Employees are your most valuable asset, but many businesses overlook the importance of having a workplace safety program in place to protect them.
Loss control is about employers caring for their workers’ safety. Successful loss control programs are means of reducing injuries and the severity of a potential accident.
If you want to reduce the costs and risks associated with workplace injuries and illnesses, you need to address safety and health right along with production. You should start by writing a plan and see that it is put into practice. Specifically, that means creating and implementing an Injury and Illness Prevention Program (IIPP).
The IIPP will identify what has to be done to promote the safety and health of your employees, and the safety of your worksite. Elements of your IIPP should include:
- Assignment of responsibility
- Communications
- Compliance
- Inspections
- Investigations
- Correcting unsafe conditions
- Training
- Recordkeeping.
Taking this approach to loss control will make the workplace safer, decrease workers’ compensation and overtime costs, reduce turnover rates, and minimize the risk of Occupational Safety and Health Administration fines — all of which in turn will increase productivity and profits.
Loss control starts with an authentic commitment from management. You should also ensure that supervisors, managers and employees are all on board and, together, the collaborative teams will achieve success.
Hazard assessment, evaluation, action-planning, problem-solving, implementation, record-keeping and documentation are the steps for a successful loss control plan.
Open communication is vital
Open communication with employees is important to facilitate a successful loss control program. Employee cooperation is connected to everyone understanding what the program is all about, why it is important to them and how it personally affects them.
Consider different channels via which your workforce can be informed, including meetings, e-mails, newsletters or text messages. Training is an important aspect of your program to ensure everyone has a good understanding of workplace safety.
Records are an important part of your safety plans. Records that should be maintained include:
- Training
- Employee injuries
- Accident/injury investigations
- Inspection records/corrective actions
- OSHA 300 logs (where required)
- Job analysis
- Safety meetings
- Equipment and vehicle inspections
- CPR/first aid training
- DMV driving records.
The takeaway
Remember to update and maintain all your programs at least once a year and/or if there are any changes.
If you are ready to make the commitment of reducing injuries and illnesses and managing claims, you can expect your costs to go down and your profits to go up.