SAFETY SOLUTIONS: New Year's Resolution: Safety

We must all live by the motto — “What you have done is not as important as what you are about to do.” The future is what drives us ... and the opportunities seized and accomplishments made good are the measures of our success. All of us in the working world must practice the following:

• We must care about the lives of working men and women of this country.
• We must know the value of safety and health.
• We must possess the ambition to make a difference.

Saving lives and preventing injuries and illnesses must be a paramount and strategic part of the way we do business in the upcoming year and in all the years to follow.

Emphasis on workplace safety and health has been improving for over a century and much of the progress has been realized since the Occupational Safety and Health Act, or OSHA, came into being over 30 years ago.

Over the last 30 years, and because of the hard work of safety professionals, management and safety teams working in industry — workplace fatalities have been cut in half and occupational injury and illness rates have declined 40 percent.

At the same time, U.S. employment has doubled from 56 million workers at 3.5 million worksites to 111 million workers at 7 million sites.

The good news is occupational injuries and illnesses keep declining but the reality is — too many workers are still going home hurt or sick, and more than 16 per day aren’t going home at all. We must all work to drive the fatality statistics into the ground.

You know, there’s a song that says, “One is the loneliest number.” Well, where injuries and illnesses are concerned, zero ... is the perfect number.

We must all refresh and renew our own central commitment to the value of safety and health, and we need to show that commitment so that everyone believes in the value and ultimately realizes the value in safety and health.

I know you share with me the fundamental belief — safety and health add value to every business, every workplace and every life. We need to drive home this message — we need to articulate the message in ways we have never done before — we need to do it in human and economic terms.

We need to document and underscore the truth that protecting people on and off the job is in everyone’s best interest — our economy, our businesses, our fellow workers, and our families. It’s all integrated... it’s all related... it’s all important to our way of life.

To be successful, we must demonstrate leadership in advancing safety and health — beyond the traditional regulatory approach. Safety and health endeavors and commitments add value — to your business... to your workplace... to your life.

The value for businesses makes sense: focusing on safety and health programs is the right thing to do; it saves money and adds value to the organization.

When workers stay whole and healthy, businesses experience:

• lower workers’ compensation insurance costs,
• reduced medical expenditures,
• decreased layout for return-to-work programs,
• less faulty products,
• lower costs for job accommodations for injured workers,
• and many more.

Those are direct costs, and they’re just the tip of the iceberg. Safety and health can make big reductions in indirect costs, too:

• lost productivity,
• costs of training for replacement workers, and
• overtime expenses.

And on the value added side, fewer injuries and illnesses also lead to:

• higher morale,
• better labor/management relations,
• reduced turnover,
• and better use of human capital.

In addition, business benefits from an enhanced corporate reputation as a caring employer.

Valuing your people adds value to your company. The best companies, large and small, build a brand reputation that is synonymous not only with an excellent product, but also an outstanding management philosophy where safety and health is a core value.

In respect to the value to workers, the relationship is even clearer.

Getting hurt or sick is not just physically painful. On-thejob injuries and illnesses can significantly reduce income, increase stress and hinder a full family life.

The message is simple, yet the implications are profound.

Everyone must acknowledge and understand this — if we want to drive occupational injuries, illnesses, and deaths down: Zero is the perfect number.

Let’s all strive to begin the new year with a renewed enthusiasm for not only our personal safety and health but for the safety and health of all our co-workers. If each of you can prevent just one injury, by showing you care, by watching out for unsafe acts or conditions, just multiply that by the many thousands of readers and see what a difference can be made in the decline in injury statistics.

Statistics are just numbers, caring affects people’s lives, caring about safety and health endeavors makes a BIG difference.

As an additional resource, the following websites provide a wealth of information on safety-related topics and programs. Occupational Safety & Health Administration www.osha.gov National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health www.cdc.gov/niosh Canadian Center for Occupational Health & Safety www.ccohs.ca National Safety Council www.nsc.org American Society of Safety Engineers www.asse.org