Five Strategies for Reducing Workers’ Compensation Costs

When a company experiences significant increases in workers’ compensation costs, it usually triggers internal activities aimed at reducing insurance costs and spending. The key to spending fewer dollars is more than just stopping a few accidents; it is having a sound 安全计划 designed to continuously improve. This is where a 安全计划 that, 至少, 是否符合职业安全与健康管理局(OSHA)的标准，可以通过减少伤害和疾病来节省大量资金, saving workers’ compensation dollars.

Building a Solid OSHA 程序

有五个基本步骤可以采取一个全面的安全计划，创造一个安全的工作环境, achieves OSHA compliance, reduces accidents and ultimately reduces workers’ compensation costs.

1. Develop the various programs required by the OSHA standards.
2. Integrate those programs into the daily operations.
3. Investigate all injuries and illnesses.
4. Provide training to develop safety competence in all employees.
5. 定期审核你的项目和工作领域，以激励持续改进. 

Develop 程序s 要求 by OSHA Standards

Aside from being a requirement for general industry, the OSHA standards provide a good pathway to incident reductions. 许多事故源于不完善或执行不佳的OSHA计划:未能保持行走和工作表面清洁可能导致滑倒或绊倒, not using personal protective equipment may result in excessive lacerations, and poor lifting techniques can result in strains.

许多OSHA标准要求制定某种形式的书面程序，然后传达给员工. 经验表明，拥有完全开发的osha合规程序的公司事故较少, more productive employees and lower workers’ compensation costs.

Integrate 程序s into Daily Operations

Policies alone won’t get results; the program must move from paper to practice in order to succeed. 将一项政策付诸实施，需要向主要参与者明确传达一项战略计划, 良好的计划执行基于发展的能力和文化，激励和奖励员工尽其所能.

  When developing any business initiative, there must be an emphasis on frontline supervisors and helping them succeed. Every good business person knows that any new program—safety, quality or anything else—lives and dies with the frontline supervisor. If the frontline supervisor knows the program and wants to make it 

发生, the program succeeds; if not, the program is a source of constant struggle and an endless drain on resources and energies. 通过培训为主管提供知识和技能是任何项目成功的关键. 

一个坚实的OSHA计划融入到日常运作中，并由称职的主管领导，这只是一个开始. Successful 安全计划s focus on being proactive instead of always reacting to issues. 事故调查为工作场所存在的实际或潜在问题提供了极好的信息来源. 

Investigate All Injuries and Illnesses

工人赔偿的目的是补偿雇员在工作期间受伤或患病的情况. This should not come as a surprise, but increasing numbers of claims drive up workers’ compensation costs. 为了降低成本, you must simply reduce your accidents, 如果对事故进行全面调查，而不是简单地报告，减少事故的能力就会大大提高.

Accident reports are historical records only citing facts, while accident investigations go deeper to find the root cause and make improvements. 停止增加工人赔偿费用的企业拥有有效的事故调查程序，可以发现问题的根源. Unless the root cause is discovered, recommendations for improvement will remain fruitless. 再一次。, 培训证明是有益的，因为熟练掌握事件分析的主管能够更好地解决所有类型的生产相关问题, 不仅仅是安全.

  All accidents should be investigated to find out what went wrong and why. 有些人可能认为调查每一起事故都有点过分，只有那些造成重大损失的事故才值得审查. 但是问问你自己这个问题:如果你只调查严重的质量问题，而不是每一个小的偏差, would your quality program still be effective? 有可靠质量计划的公司调查并解决每一个偏离质量标准的问题.

If your emphasis is only on those incidents that have to be recorded on the OSHA 300 log, you close your eyes to the biggest accident category: first aid-only incidents. 许多公司对可记录文件或浪费时间的事故感到不安，因为这涉及到巨大的成本, 但他们没有意识到，小成本和高数量的急救事故实际上是累积起来的. 

统计数据显示，每100起事故中，有10起是可记录的，1起是浪费时间的事故. If you investigate only recordables or lost time accidents, 89 go unnoticed. Would you consider a quality program that allows an 89% failure rate successful? 减少严重事故意味着你必须降低所有事故的总体发生率——包括急救事故. That only 发生s when every incident is fully investigated to find the root cause, and remedial actions are identified and integrated into the daily operation.

Training and Auditing for Continuous Improvement 

 The final steps focus on training and auditing your program for continuous improvement. Training plays a significant role in safety and in reducing workers’ compensation costs. The goal of training is to develop competent people who have the knowledge, skill and understanding to perform assigned job responsibilities. 能力比其他任何东西都更能改善你业务的各个方面，并降低成本. 主管必须具备知识和能力，将每一项安全计划整合到他们的具体责任领域. 每个员工都必须知道在实施安全工作程序时对他们的期望是什么. Once the programs are developed and implemented, they must be reviewed on a regular basis to make sure they are still relevant and effective. This might require a significant change in how you manage your 安全计划, but if your workers’ compensation rates are high, it may be time to make this leap.

实实在在的利益

1. 研究表明，有投资回报，公司看到直接的底线效益与设计得当, implemented and integrated 安全计划.
2. 基于能力的安全计划符合OSHA的要求，因此减少了OSHA罚款的威胁.
3. A competency-based 安全计划 lowers accidents, and fewer accidents lower workers’ compensation costs. 当事故发生时, 以能力为基础的安全计划充分评估问题，找到根本原因，防止再次发生，并提供一个没有公认危险的工作场所.
4. A safer workplace creates better morale and improves employee retention. Auditing keeps your programs fresh and effective and drives continuous improvement.
5. 一个以能力为基础的项目培养的是那些完全投入到工作的各个方面，并对提供高质量的产品和服务感到满意和满足的人.

我们能为您做些什么?

桑福德 & 泰特姆, a Alera集团公司, 我们致力于帮助您建立一个强有力的安全计划，最大限度地减少您的工人赔偿风险. 联系 us today at 806.792.5564 to learn more about our OSHA compliance, 安全计划, and accident investigation tools and resources.

本报告并非详尽无遗，任何讨论或意见也不应被视为法律建议. Readers should contact legal counsel or an insurance professional for appropriate advice. © 2011, 2021 Zywave, Inc. 版权所有.