How to set up a Safety Program

Finally, you get around to understanding that your company needs a safety program. With a safety program, the focus is placed on incenting your employees to prevent accidents. Over 85% of employers say they conduct voluntary audits for health and safety in the workplace. This is a clear indication that companies are taking an active role in the prevention of injury.

One unintentional injury can cost a company more than an entire safety program. Each year, American businesses spend and estimated $480.5 billion in related expenses (wages, medical expenses, property damage), with 3.8 million workers suffering disabling injuries on the job.

To build an overall safety program, the first consideration must be to understand the company’s needs and the people involved. From there, a program should be customized based on objectives for the program. The objectives should complement your corporate strategy. Building a strong foundation will make it easy to quickly and easily adjust the program as needed. It will provide the opportunity for success. It has been proven that



An estimated 80 million days of production time were lost in 1998 due to injuries workers incurred on the job.
The number of violent incidents reported between drivers has increased 51% since 1990
Up two-thirds of the 41,200 deaths due to motor-vehicle accidents in the U.S. in 1998 were related to aggressive driving.
About 65,000 eye injuries forced workers to take time off in the U.S. in 1997.
Injuries to hands and fingers rank high in forcing time off for U.S. workers. They totaled 227,000 in 1997.
Close to 91,000 injuries to feet and toes resulted in time off for U.S. workers in 1997.
Electric shocks caused the death of 300 workers in the U.S. in 1997.
Another 300 workers died from having been caught in machinery in the U.S. in 1997.
Food-borne diseases caused approximately 76 million illnesses and 5,000 deaths a year in the U.S.
More than 200 diseases are transmitted through food.
About 250 people die yearly in the U.S. because of excessive heat
Each year 211,000 preschool and elementary age children receive emergency care for playground injuries in the U.S.
Nearly 70% of all playground injuries in the U.S. occur on public playgrounds
Swings cause the most injuries for children up to 4 years old, and climbing equipment the most for children 5-14
A fatal injury occurs every 103 minutes and a disabling injury happens every 8 seconds in the workplace in the U.S.
Falls are the third-leading cause of work-related injuries in the U.S.
Falls were the leading cause of accidental deaths in the home in the USS in 1998.
About 472,000 back injuries forced US workers to take days off in 1997
Close to 5,100 work-related deaths occurred in the U.S. in 1998.
Workers suffered 3.8 million disabling injuries on the job in the U.S. in 1998.
Impaired driving deaths are injuries are 100% preventable
About 39% of all traffic fatalities involved alcohol-impaired drivers or non-motorists in the U.S. in 1997.
Holiday season fires injure 2,000 people and cause more than $500 million in property damage each year.