Workers Compensation Safety
There are several safety procedures a business owner can implement without setting up an official safety program that would cost additional money. As a workers compensation professional one common reason I’ve seen for increasing workers compensation premiums is bad management or lack of safety procedures within the job place causing unnecessary claims.
In a society where it’s becoming increasingly difficult to prove a claim to be fraudulent, it’s more important to prevent unnecessary claims from occurring before they happen.
When a business has suffered claims in the past (frequency or severity), those claims will follow a businesses workers comp experience rating for the next 4-5 years. This factor is referred to as a businesses workers compensation experience modification rating.
Frequent safety meetings
Monday morning meetings are typically the easiest for a business owner and gets the employees on the right track for the upcoming week. Did you know a large portion of fraudulent claims occur on Monday? Talk with your employees about proper lifting procedures, how to handle tools within the trade properly, ensure the employees have the proper safety gear needed to perform their daily duties, purchase and require employees to wear basic safety gear associated with your industry.
If you have troubles coming up with topics to discuss ask the employees for topics to discuss based on their day to day job duties. What areas do they think will cause claims, how do you minimize that exposure. These meetings can be short, they need to start the work week off on the correct foot and show you care as a business owner about their safety.
Owner of the business being active in day to day operations
Being present on the jobsite and communicating with employees help the owner/s understand what the employees are actually doing day to day. Being active daily helps the owner/s quickly identify when an employee is doing something that increases their chances of being injured. Being an active owner typically results in the employees paying closer attention to doing the job the right way instead of cutting corners.
Identify reasons for prior claims and correct those problems going forward
If your a business that suffered claims in the past, use the insurance carrier loss report to identify all claims (believe it or not some business owners are not aware a claim even occurred.) Think about and discuss with your staff ways that particular injury could be prevented from happening in the future.
Appoint someone on your crew or within departments in your company as the leader or foreman
Have those key employees assist with monitoring safety within the workplace and ask them to assist with safety meetings. Hold them accountable for their responsibilities and reward them when their efforts make a positive difference.
Put up a sign within the workplace that reminds employees daily the job place is X days injury free. Give the employees an incentive to reach a certain number of days with no job place injuries.
Each of these small practices should help control losses and remind employees that safety is important. Save money on insurance with good insurance safety practices.