How Can Workplace Injuries be Prevented?

What can organizations do to prevent injuries before they occur? Experts agree that following the five principles outlined below can go a long way for an organization developing an effective "loss prevention" program.

Get management involved in any loss prevention program. Employer involvement is critical. Without the involvement and support of management, safety and loss prevention programs will fail. For a loss control program to work, managers and supervisors, as the organization's front-line representatives, must believe in and follow any program that the organization implements.

What kind of safety performance are you really willing to accept? Your attitude, as manager or supervisor, conveys to employees whether accident prevention programs are merely to be paid "lip service" or whether they are actually to be followed. Employees pay attention to the true message that is sent; they tend to do what they believe the employer --in this case, the manager or supervisor --expects of them. For example:

If an employee sacrifices safety for speed in the manufacturing process, and the manager or supervisor rewards that behavior, employees learn that, to the organization, speed is really the most important factor.
If safety guards are removed as a matter of "convenience," and the supervisor or manager looks the other way, employees get the message that following safety procedures is not important to the organization, and they will act accordingly.

That's why it is so important for supervisors to oversee the performance of new employees especially to correct unsafe practices. This reinforces to the worker that safety is truly an essential element of the job.

Use the hiring process to avoid workers' compensation losses. If the best way to manage workers' compensation costs is to eliminate losses, the best place to start is before it all begins --during the employment interview. It's here that attitudes towards job safety and work-related injuries can first be shaped. Accident prevention and safety policies can be explained to job applicants during the employment interview.

Comply with the ADA in hiring. Improving the hiring process can help keep down workers' compensation costs, but employers must make sure that they comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Employers have, in the past, asked applicants questions about prior workers' compensation injuries and claims in order to weed out persons who are likely to file claims. Under the ADA, this is unlawful. Rather, the ADA allows employers to ask about a person's ability to perform a job, but not to ask applicants whether they have a disability or subject applicants to tests that tend to screen out people with disabilities.

If a person with a disability is otherwise qualified to perform the essential elements of a job (and these elements will have to be defined by the employer, often with the manager or supervisor's input), the employer will need to provide "reasonable accommodation" to that qualified applicant, which may include such steps as restructuring some jobs, modifying existing equipment, or even purchasing new equipment.

The employer will not, however, need to make accommodations that impose an "undue hardship" on business operations.

Ensure your written policies/job descriptions promote fairness. Written policies and job descriptions are important. Written policies can address hiring procedures, drug testing, safety rules, medical review in the contingent job offer, felon policy, driving qualifications, sick leave, vacation, etc. Besides being used to show that an organization is complying with the law, written policies promote understanding and fairness within an organization.

Job descriptions are also important. This is the point at which employers, with the help of managers and supervisors, can establish the "essential functions" of the job for purposes of the ADA. How else can an applicant respond to job-related questions on the application form; or how can a job-placement physical (given after a conditional job offer is made) determine fitness for work?

Streamline applications. Applications are solicited. All organizations need to review and streamline their application forms to comply with the ADA. To decide if a question is lawful, ask, "How is this question job-related?"

What can be asked of a prospective employee? A simple question can be asked of every applicant, without exception: "Do you know of any reason why you would not be able to perform the various functions of the job you are seeking?"

The Americans with Disabilities Act requires generally that a conditional job offer be made prior to testing or screening applicants. Under the ADA, there cannot be any pre-job physicals, medical inquiries, or questions about prior workers' compensation claims. There can be job-related questions regarding agility and strength and about ability to perform job-related functions. For example, employees being hired to drive organization vehicles can be hired contingent upon proof they have a valid driver's license. Drug testing is also permitted, if required by organization policy.

Make conditional job offer. A conditional job offer can then be given to the most qualified applicant, contingent upon passing a confidential medical review or examination. Medical testing can be given only if everyone who will be working in that job category is also required to be tested. Post-offer or placement physicals are more effective if the doctor is given a job description of the employee's potential position. A start date is not given until after the medical review and exam.

After a conditional job offer has been made, medical inquiries do not have to be job-related, and questions can be asked about sports injuries, auto accidents, workers' compensation claims, etc.

Questions (to be asked only after a conditional job offer has been made) about prior workers' compensation injuries should be framed in the context of gathering information for purposes of Second Injury Funds. (Second Injury Funds pay out benefits for workers who have existing disabilities and then suffer further work-related injury. The employer is responsible for workers' compensation benefits for only the second injury or illness, and the Fund makes up the difference). Under the ADA it is lawful for employers to gather this information after a job offer is made and to pass it on to state Second Injury Funds.

Lies or misleading information discovered will result in rescinding the job offer, if required by organization policy. In addition, the ADA says that a conditional job offer may be withdrawn for two reasons: when a medical professional determines the individual: (1) is a threat to himself or others; or (2) is unable to perform essential functions of the job (with reasonable accommodation, if requested).

Issue safety guidelines at start date. A start date is finally given. At this stage, the prospect should be given the organization's safety guidelines and should be required to sign them. In addition, employee training should include a general safety orientation to the organization, with subsequent departmental safety training that is appropriate for any hazards the employee will face.

