As a business owner, finding ways to manage the rising costs associated with doing business is important. While your insurance coverages provide a vital safety net in the event of a loss, heightening premiums and claim costs can overburden an already tight budget. When it comes to workers’ compensation claims, however, you have tools at your disposal to help manage these rising costs while safeguarding your employees’ health. Additionally, taking advantage of these strategies can help you avoid regulatory action. The landscape and horticultural services industry was recently the subject of an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regional program to address heightened fatality rates, making workplace safety a paramount concern.
Develop OSHA-Compliant Programs
Small business owners seeking to reduce workplace injuries — and therefore lower workers’ compensation costs — should commit OSHA’s motto of “Plan, Prevent and Protect” to heart. OSHA standards are a requirement for general industry, but more importantly, they provide a strong foundation for reducing harmful incidents.
Many common workplace accidents, such as slips, trips and falls, often arise from poorly managed OSHA programs. If your business often struggles with crowded walkways, unmarked puddles or employees forgetting to wear proper personal protective equipment (PPE), you’re at risk for claims that could have been otherwise avoided.
When developing your program, look for risks specific to your business. Luckily, OSHA offers insight specifically for small business owners in the landscape and horticultural services industry. You can even sign up for a no-cost, confidential consultation through OSHA to receive assistance identifying and addressing hazards, as well as establishing or improving safety and health programs. This service is provided by consultants from state agencies or universities and primarily focuses on smaller businesses, so check with OSHA’s Michigan office to see if you’re eligible.
Once you’ve identified your risks and the health and safety programs you need to keep your employees safe, you’ll need to move on to the next step: putting them into practice.
Integrate Safety Programs into Daily Operations
Unfortunately, merely putting a safety program in writing isn’t sufficient to start reducing workplace incidents right away. When developing any new initiative for your business, it is always essential to ensure your rollout is comprehensive.
Start by communicating the new safety program and your expectations with leaders in the workplace, such as supervisors and managers. Encourage them to communicate any issues with the program to you directly. In their position, they might have unique insight you overlooked, such as potential sticking points with the rest of your staff.
Supervisors’ adherence to the safety program is essential. Not only because it helps protect their health and wellness but also because a program without internal support can falter and fall short. Having a high-profile leader as an example can stress the importance of the program and ensure any issues are reported promptly.
Engage all other employees in the process as early as possible. Your new safety program impacts them, after all, and surprising them with a new list of workplace rules can lead to resentment. Instead, solicit their insight on potential safety or health issues. When the program is ready for implementation, provide company-wide training to ensure everyone is on the same page.
Safety programs aim to respond proactively and prevent accidents before they become serious injuries. If your team doesn’t understand its importance, you’ll react to incidents instead — something that won’t reduce the overall number of workers’ compensation claims — harming your business, employees and bottom line.
Promptly Investigate All Injuries and Illnesses
Did you know a worker is injured on the job every seven seconds in the United States? That frightening figure from the National Safety Council (NSC) works out to 510 injuries per hour, 12,600 per day, 88,600 per week and a whopping 6 million per year.
These injuries can range from minor, such as superficial scuffs and bruises, to severe, such as broken bones — and in the most devastating instances, fatalities. In your business, it might be tempting to overlook minor injuries that don’t require a trip to the doctor or emergency room, but doing so opens your business to more claims.
Investigate all accidents as thoroughly as possible, no matter how minor they appear. Unless the root cause is discovered and fully addressed, employees will continue to injure themselves — and you’ll continue to lose valuable work time as these incidents add up. Remember, today’s “near miss” for one employee could result in a scrape, while it could earn another a more devastating injury tomorrow.
Once you find the cause of new workplace injuries, take care to incorporate any necessary actions into your safety program promptly. This program needs to evolve with you and your team to resolve any emerging safety risks and opportunities for workers’ compensation claims — the key to that is continuous improvement.
Help Achieve Continuous Improvement
Regularly reinforcing safe work practices is crucial to improving employee behavior in the workplace. Depending on the size of your business this, can take many different forms, such as:
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Posting safety signage in accordance with your practices and any state or federal mandates.
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Hosting company-wide safety meetings to discuss critical “near-misses” and identify opportunities for improvement.
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Establishing a zero-tolerance policy for wantonly unsafe acts or conditions.
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Reinforcing safe practices, such as how to operate heavy machinery or properly lift and carry supplies, through mandatory annual training.
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Emphasizing — and rewarding — good housekeeping as a preventative for common workplace injuries, such as slips, trips and falls.
Workers’ compensation is a powerful tool that can protect your business and employees’ health in the event of a work-related injury. Ensuring it is primarily utilized for true “accidents” and not overlooked or ignored hazards is vital to keeping your program costs low. If you want to start a safety program, but don’t know where to start, contact Ashley Thomas of Gallagher Affinity for a free risk analysis. She can also help review your workers’ compensation coverage to ensure your policy meets your needs. Call her at 918.764.1619 or email her at ashley_thomas@ajg.com. You can also learn more about available coverage at gallagheraffinity.com/MNLA.
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