How Can I Reduce Workers’ Compensation Insurance Costs?
For many organizations, the key to reducing workers’ compensation costs is having a sound program designed to continuously reduce injuries. While the complexity of these programs vary, the premises hold true no matter if they have one employee or 500.
1. Analyze what exposures your employees have to injuries
2. Develop a program to mitigate these exposures and integrate them into your daily operations
3. Investigate all accidents, whether they result in an injury or not
4. Provide regular training to develop safety competence in all employees
5. Audit your programs on a regular basis to stimulate continuous improvement
Knowing how employees may be injured is the building block to controlling injuries. Everything from the mundane daily activity to the once in a while job requirement comes with hazards.
Many OSHA standards require a written program, and yours can follow these requirements. Ultimately, however, a program that fits your organization, complies with OSHA standards, and has a practical application will be the one that is most likely to be followed.
Successful accident investigations go deeper than a simple accident report. In the most successful programs, all accidents are investigated to find out what went wrong, why it went wrong, and what can be done to prevent it from happening again.
The final steps focus on training and auditing your program. Every employee must know what is expected of him/her when it comes to all workplace procedures, including safety. Training does not always have to be lengthy; often, a short training session can have a very dramatic impact.
Organizations that follow these steps and continuously work to prevent multiple accidents from the same exposure can drive their workers’ compensation costs down and put the money back into their company’s pockets.
For more information on this topic, please visit our website at clarkmortenson.com or call one of our advisors at 877-352-2121.
