A safer workplace is important for employers for many reasons. A safer workplace will reduce workers’ compensation injuries which should then result in less claims. The key to reducing injuries is to have a process in place and to review it regularly.
Here’s an example of a 3 step process used by an employer to reduce claims:
Review Your Claims History
An employer organized a safety meeting and reviewed their Ohio workers’ compensation claims injury trend report.
Reviews should be scheduled regularly so that injury reduction is a scheduled process, not something that only comes up after an injury. We periodically provide injury trend reports to our employers, and recommend scheduling reviews for each trend report.
Identify Trends
During this review, the employer noticed a large number of ‘foreign body in the eye’ claims, despite their employees using protective eye gear. The employer then decided to do a further investigation.
By stepping back and looking at trends and injuries at a high-level, employers are better able to identify commonalities among injuries such as: causes, time of day, etc.
Act to Resolve
The employer found that their industrial fans were directed too low, blowing dust and particles in their employee’s eyes. The employer changed the direction of their fans and didn’t encounter any further ‘foreign body in the eye’ claims.
Sometimes small changes like moving a fan, changing lighting or re-organizing a work station, can make a big difference. The key is to have a process to evaluate the data regularly, identify trends and act when needed.
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