Safety Programs Increase Productivity

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Washington (State). Department of Labor and Industries
• Description:
  The direct costs of injuries can be measured easily, but the indirect cost savings of preventing these injuries may be much greater than simply the workers' compensation dollars. A positive safety climate can increase productivity and improve your bottom line. Companies report an average 25% increase in productivity after implementing either a program or a control to address injuries to muscles, tendons and joints. All interventions studied showed a positive impact on productivity. How to Implement a Positive Safety Climate: Identify hazards and solutions. Involve workers in determining which problems are most serious and common. Start by identifying hazards for each task or job-site and ways of handling heavy loads. Brainstorm to see if there is a safer or less strenuous way to do the job. Check to see if the correct tool or method is being used. Go after the simple and cheap solutions first. Show company commitment. Upper management needs to demonstrate commitment to safety and provide positive reinforcement for safety initiatives. Respond to symptoms. Encourage early reporting of symptoms, such as back pain, before they develop into a serious injury. Early medical intervention or adjusting the way work is done can prevent a more serious injury from developing. Keep injured workers on salary and provide light duty, meaningful work while they recover. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Hazardous Substances Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Cost Analyses Costs Hazard Identification Injuries Injury Prevention Intervention Safety Climate Truck Drivers Trucking
• Publisher:
  Washington State Department of Labor and Industries
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Fact Sheet
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 10 ; Washington
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20058700
• Citation:
  Olympia, WA: Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, 90-13a-2008, 2008 Feb; :1
• Contact Point Address:
  SHARP Program, Dept. of Labor & Industries, Box 44330, Olympia, WA 98504-4330
• Email:
  TruckingNews@KeepTruckingSafe.org
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2008
• NORA Priority Area:
  Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
• Performing Organization:
  Washington State Department of Labor and Industries
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Safety programs increase productivity
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:2f23ae2f0a4442e896a2f99146c0074e4a5a9e16ea96cbc0df9e5593026855c3ac6c3d99572297ab4b1b57120b3a7789d1c7670d432e1d44736805abad3a2e8d
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/223102/cdc_223102_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 120.10 KB ]