Thanks to the National Safety Council, since 1996, June has become the month to focus on the awareness of safety and health risks in the effort to ultimately decrease the number of unintentional injuries and deaths in the United States.
Why should you care as an employer? According to OSHA, it has been estimated that employers pay almost $1 billion per week for direct workers’ compensation costs alone. And then there are the additional costs of medical expenses, legal services, accident investigations, lost productivity, training replacement employees, repairs of damaged equipment, and more.
Focusing on Workplace Safety and looking at the most recent data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, we see that private industry employers reported 2.8 million nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses in 2019. Over 421,000 (15%) of those cases were within Manufacturing.
The overall rate of incidence was 2.8 cases per 100 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers, resulting in 1.6 cases per 100 workers to either miss work completely (0.9) or need to transfer their duties or work under restrictions (0.7). However, within Manufacturing, the rate of injury or illness was higher with 3.4 per 100 FTE, and 0.9 of those cases resulted in Days Away From Work.
Of 7 categories listed as the reason or cause of injury or illness resulting in Days Away From Work, the top 3 account for 84% nationwide.
Within Manufacturing, the top 3 account for 91.4% of all injuries and illnesses.
#1 – Contact with Objects & Equipment 39.5%
#2 – Overexertion and Bodily Reaction 32.0%
#3 – Falls, Slips, and Trips 19.6%
Starting next week, we will break down the top contributing factors and discuss how The Xcel Group can help you to mitigate the risks in your environments.
