DFA recently began publication of " The Wrinkle", a safety newsletter specifically targeted at the production worker and supervisor. This newsletter would make a great tailgate meeting or you can copy it to pass out to your workers. All we ask is that you email me, (thomasv@dfaofca.com) and let me know that you will be using it.
The Wrinkle
Most U.S. Businesses Report Workplace Safety Delivers Positive Return on Investment
Ninety-five percent of business executives report that workplace safety
has a positive impact on a company's financial performance, according to
the findings of The Executive Survey of Workplace Safety recently announced
by the Liberty Mutual Group, the nation's leading provider of workers compensation
insurance. Of these executives, 61 percent believe their companies receive
a return on investment of $3 or more for each $1 they invest in improving
workplace safety.
The survey also reveals that executives realize the benefits of workplace
safety go beyond the company's bottom-line, with 70 percent reporting that
protecting employees is a leading benefit of workplace safety.
The survey also helps shed light on the impact two types of costs associated
with workplace accidents are having on U.S. businesses: Direct costs, or
payments to injured employees and their medical care providers, and indirect
costs, such as lost productivity, overtime costs, etc. Ninety-three percent
of executives surveyed see a relationship between these costs, with 40 percent
of them reporting $1 of direct cost generates between $3 and $5 of indirect
costs.
By comparing the findings on indirect costs with its own research on the
direct costs of workplace accidents and illness, Liberty Mutual calculates
U.S. businesses are paying a staggering $155 billion to $232 billion on
workers compensation losses annually. The Liberty Mutual Workplace Safety
Index announced this spring provided the first-ever ranking of the 10 leading
causes of workplace accidents based on the direct cost of each accident
cause. The Index estimated the total direct cost of all workplace accidents
was $38.7 billion in 1998, the most recent year for which data was available
at the time.
"Workplace safety has a ripple affect, either positive or negative,
on so many aspects of U.S. business operations today," said Joseph
Gilles, Liberty Mutual Executive Vice President, Commercial Insurance. "The
first step for executives is to take preemptive measures to prevent employee
pain and suffering caused by workplace injuries. Identifying the accident
causes that have the greatest impact on their company and focusing workplace
resources on these will help a company reduce costs and achieve strategic
corporate goals - such as assuring employee satisfaction and health, positioning
the company as a low-cost provider, shortening production and delivery time,
and improving product quality. Given the importance of workplace safety,
companies should make sure their efforts are directed at those accident
causes that have the greatest potential impact on their operations and employees."
This survey is part of Liberty Mutual's ongoing focus on Workplace Safety.
It follows the Spring 2001 release of the Workplace Safety Index, the first
ranking of accident causes by direct costs to employers using Liberty Mutual
claims data, combined with findings from the Bureau of Labor Statistics
and the National Academy of Social Insurance. Both studies are available
on Liberty Mutual's website at: www.libertymutual.com.