3 Steps to a Safer Workplace

A safer workplace is important for employers for many reasons. A safer workplace will reduce workers’ compensation injuries which normally result in lower claims cost. The key to reducing injuries is to have a systematic approach with regular reviews. If you step back and look at the big picture you may be surprised at what you find.

Here is an example of a 3 step process that was used by an employer to help reduce their claims:

Review your claims history and the details surrounding those claims

Recently one of our employers hosted a safety committee meeting where they reviewed the injury trend report for Ohio workers’ compensation claims. This is a report that we provide our employers and encourage them to review regularly. This way injury reduction is a scheduled process, not something that comes up when there are issues.

Identify areas of concern and look for trends

During this review, the employer noticed they were having a lot of ‘foreign body in the eye’ claims. The employer didn’t realize they were having so many eye injuries because their employees used protective eye googles. Therefore, the employer decided to do a further investigation.

By stepping back and looking at injury trends from a higher-level, employers’ are better able to identify problems that may not have been apparent when dealing with individual injuries. Look for commonalities among injuries including causes, time of day, etc.

Take action to resolve

They found that their industrial fans were directed too low, blowing dust and particles in employee’s eyes. The employer changed the direction of their fans and didn’t encounter any further foreign body in the eye claims.

Once the issue has been identified it is often easy to fix. It can be as simple as moving a fan, changing lighting or re-organizing a work station. As you can see, sometimes the smallest change can help reduce workplace accidents. The key is to have a process to evaluate the data regularly and take action when needed.

Know your partner

An MCO partner like Sheakley UniComp can guide you and your workers through the confusing world of workers’ compensation. We can help you understand more about the BWC and its processes. Your MCO serves both the best interests of your company and your employees by keeping your workers’ compensation costs down and returning injured employees to work quickly.

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