring that it is designed in concert with the organization's climate. For this reason, most standardized safety programs typically don't produce the desired results in the long run. In order for a safety program to be effective, it must be customized and integrated into the company's culture. Moreover, management and employees need to view the safety program as an asset to the organization's success and understand how safety impacts the quality of their product/service and their level of productivity.

As head of risk control for The PMA Insurance Group, one of my most rewarding tasks is to present awards to PMA customers who have achieved significant safety milestones. I have observed that the majority of these organizations possess two elements. First, they execute a customized safety program that is aligned with their corporate climate and operations and has senior management support. Formulaic solutions that don't incorporate an employer's specific loss exposures and business needs generally will not produce an effective loss prevention program. An integrated approach works best — where risk control expertise is aligned with operational knowledge. The goal is to improve operational performance by loss reduction. Second, these organizations have at least one employee who acts as “champion” for safety and encourages other employees to participate in loss prevention initiatives.

Key Strategies for a Workplace Safety Program

While each organization's safety program should be designed to reflect their specific corporate climate and range of potential exposures, the following are some of the common components of effective workplace safety programs.

Management Leadership and Employee Involvement. All levels of management need to demonstrate their commitment to creating a safe workplace. In particular, senior management needs to be on board and act as role models. The direct and personal involvement of an organization's leaders in risk management issues is critical. In addition, all employees need to understand that safety is a shared responsibility between management and staff. To help promote the culture that all employees are responsible for safety, consideration should be given to the following action steps:

Develop a strong communication program on workplace safety and health issues that involves both employees and management.

Develop and post a written safety and health policy that has broad visibility.

Involve employees in policy making on safety and health issues.

Require management to actively participate in safety initiatives.

Establish accountability for actions and results.

Workplace Analysis. To effectively address workplace hazards, it is critical that an in-depth risk management analysis be performed to identify and assess exposures. The analysis should be designed to identify and eliminate existing or potential hazards and be conducted on a regular and timely basis. Once the loss exposures are identified, ensure employees know and understand the hazards for each and every job and process.

Design the workplace to improve employees' ability to be productive without error or accidents for extended time periods. Proper workplace design improves both safety and productivity. Focus on all physical aspects of the work environment, including:

Size and arrangement of work space

Physical demands of the tasks to be performed

Design of tools and other devises

The fundamental goal of workplace design.

Hazard Prevention and Control. In addition to a well-designed workplace, implement and conduct an ongoing program to prevent accidents based on the identified loss exposures. The following are examples of components of this type of program:

Regular and thorough maintenance of equipment and vehicles

Instruction for employees on the use and maintenance of personal protective equipment

Training for employees in proper procedures for handling specific situations.

Safety and Health Training and Education. It is important that the entire staff — including mangers and supervisors, employees, outside contractors, part-time and temporary employees, and volunteers — be properly trained in safety. Consider the following when developing a training program:

Allow only properly authorized employees who have undergone training to perform any job task.

Ensure no employees do any job that appears unsafe.

Conduct emergency-preparedness drills for all employees.

Pay particular attention to employees learning new operations to ensure they possess the proper job skills and awareness of hazards.

Train supervisors and managers to recognize hazards and understand their responsibilities.

Successful organizations integrate accident prevention or safety efforts into their operations, culture, and policies. A balanced approach to managing safety, quality, and productivity maximizes profitability and improves an organization's ability to compete in a global economy.

Conducting a best practices risk control program requires time, effort, and resources. However, keep in mind that a dedication to risk control pays off in increased worker safety, higher productivity, lower insurance premiums, and increased savings.