Nearly 5,000 workers
die each year in the U.S., of over 3 per 100,000. This has remained relative consistent over
the years regardless of how many changes there have been in OSHA
regulations, There are close to 4 million
work-related injuries and illnesses reported.
However, many believe that under-reporting is widespread.
Experts agree that
while worker deaths and accidents can never be eliminated, there remain
opportunities for improvement by addressing the long-overlooked human factor. Many
feel that OSHA regulations could do a better job of addressing all the ways
organizations can engage employees and other stakeholders in safety and
well-being by connecting the dots between all stakeholders and engagement factors
involved.
The Bureau of Labor
Statistics has stated that:
“Employers that invest in workplace safety and
health can expect to reduce fatalities, injuries, and illnesses. This will
result in cost savings in a variety of areas, such as lowering workers'
compensation costs and medical expenses, avoiding OSHA penalties, and reducing
costs to train replacement employees and conduct accident investigations. In
addition, employers often find that changes made to improve workplace safety
and health can result in significant improvements to their organization's
productivity and financial performance.”
Despite the compelling
economics, management often overlooks the return on investment of minimizing
accidents, not only in concrete costs but in overall stakeholder engagement. By
addressing safety as part of an enterprise approach to engagement, safety can
be baked into the culture and all the ways organizations actualize it with all
stakeholders to achieve sustainable results.
A new chapter in Enterprise
Engagement: The Roadmap 5th edition “utilizes ISO Quality Management
standards to map out how organizations can make enterprise safety engagement a
part of their culture, engagement processes, and human capital scorecard.”
The map as explained
to the safety audience contains much the same categories as the Employee
Engagement model of only a few short years ago.
They include:
- ·
Creating a culture of
safety values with clear objectives
- ·
Prepare and coach
leadership and assess current levels
- ·
Communications
- ·
Job Design
- ·
Training
- ·
Innovation
- ·
Community
- ·
Rewards and
Recognition
- ·
Measurement and
Analytics
Unlike traditional approaches to safety programs, ISO 10018 seeks integration and alignment of all stakeholders: customers, distribution partners, employees and communities.
For more
information on AwardSafety products or services or other white papers please
contact us at awardsafetyinfo@cox.net.
