Workers’ compensation claims can be costly. According to data from the National Safety Council (NSC), the average cost of a workers’ compensation claim is $41,003. The most expensive workers’ compensation claims were accidents involving motor vehicle crashes, burns, and falls. So how can companies reduce claim costs and injuries, boost employee morale, and reduce premiums? By implementing a comprehensive risk management program.
What is a risk management program?
A risk management program will help employers to identify potential risks and implement the necessary preventative procedures. All of this must be in a written format that is easily shared with employees.
The company must consider potential risks associated with routine and non-routine activities. The focus of a risk management program should be to minimize injury to staff, minimize disruption to manufacturing and protect the environment as well as the company’s reputation.
What Should be Included in Your Workers’ Compensation Risk Management Program
Conduct Regular Audits of the Workplace
Companies can identify hazards and potential causes of injury by carrying out audits in the workplace. Take a look at the equipment employees use, the tasks they have to perform, training requirements and the workload of each employee. Employees should inform their manager if they feel certain activities are unsafe or put them at greater risk.
Once hazards are identified, the company can implement specific safety procedures to mitigate each risk that was identified. Auditors should talk to the employees who actually do the work since they’ll have a deeper knowledge of the process or the machinery involved.
Although many think it is the employer’s job to identify risks and hazards in the workplace, that doesn’t mean employees shouldn’t be part of accident prevention procedures. If a worker spots unsafe or unhealthy conditions or any hazardous situation they should be encouraged to immediately report them to a supervisor or manager in order to help improve workplace safety.
Accident Reporting Policy
If an employee suffers an injury while working, they must be aware that they are required to report it right away, regardless of how minor the injury may seem. This might seem pretty obvious to an employer, but there are times when a worker is injured but they don’t require immediate medical attention, so they may take a wait and see approach and not mention the incident. This can lead to problems. The injury could get worse. Additionally, your workers’ comp. carrier may also question why your employer did not report the accident on time.
Accident Investigation
All managers and supervisors should be educated in post-accident procedures, so that they know what to do as soon as an accident or injury occurs. Injured workers should receive immediate medical treatment but they should also be subject to drug testing policies, and your company’s requirements for injury reporting to their insurance carrier in a timely manner. Proper investigation of an accident or near-miss accident, and taking steps to prevent similar events, is important.
Education and Training
Training employees about workplace safety is an important proactive approach to minimizing injuries, accidents and controlling medical and workers’ comp. costs. Workers should be trained on all the hazards they may encounter on the job including slips, trips and falls, handling hazardous chemicals, and operating dangerous machinery. Employers should consult OSHA regulations to ensure workers are receiving adequate safety training.
Personal Protective Equipment
Employers should provide the necessary personal protective equipment or PPE to protect workers from exposure to a wide array of work-related hazards. These pieces of equipment range from protective clothing, hardhats, and safety glasses to respiratory protective equipment, safety footwear, safety harnesses, and other types of equipment.
Management Commitment
The leadership team as well as employees should be involved in safety efforts at all levels. When management participates in workplace safety, it demonstrates to workers that they take safety seriously and are committed to keeping their employees safe. Safety committees should be established with representation from all departments and all employee levels, not just leaders of the company or department managers. These committees should have regular meetings, and safety education should be provided on an ongoing basis to all employees.
Return-to-work program
Companies should also have a return-to-work program in place that includes how to initiate modified or light duty to help ensure the injured employee is able to get back to the workplace quickly. This is in accordance with their physical capabilities as determined by their approved medical provider. All in all helping to improve your employees well-being and reduce later premiums.
Rules Enforcement/Disciplinary Action
Your organization’s safety program and commitment levels should be part of work every day, not simply when it’s time for an inspection or when written in a manual that is read only once when a new employee is hired. Management should maintain and enforce safe work rules when necessary. Managers and supervisors should be held responsible and accountable for the implementation of all safety procedures in their department or work area.
Periodic Review
Businesses can change over time. Operations, tasks and equipment changes, so safety procedures should be reviewed and updated periodically. And when operations and machinery or processes change, employees should complete specific training as required for specific tasks.
There are many benefits to implementing a risk management program in your workplace including increased awareness of risk; compliance with regulatory standards; improved efficiency; improved workplace safety; and reduction of workers’ comp premiums and medical costs. If you have any questions or want assistance with the following programs, working with the right work comp professional is the first place to start. Reach out to us today at [email protected] and we can point you in the right direction.