Synergist - January 2012

incident rate for nonfatal injuries and illnesses in private industry declined from 5.0 per 100 workers to 3. 5.1

Since the establishment of OSHA in 1970, occupational fatalities have been cut in half, and injuries and illnesses have been reduced by 40 percent. An estimated 75,000 premature fatalities and millions of injuries and illnesses have been prevented by the establishment of effective OHS management systems. 6 The average OSHA Voluntary Protection Plan (VPP) worksite has a Days Away Restricted or Transferred (DART) case rate that is 52 percent below the average for its industry. 9

Return on Investment

A recent survey of 231 senior financial executives or managers of U.S.-based companies with 100 or more employees revealed the perception that, on average, for every dollar spent improving workplace safety, about $4.41 would be returned. 11

A major Australian wealth management company has weighed in on workplace health and safety. According to a media release from Goldman Sachs JBWere, “the research shows that over the period of November 2004 to October 2007 companies who did not adequately manage workplace health and safety … underperformed those who did.” 12

Chemical processing and petroleum companies participating in a process safety impact study reported measurable

ROI from a process safety program due to increased productivity and decreased costs of production, maintenance, capital budget, and insurance premiums. 8

Most employers should be aware that when losses for worker injuries and illnesses increase beyond industry expectations (or the Experience Modification Rating), insurance premiums rise. A recent article in the Independent Electrical Contractor’s periodical Insights draws attention to these potential insurance cost variances. For example, a business could pay up to 75 percent less in premiums than a competitor for achieving a “zero injuries” record. Conversely, the same business could pay up to 300 percent higher than a competitor for a poor history of worker compensation losses. 13

The Greatest Satisfaction

The OHS professional’s role is to be proactive rather than reactive. Proactive safety is more desirable, because management and labor are most in control of the situation and outcomes. Programs that rely on regulatory compliance checklists or reactive implementation of safety measures do not provide the greatest degree of risk control.

OHS professionals help discover the safest way to perform each work task, as well as gauge the workplace safety culture and attitudes, before a problem occurs. Of course, if an incident does occur, we will be there right away to

help mitigate the harm and do our best to prevent it from happening again.

David Kudlinski, CIH, CSP, is a consultant with Bureau Veritas. He can be reached at (714) 431- 4125 or david.kudlinski@us.bureauvertias.com. Please send feedback on this article to synergist@aiha.org.

References

1. BLS: News release. Available at www.bls.gov/news. release/archives/osh_10202011.pdf (Oct. 20, 2011).

2. BLS: Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI), Table A-1. Available at www.bls.gov/iif/oshwc/cfoi/cftb0250.pdf (2010).

3. BLS: CFOI, Charts 1992–2010, Nos. 1, 2, 6, and 17. Available at www.bls.gov/iif/oshwc/cfoi/cfch0009.pdf (2010).

4. Leigh, J. Paul, et al.: Costs of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses. University of Michigan Press (2003).

5. OSHA: Publication No. 3180, “Safety and Health Add Value.” Available at www.osha.gov/Publications/safety-health- addvalue.html.

6. NIOSH: Publication No. 2011-130, “The Economic Burden of Occupational Fatal Injuries to Civilian Workers in the United States based on the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, 1992-2002.” Available at www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/ 2011-130/pdfs/afinal.pdf (2011).

7. Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety: 2010 Liberty Mutual Workplace Safety Index. Available at www.liberty mutualgroup.com.

8. Center for Chemical Process Safety of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers: “The Business Case for Process Safety, 2nd Edition.” Available at www.aiche.org/ uploadedFiles/CCPS/CorporateMembership/CCPS_Bus Case_2nd_ed.pdf (2006).

9. OSHA: Success with VPP. Available at www.osha.gov/dcsp/ vpp/ success_stories.html.

10. CDC: Benefits of Health Promotion Programs. Available at www.cdc.gov/workplacehealthpromotion/businesscase/ benefits/ index.html.

11. Huang, Y-H, et al.: “Financial Decision Makers’ Views on Safety: What SH&E Professionals Should Know.” Professional Safety (April 2009).

12. Goldman Sachs JBWere: “Goldman Sachs JBWere Finds Valuation Links in Workplace Health and Safety Data.” Available at http://gs.co.nz/documents/About/MediaRoom/ GSJBW-WHS-Report-Media-Release.pdf (2007).