Welcome to Safety Watch, a newsletter that provides an update on current loss-control regulatory and technical issues.

CONTENTS

Beware when driving near large trucks (cover page)

Employees' off-the-job injuries can be very costly to employers

Online training can help streamline your operations

Methods for selecting proper hearing protectors

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Employees’ off-the-job injuries can be very costly to employers

Unsafe ladder use is a leading cause of injury, whether an employee is at home painting, or on the job performing a task. Companies that teach employees how to use ladders properly and safely, at both work and home, are much less likely to have workers who are injured from falling off a ladder. NATLSCO Risk and Safety Services offers ladder safety training and information.

Nearly 20,000 Americans are fatally injured at home every year. That’s more than four times the number of fatalities that occur in the workplace. Another 13 million Americans seek medical attention for injuries that happen at home.

The Home Safety Institute estimates that these injuries cost $387 billion in 1998 alone. The numbers don’t even include the 42,000 fatalities on the highway each year — most of which are off the job as well.

The cost of off-the-job injuries is nearly twice as high as the price of workplace injuries, according to recent National Safety Council (NSC) statistics.

If an employee gets hurt at home, it can also affect job attendance or performance. Yet more than 40 percent of companies surveyed by the NSC do not have a non-occupational safety program.

Clearly, both businesses and employees benefit from programs that effectively address the causes and prevention of injuries outside the workplace.

By utilizing a simple three-step approach, you can help reduce your non-occupational losses and save money.

Step 1: Analyze your non-occupational loss history. A thorough review of your non-occupational loss history provides a broader picture of how workers are being injured. Examine your injury trends to determine where your employees might benefit most by addressing off-the-job loss causes. A detailed analysis can provide you with a road map to future success.

Step 2: Broaden the scope of your safety program. Based on the off-the job loss trends you have identified, expand your safety program to include areas beyond the workplace. For example, the leading causes of home injuries in the United States are falls, followed closely by poisonings and burns. Create a plan to include off-the-job injury prevention in your safety program.

Step 3: Educate your employees. Deliver the right safety information to your employees in the format that works best for them — from online training courses and topical, Web-based information to customized newsletters and mailers. Consider on-site seminars to deliver key information on auto, home and child safety.

Non-occupational safety programs work

An effective non-occupational safety program will improve the lives of your employees. It will also improve your bottom line.

Sources report that non-occupational accidents cost organizations an average of $400 per employee each year, and the NSC confirms that companies promoting off-the-job safety have lower injury rates.

Multiply $400 by the number of employees in your business, and you’ll get a clear picture of the accident-related expenses a safety program could trim.

For more information or assistance regarding this topic, please contact:

Robert Murphy
NATLSCO Risk and Safety Services
Phone: 800-323-9585, ext. 5466
Fax: 847-726-5271
E-mail: rmurphy@us.bureauveritas.com