Set loss control goals. Any program designed to avoid accidents and control costs must have goals in order to succeed. How can you tell whether you have succeeded if you haven't set goals beforehand? Safety goals should be clearly established, and should provide a clear understanding of what is expected. For example, goals should be realistic and progress should be easy for managers and supervisors to measure.

Keep track of the kinds of losses your department has suffered. Things worth looking at are:

frequency of lost-time injuries per number of full-time employees (frequency);
total lost workdays per number of full-time employees (severity);
average lost workdays per lost-time injury; and
total costs.

Lost workdays rapidly drive up workers' compensation losses. Research indicates that the severity of an injury --measured by total lost workdays --not frequency, is a major cause of rising costs. An efficient system can minimize both employee lost time and the cost of workers' compensation. Safety promotion alone deals mostly with frequency of injury. What you want to do is to reduce both frequency of injury and average lost workdays.

If loss information reports are created and broken down by individual department or location for comparison, high-frequency accident locations or causes can then be identified. Managers and supervisors do not have to wait for an outside party to impose loss control goals; by keeping track of the above information on a department-by-department basis, they can be aware of injury trends and take action accordingly.

Develop safety policy. One necessary step in a loss prevention program is to develop a safety program. A safety program should begin with a written statement of safety policy issued by senior management. Identifying who is responsible for managing the program is critical, along with who has the authority to implement the program. A written policy develops employee awareness and communicates to all employees the organization's intent to provide a safe workplace.

Typically, any safety program should try to do the following:

Remove the hazard, if possible. There are steps that managers and supervisors can take to identify and eliminate hazards. Employees themselves are an excellent source for identifying potential hazards, since they know the workplace better than anyone. Sometimes evaluation by professional safety engineers or others may be necessary to determine whether it is possible to get rid of the hazards identified.

Possible hazards don't just involve hazardous equipment or machinery, but also ergonomic design, which has a tremendous impact on workers' compensation because of its effect on cumulative trauma injuries; facility design, i.e., floor surfaces, traffic patterns; industrial hygiene considerations; and environmental health.

Analyze jobs by breaking them down into a series of successive parts, or steps, and identifying any potential hazards along the way. The best place to start is with jobs that have a high frequency of past accidents or a high potential for serious injury, or new jobs that are being developed.

Use a person who is very familiar with a certain job's processes to begin your analysis. Record each step of the job as it is performed, and then look for potential hazards, such as slipping or tripping; being caught in between or being crushed or struck; reaching, twisting or lifting; being cut by sharp unprotected edges; or being exposed to fumes or dust.

Guard against any hazard that cannot be removed. After identifying jobsite hazards, you may be able to redesign the job to eliminate the problem areas, perhaps by using guards, storing materials more safely, cleaning surfaces more frequently, finding new ways to do the job, or even reducing the frequency of performing a certain job. Don't overlook the valuable input employees may provide. Still, this may require evaluation by experts to determine whether guards are available or a system can be redesigned to guard more effectively against the hazard.

Use personal protective equipment to protect employees from the hazard. If a hazard cannot be effectively guarded, use personal protective equipment to protect employees from the hazard. Personal protective equipment can be as simple as goggles, gloves, and safety shoes, or as complicated as special insulated clothing and respirators. Written job procedures listing required personal protective equipment are necessary.

Managers and supervisors act as examples in wearing protective equipment. Both supervisors and employees should be involved in the decision to purchase and use such equipment. Try it out at home; see if it is workable; see if it is comfortable; see if it is practical.

Supervise and train employees to work safely and to be aware of the risks. Through training, employees learn to recognize and eliminate hazards. Accidents can be avoided if employees are shown the safe way to do a job and are made aware of the hazards that may be an unavoidable part of the job.

The following are suggested steps for training employees to work safely:

Examine the job and its hazards.
Make sure the employee is free from distractions.
Show the employee precisely what needs to be done to perform the job both safely and efficiently, and explain each step.
Watch the employee perform the job; ask the employee to explain each step as it occurs.
Follow up --monitor performance from time to time to make sure that the employee continues to understand what is required, and is actually doing it.

In addition, employers should use employees to help eliminate accidents. It is extremely important that managers and supervisors be trained in basic first aid. Employees should be trained to render first aid as well. Providing such training makes people think about how they would respond to a real accident or emergency involving real people. Awareness of potential injuries reinforces safe work habits.

With a trained staff, a organization can then establish procedures for providing medical treatment to make sure the right action is taken in case of real emergencies. Providing first aid training tells employees that a organization cares about its people. That goes a long way towards cementing employee loyalty to the organization, and makes people feel good about where they work.

Make sure employees know the appropriate accident reporting procedures for even the most minor accidents. Involve employees in the safety process. After all, who better than the worker knows what the job involves and what the hazards of the job are?

Further, to ensure a safe working environment, conduct periodic safety inspections to identify conditions or actions that need to be corrected. Managers and supervisors can monitor the workplace to check for unsafe acts and unsafe conditions so that these can be eliminated.

Look for unsafe acts like the following:

Improper or unauthorized use of tools or equipment
Improper lifting
Failure to use personal protective equipment like gloves, goggles, hardhats, and the like
Horseplay, sloppy work habits, inattention to the job
Disabling or destroying guards or safety devices

Check your work environment to make sure that there are no unsafe conditions like these: