In moments like these, the urgency to locate tools quickly can be a matter of safety, and the inability to do so can leave you feeling helpless and overwhelmed. This is where the true value of our MOBILE Clean & Sweep Shadow Boards shines, providing a practical and efficient solution to avoid such frustrating and hazardous scenarios.

Mobile Shadow Boards: The Answer for Your Industry

At ComplianceSigns.com, we’re all about keeping things organized, efficient, and most importantly, safe! That’s why we’re super stoked to introduce our brand-new MOBILE Clean & Sweep Shadow Boards. Mobile shadow boards are portable, compact, and organized systems for managing tools and equipment. They use shadows to outline the shape of each item, making it easy to identify missing tools and maintain a clean workspace. These boards are mobile, allowing them to be moved to different locations, making them ideal for industries that require tool transportation

Mobile shadow boards designed to make your life easier, no matter what industry you’re in. Let’s take a closer look at how various industries can benefit from using these nifty tools.

Manufacturing Marvels

In the fast-paced world of manufacturing, every second counts. Our MOBILE Clean & Sweep Shadow Boards can be a game-changer for production lines and workshops. With easily accessible tools and a well-organized layout, your team can bid farewell to wasted time searching for equipment. Plus, these boards are available in various materials to match your environment, ensuring they’re tough enough to withstand the hustle and bustle of manufacturing.

Air Transportation

When it comes to air transportation, safety is paramount. Whether it’s on the tarmac or inside the aircraft, having tools readily available is a must. Our MOBILE Shadow Boards provide a maneuverable solution that is perfect for basic maintenance and janitorial usage around airports. Imagine having all your essential tools on hand without the need to trek back and forth. Cool, right?

Food Service

From fast-food joints to fancy restaurants, the food service industry can get pretty hectic. Keeping things spick and span is crucial for maintaining a hygienic and efficient kitchen. Our MOBILE Clean & Sweep Shadow Boards offer a practical way to organize cleaning tools and supplies, reducing physical stress and making cleaning a breeze. So, say goodbye to the chaotic clutter and hello to a more streamlined kitchen.

Healthcare Heroes

In hospitals and medical facilities, quick response times can be a matter of life and death. That’s where our MOBILE Shadow Boards step in. Equipped with the tools you need at the point of use, these boards promote efficiency and accessibility. No more running around searching for medical equipment during emergencies. We’re proud to be part of the solution that keeps our healthcare heroes on top of their game.

Educational Institutions

Schools and universities are hubs of knowledge and learning, but they can also be home to quite the collection of tools and equipment. Our MOBILE Clean & Sweep Shadow Boards offer a space-saving and aesthetic solution to keep everything in order. Teachers, students, and maintenance staff alike will appreciate the ease of access and tidiness these boards bring to the learning environment.

Construction Champions

The construction industry is all about heavy lifting and hard work. With our MOBILE Shadow Boards, you can ensure that the right tools are always within arm’s reach. No more trudging back and forth to the toolshed, wasting precious time. Stay organized, stay efficient, and stay safe on the construction site.

Retail Wonders

Even in the retail world, having a well-organized workspace is vital. Our MOBILE Clean & Sweep Shadow Boards offer a visually appealing way to store and display tools, making it easier for your team to find what they need. From stockrooms to the shop floor, these boards can help retailers keep their spaces neat and tidy.

Customizable Shadow Boards for Business

At ComplianceSigns.com, we understand that every business is unique, with its own specific needs and requirements. That’s why we offer the option of customizing a MOBILE Clean & Sweep Shadow Board tailored exclusively for your business. Imagine having a shadow board that not only organizes your tools but also reflects your brand’s identity with your logo and colors front and center. You get to choose from a variety of materials to match your workspace, ensuring durability and longevity.

Plus, our user-friendly customization process allows you to select the tools that are essential for your operations, making sure you have everything you need at your fingertips. Whether it’s for manufacturing, air transportation, food service, healthcare, or any other industry, our custom MOBILE Shadow Boards guarantee a seamless and efficient experience that aligns perfectly with your business’s unique requirements. Don’t settle for one-size-fits-all solutions; let us help you create a tailor-made shadow board that embodies the essence of your business and enhances productivity like never before.

Get Organized for Safety’s Sake!

At ComplianceSigns.com, our mission is to provide world-class customer care and leading-edge product innovation to support your workplace safety solutions. With these mobile shadow boards, we’re taking safety and efficiency to the next level. So, why wait? Get your MOBILE Shadow Board today and experience the game-changing benefits for yourself!

Check all our 5S Tool Shadow Boards here. Stay safe, stay organized, and keep rocking in your industry!

The post What Industries Can Benefit the Most from Using Mobile Shadow Boards? appeared first on SafeWork Insider.

The answer is simple – braille stairway and elevator signs.

What are Braille Stairway and Elevator Signs?

Braille stairway and elevator signs are signs that are designed to help people with visual impairments navigate their way around a building. Using a system of raised dots that spell out the words in braille, these signs can be read by touch. To be effective, they should be placed near stairways and elevators, and they include information such as the floor number, the direction of the stairway or elevator, and other crucial information. This allows anyone with visual impairments in your building to find their way easily and safely.

Why are Braille Stairway and Elevator Signs Important?

Braille stairway and elevator signs play a vital role in ensuring the safety and accessibility of your business to those with significant visual impairments. Without these signs, those customers, workers, or visitors face potential harm and injuries while navigating your building. But here’s the thing: Braille signs go beyond just safety; they are also a legal requirement under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

The ADA mandates businesses to provide accommodations for individuals with disabilities, including visual impairments. So, installing Braille signage near stairways and elevators isn’t just about safety; it’s a must-do to keep your business in line with ADA regulations.

But there is an even bigger reason why your business should have these signs. They are more than just a legal obligation; they are your secret weapon in accident prevention. By providing clear and concise information about the location and direction of stairways and elevators, Braille signage minimizes the risk of accidents while people navigate through your building. Think about it: fewer accidents mean fewer lawsuits and legal headaches.

And here’s the bonus: by prioritizing Braille signage, you create a safe and inclusive environment for everyone. It’s not just about meeting legal requirements; it’s about protecting your business from potential accidents, injuries, and their financial consequences.

Investing in Braille stairway and elevator signs helps to ensure the safety of your customers and employees while covering your legal bases. It’s a win-win situation.

NFPA Rules

In addition to the ADA, Braille stairway and elevator signs also meet the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) rules. These rules require that all buildings have emergency evacuation plans in place, and that these plans include Braille signage near stairways and elevators. This is important because in the event of an emergency, people with visual impairments need to be able to quickly and safely evacuate the building.

If you’re looking for high-quality Braille stairway and elevator signs for your business, ComplianceSigns.com has a wide selection to choose from. Check out our selection of Braille stairway signs and Braille elevator signs. With our high-quality braille signs, you can ensure that your business is compliant with the ADA and NFPA rules, and provide a safe and accessible environment for all of your customers and employees.

Braille stairway and elevator signs are an important part of any business that wants to provide a safe and accessible environment for all of its customers and employees. Not only do these signs comply with the ADA and NFPA rules, but they also help to prevent accidents and injuries. If you’re looking for high-quality Braille stairway and elevator signs for your business, be sure to check out ComplianceSigns.com.

The post Without Braille Stairway and Elevator Signs, Your Business Could Be Going Down! appeared first on SafeWork Insider.

To aid the visually impaired, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires that all public spaces, including businesses, have braille signs with raised tactile letters to mark permanent rooms and spaces. So what does that mean for your business?

What is Braille?

Before we go any further, let’s clarify this first. Braille is a system of raised dots that allows visually impaired people to read using their sense of touch. It was first developed by a young man named Louis Braille in the early 1800s. Braille was blinded at a young age and was determined to develop a method of writing for the visually impaired. His system came to the United States in 1860 and continued to spread until it became accepted worldwide.

Part of the braille alphabet used on ADA braille signs.

Today, braille signs are an essential tool for accessibility to provide important information to visually impaired individuals. The ADA mandates the use of braille signs in certain public areas to ensure people with visual impairment can navigate buildings and understand their surroundings.

The use of braille signs has become increasingly important as the population ages, and the number of individuals with visual impairments continues to grow. According to the National Federation of the Blind, there are an estimated 7.6 million visually impaired people in the United States alone, and this number is expected to double by 2030. As such, braille signage is an essential component of accessibility. Businesses must ensure that visually impaired individuals have equal access to their public spaces.

What is the Americans with Disabilities Act?

The Americans with Disabilities Act was passed by the United States Government in 1990 to protect disabled individuals’ rights in all public spaces. It’s goal is to help provide, “equal opportunity for individuals with disabilities in public accommodations, employment, transportation, state and local government services, and telecommunications.” One of the facets of this regulation is that businesses with publicly available spaces are required to have ADA-compliant braille signs.

What are ADA-Compliant Signs?

The ADA Standards for Accessible Design, published by the Department of Justice, requires that signs marking permanent rooms and spaces must have raised characters and braille. The California Title 24 standard further requires braille signs for exits, floor identification, means of egress and areas of refuge. Directional and information signs are not required to have braille.

There are many regulations governing what makes a braille sign ADA compliant. For one, the design and layout of the braille dots must meet strict specifications:

The braille system uses domed dots specifically arranged in cells to represent letters or words.

Here are some of the other braille sign requirements your business should know:

• The sign must use raised characters that are uppercase, sans serif and free of oblique, script or italic characters.
• Raised characters are required to be raised a minimum of 1/32 inch from the background.
• The height of raised characters should be between 5/8 inch and 2 inches.
• Text must be accompanied by Grade 2 braille dots positioned directly below the corresponding text.
• Braille must be separated a minimum of 3/8 inch from raised text and other raised objects.
• Braille dots are to be domed or rounded, not flat or squared.
• The sign must have a non-glare finish.
• The signs should use high-contrasting colors to make them easy to read, such as white letters on black or dark blue background or black lettering on white background.
• The lettering for tactile signs must be positioned between 48 and 60 inches off the floor.
• Signs marking permanent rooms should be placed adjacent to the door leading to the
  room.

Why Braille Signage Matters for Your Business

According to the CDC, one of every four Americans lives with some sort of disability. That’s 61 million people. By adding ADA braille signs, you’re ensuring the safety of any guests who may have a disability, whether you can see it or not. This also gives your business a feeling of inclusiveness and welcome that makes you look good. It shows that you truly value your customers, employees, and guests.

Examples of braille signs commonly found in businesses and public places.

It’s not just about doing the right thing for those with disabilities, it’s also about protecting your business. If your business has over 15 employees, the ADA regulations for signage apply and that means you need to follow them or you could face:

• Fines of up to $75,000 for the first offense and $150,000 for subsequent offenses
• Potential lawsuits from anyone who gets hurt or even inconvenienced because your signage is not up to code

The good news is that it’s a lot easier to make your business ADA compliant than it is to handle a major fine or lawsuit. Complete an audit of your business to see where you need braille signs. Once you have your list, it’s as easy as finding your braille signs here, ordering, and installing at the proper height.

Braille signs are an essential tool for accessibility, and the ADA’s standards for Braille signs have helped to ensure that visually impaired individuals have equal access to public spaces. By continuing to advocate for accessibility and inclusion, you can protect your business, your customers, and work towards a more equitable society for all.

Why Trust ComplianceSigns.com for ADA-Compliant Braille Signs?

There are many places to buy signs with dots that claim to be compliant braille. But you should trust ComplianceSigns.com for your braille sign needs. Why? Otherwise, you could end up with a flat tin sign with small “braille” circles and text simply printed onto it. (Yes, this really happened!)

ComplianceSigns is a braille sign expert, trusted for years by thousands of businesses to provide correct, fully compliant, top quality ADA braille signs for bathrooms, room names, exits, elevators and stairs, no smoking areas and much more. We offer dozens of color combinations and have also developed a variety of resources to help you understand braille signage requirements. So don’t take a chance. Trust the braille sign experts.

Braille Sign Resources:

• Browse Braille Signs at ComplianceSigns.com
• Braille Wayfinding Signs and Your Business
• What To Know About ADA Braille Signs

ComplianceSigns Braille Sign Features:

The post What Every Business Should Know About Braille Signs appeared first on SafeWork Insider.

Best Parking Permit Practices for Management

To create a new parking policy for your company, start with careful evaluation. Consider the best way to improve safety and how your parking plan contributes to that. This should include whether there will be different types of permits for different people, who is in charge of issuing permits and how long passes are valid before they expire. Determine whether you will use numbered permits, which allows you to trace each one to a specific person.

Consider different types of business parking permits. Flexible plastic hang tags that dangle from the rear-view mirror are easy to use, easily transferrable and a good choice for short-term use. Window cling permits are applied to windows from the inside, making them a good long-term choice. Cling decals are less likely to be lost, shared or stolen.

You can also post custom signs that clearly mark your business parking areas. If possible, add your logo to both the signs and the parking decals to minimize confusion for your staff and visitors.

Communicating Parking Rules To Staff

When you create permits for a parking area, you can do several things to avoid hassle or problems. First, make sure the administrators of the parking system collect all pertinent information from anyone who gets a pass. This includes driver’s license numbers and vehicle plate numbers. There should also be clear directions for how workers can update their information.

Next, make specific rules for displaying permits. The parking permit should be clearly seen. Use training and visual aids to help employees place decals in the proper place. Place signage to coordinate business parking permits with the spots they allow access to. For instance, you can get parking signs in colors to match permits so everyone can quickly see where to go.

Parking enforcement also needs protocols to prevent people from sharing permits. There is a potential security risk whenever an authorized person or vehicle uses another person’s assigned permit. Ensure that all workers know not to give their decals to anyone else and create a policy for dealing with lost or stolen permits. It’s also good to limit access to the parking lot or garage so parking attendants or security personnel can check credentials at just a few designated points.

Train your staff so everyone knows the permitted parking locations and how you will check the passes. This will reduce confusion and frustration for everyone.

Simplify Operations

Parking is a logistical reality for any facility that gathers workers together in one place. To make sure everyone has proper access to parking, issuing decals for employees is a good idea. You can increase security while offering workers clear options for where to park.

To get the business parking permit decals and signs you need, check out the parking control sign and permit options at ComplianceSigns.com.

The post Do You Use Business Parking Permits? Here’s Everything You Need To Know appeared first on SafeWork Insider.

New York Lactation Room Requirements

Under the new rules, a lactation room or location must be:

• in close proximity to the work area
• well lit
• shielded from view
• free from intrusion by others

At a minimum, the room or location must contain a chair, a small table or surface on which the employee may place a breast pump and other personal items, nearby access to running water, and an electrical outlet.

The new law (S.4844-B/A.1236-A) applies to all employers. However, employers may be exempt from the requirements of the pumping location if it would impose an undue hardship on the employer.

A Written Policy is Required

Further, the new law also requires employers to adopt and distribute a policy developed by the New York State Department of Labor regarding the rights of nursing mothers in the workplace. Employers must provide the policy to each employee upon hire and annually thereafter, as well as to employees returning to work after the birth of a child.

Workplace Lactation Rules Across the U.S.

Many other states have laws related to breastfeeding and pumping. Federal law also sets standards for workplace expression. Section 7 of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires employers to provide reasonable break time for non-exempt employees to express breast milk for their nursing children for one year after the child’s birth each time the employee has need to express. Employers are also required to provide a place, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion from coworkers and the public, which may be used by an employee to express breast milk.

Employer Resources Regarding Workplace Lactation

• Review the New York Law
• U.S. Department of Labor guidance on break time for nursing mothers
• Ideas for providing break time and space in various industries
• Lactation and Mother’s Room signs for the workplace

The post New York State Expands Workplace Lactation Laws appeared first on SafeWork Insider.

These employment posters combine state and federal notices into one easy-to-hang poster that displays up-to-date mandatory federal and state labor / employment notices for private industry or non-government entities. We have posters for all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Canada.

Federal Posting Requirements

Generally, federal workplace posters must be displayed or posted in conspicuous places where they are easily visible to all employees. The FMLA, EEO, and EPPA posters are also required to be placed where they can be seen by applicants for employment. Failure to post required federal notices may result civil money penalties, contract actions or legal sanctions, depending on the notice. With a few exceptions (FMLA, MSPA and Executive Order 13496), regulations do not require posting of notices in Spanish or other languages.

Posting requirements vary by statute. Since not all employers are covered by each statute, some employers may not be required to post a specific notice. For example, some small businesses may not be covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act and would not be subject to the Act’s posting requirements. You may wish to consult with legal counsel regarding posting requirements for your business.

State Employment Notices

Most states also have employment notice posting regulations. ComplianceSigns.com has researched the specific notices required for each state. Some states, including New York and Texas, require different posters depending on the employer’s worker’s compensation coverage or some other status. We have separate posters to meet these unique requirements, as well. Some local governments may dictate additional notices. Check local laws.

Labor Law Resources for Employers

Employers will find a wide variety of resources on the new ComplianceSigns.com Labor Law Posters page, in addition to an easy-to-use, drop-down state poster selector. The page offers links to federal labor laws and regulations as well as state compliance resources, including:

• Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
• Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA)
• Davis-Bacon and Related Acts (DBRA)
• State Labor Offices – List of all states and their labor office contact information.
• State Occupational Safety and Health Plans – Links to states with Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) plans. Includes a state plan directory of contact information.
• Selected State Labor Laws – A comparison of federal and state laws regarding the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), a list of links to tables comparing various state laws relative to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), including minimum wage and overtime rules, and links to state labor associations.

Resources:

• Federal Department of Labor Poster FAQ page.
• Dept. of Labor elaws Poster Advisor.
• ComplianceSigns.com Labor Law Posters page.

The post State / Federal Labor Law Posters: What To Know appeared first on SafeWork Insider.

Just picture Gordon Ramsay walking through your restaurant flipping tables and breaking dishes. We all know the outcome – and it’s not a pretty sight. That’s why food safety is paramount. Every single piece of food, down to the tiny pieces of bacon used to add flavor to Carbonara dishes must never enter into the danger zone.

Entering the danger zone happens when heating and cooling practices result in the creation of serious foodborne illnesses. When your customers get sick, they’ll avoid your restaurant like the plague and tell everyone about their bad experience. Negative remarks spread like the smell of rotten fish. What’s worse – you could get in serious trouble with the health department and they could shut down your business.

Avoid these issues by paying close attention to the food temperature “Danger Zone”. The danger zones food temperatures 41 to 135 degrees Fahrenheit, with the most rapid bacteria growth occurring between 70 and 125 degrees Fahrenheit.

Taking it back to your food safety 101 course:

Per the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the longer food sits between 40 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit the more chance there is for bacteria to grow to unsafe levels. When bacteria grows on food, it will spoil and become dangerous for consumption.

When thawing frozen meat or fish, use clean, cold running water, or store contents on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator to prevent juice from dripping onto other ingredients. When thawing, it’s critical that the products remain in the original, watertight packaging and when marinating, place items in sealed containers.

What are ways to avoid food poisoning?

• When cooling – chill food to temperatures below 41 degrees.
• When heating – chefs must make sure the food temperatures stay above 141 degrees.
• When checking temperature – Measure the internal temperature of meat, poultry, seafood, and other cooked foods with a meat probe thermometer.

The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) recommends specific meat and poultry temperatures to ensure food safety. Follow the foodsafety.gov safe cooking temperatures for guidelines.

Remind workers about cross-contamination

When you’re preparing dishes, always remember to keep raw items away from other foods because they can become cross-contaminated. Items such as raw meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs are dangerous sources of bacteria such as salmonella and other contaminants. When raw foods are mixed with items like vegetables, fruits, cheese, and breads, they can cross-contaminate the other foods.

Prevent foods from entering the danger zone. If you’re guilty of any of these mistakes, according to the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), food poisoning could occur:

• Poor personal hygiene and infected personnel
• Contaminated raw foods and ingredients
• Inadequate reheating
• Preparing food too far ahead of service
• Inadequate cooling and cold handling
• Inadequate hot holding

Always put food safety at the top of your list of ingredients!

Provide adequate food safety training and post food safety signs and notices throughout your kitchen  and break areas to keep workers informed.

Browse kitchen safety handwashing signs at ComplianceSigns.com

The post How to Avoid a Food Poisoning Disaster appeared first on SafeWork Insider.

Below are six types of motivational posters you can use in your office to help keep employees happy, motivated and engaged. 

1) Promote teamwork 

They say teamwork makes the dream work, but we also think it makes your employees work. And studies prove that to be true. Employees who feel there’s a low level of respect between colleagues are 26% more likely to quit their jobs. And happy employees stick around. 

2) Encourage employees to take ownership. 

We find the most success when we treat our employees like adults—and part of that includes encouraging them to take ownership of their work and their actions. We also like them to show up on time and be prepared. Empower your employees with these motivational posters. 

3) Keep things positive  

Nobody likes a negative Nancy. And one person’s actions can create a chain reaction that results in a toxic work environment. No thanks. Create a lively atmosphere and cut off Nancy’s complaining with bright, engaging, team-building posters. 

4) Shine a light on hard work  

You want your employees to work hard, but employees need a little bit of guidance and acknowledgment. According to Qualtrics, employees whose managers consistently acknowledge their excellent work are 5x more likely to stay at the company. So don’t forget to throw your team a bone now and again and let them know that you don’t expect perfection. You expect progress.

6) Motivate them to succeed 

Working hard becomes much easier when you are passionate about your job. Encourage your employees to think big, take calculated risks, and follow their passions to keep them engaged. Because engaged and committed employees are 87% less likely to leave.   

Instill confidence in your employees 

To get the most out of your employees, you need to make them feel empowered, accepted, and respected. Create an environment that values people with integrity, is intolerant of gossip and encourages people to be themselves.   

Although we can’t help with office bar, ping pong table, or snack closet, we can offer you these 6 types of motivational posters to help you create an environment where people feel inspired. Browse posters from the six categories above and explore our full collection to find messages that align with your company values.

Explore motivational posters at ComplianceSigns.com. 

The post 6 Types of Motivational Posters You Need in Your Office appeared first on SafeWork Insider.

 Positive safety cultures take a long time to nurture and develop, but you can take a step in the right direction by studying examples of safety cultures and analyzing the ways in which they are successful (or unsuccessful, as the case may be).  

These television shows are meant to entertain, but the clips below also offer a springboard for discussion in your own workplace meetings about what makes a positive safety culture.

“Safety Training” – The Office

Its safety training day at Dunder Mifflin, and the office is invited to join the warehouse crew to learn about dangerous machinery, including the baler and the forklift. Michael makes light of the warehouse crew’s safety training and poses a real threat to the crew’s safety. A competition grows between the warehouse crew and the office workers, and later, Michael feels slighted when his office safety isn’t perceived as ‘manly’ or ‘dangerous.’

This situation makes for a funny episode, but in real-life, this situation would certainly be described as a negative safety culture. No company can hope to build a positive safety culture when upper management takes safety lightly. It’s not that the boss is making jokes (after all, safety doesn’t have to be boring, and a bit of humor can go a long way towards reinforcing memorization).  

The real issue is that the boss undermines the importance of safety and downplays the danger of the warehouse equipment. Furthermore, a positive safety culture is built by workers who are able to support and protect one another. 

The workers in this episode turn safety into a competition by asserting that one workplace is more dangerous than the other (as if this is something to aspire to!). In a real-life situation, a worker who feels discouraged from wearing PPE or fall protection because he or she isn’t ‘tough’ enough to go without could be at risk for severe injury or death. Safety day at Dunder Mifflin is a prime example of how attitudes about safety between workers and upper management can degrade a safety culture

“Archie & the Miracle” – All in the Family 

Archie is nearly killed at work at a loading dock when a crate of machine parts falls off a crane and just misses him. He escapes uninjured but his lunchbox is smashed flat. His wife Edith asks if he was wearing a ‘safety hat’ but Archie replies that the crate weighed one ton – if he hadn’t have moved, his “feet would have been wearing his safety hat.” 

Close calls are a call to action – but what action? Although Archie felt motivated to go to church, there are arguably more pressing actions to take after a near-fatal accident.  

Big questions need to be answered: 

• Why didn’t the crew have their coffee break in a safer location? 
• Who was operating the crane, and why didn’t he or she see the men sitting there?  
• What could be done to prevent an accident like this from happening in the future?  

After such a close call, it makes sense that a worker might feel a sense of gratitude (and relief). 

 He or she might be inspired to spend more time with family, seek spiritual guidance, or (hopefully) spend more time brushing up on safety procedures. No doubt it’s a good thing to count your blessings. But to really learn from a close call, a company with a positive safety culture will examine the near-miss and take concrete action to prevent future incidents.

Office Space 

Peter hates his boss. He tries to quietly sneak out of the office after work on Friday to avoid running into his boss, but luck isn’t on his side. Before he’s able to escape, his boss asks him to work on the weekend and “play catch up,” much to Peter’s chagrin.

This clip isn’t explicitly about workplace safety — but it still stands as an example of a poor working relationship between workers and upper management, a factor which can definitely stymie the growth of a positive safety culture. 

It’s bad enough when you can’t talk to your boss candidly in an office, but on a dangerous job site, the inability to communicate can have deadly consequences. Workers need to be able to point out unsafe behavior or situations without the threat of negative consequences, including job loss, penalties, or social repercussions. It might mean that a worker reminds a supervisor to wear his or her safety goggles, and that’s okay.  

A positive safety culture means that people are looking out for each other’s safety, regardless of rank. It’s a universal truth that workers and upper management might not always be the best of friends, but in the interest of workplace safety, employees of all levels need to be able to communicate respectfully and professionally.

Videos are a fun way to start the discussion about important safety topics during your safety meetings or training. Safety posters are another fun way to add value to your safety culture.

The post Let’s Talk About Safety Culture (Through Pop Culture) appeared first on SafeWork Insider.

The first thing you think of is a workers’ compensation claim. According to the National Safety Council, the average cost for worker’s comp claims combined in 2019-2020 was $41,353. That’s a hefty chunk of change, but the reality is that it’s only a fraction of the true cost.

Additional Costs of Workplace Injuries

Understanding the true cost of workplace injuries means looking beyond the obvious. There are a number of hidden ways that money is lost when someone gets hurt on the job. Here are a few to consider:

Workers’ Comp Insurance

Workers’ compensation is the first thing that comes to mind when an employer imagines a workplace injury, and for good reason. The average cost for all claims is more than $40,000, as we mentioned above.

Time Lost

When an accident occurs, the first thing that happens is everything comes to a screeching halt. You have to find out what happened and assess the affected area and machines before you can continue working. The people who respond to help the injured worker, as well as the worker who is injured, are all on the clock and that’s time lost.

OSHA Fines and Enforcement Actions

Depending on the nature of the incident, there may be an OSHA investigation. If OSHA finds that your company was not safety compliant, this could lead to hefty fines. The standard fine for a safety violation is just under $14,000, but if OSHA finds more than one, that number can escalate quickly.

In 2019 a forklift driver at a wholesaler in Texas was injured on the job. OSHA looked into it and found significant safety violations including improper training for forklift operators and failing to ensure that daily forklift inspections were performed. By the time OSHA was done, the company was facing a $164,802 fine.

Recovery of Lost Production

When one of your workers gets hurt, that means they can’t stay on the job and be productive. Business must go on, though. Hiring and training temp workers to fill that position, paying overtime for others to cover, or simply accepting lower production volumes all create added costs for the employer.

Secondary Human Resources

Some workplace injuries are more complex than others. If a claim is disputed it could lead to more expenses. Legal counsel could be brought in to help with a court case. You might need 3rd party consultants to help out. Or, an independent medical examiner could be needed to verify the injury. These secondary human resources can add up very quickly and become a major cost factor for the employer.

Staff Administrative Time

How much time does your human resources team spend working on the claim? Your supervisors have to inspect the area, rework schedules, hire and train more help. There is also documentation to complete and possibly an investigation. All these things create unplanned employee man-hours which means more money peeling away from the bottom line.

Bump in Workers’ Comp Premiums

A business’s workers’ compensation premiums are based on an algorithm that essentially rates the business’s safety score called your experience modification factor. Essentially, it looks at the cost of your claims over the past three years and compares them to other similar businesses. If you’re showing fewer claims and lower costs, you’ll be rewarded with a lower premium. More claims and higher costs lead to higher premiums. So, every workplace injury can potentially contribute to higher worker’s compensation premiums for the future.

Make a Safety Investment in Accident Prevention to Reduce the Cost of Workplace Injuries

Workplace accidents are expensive any way you look at them. While you can’t eliminate them entirely (we’re all human, after all) you can reduce them by implementing a solid safety program. That means making a minor investment in safety signs, proper PPE and signage, and personnel hours to create a safety program that keeps your employees protected, healthy and on the job. It’s a lot more affordable and a lot less stressful than dealing with repeated workplace accidents. When you consider the true cost of workplace accidents, it’s worth a little money now to avoid the full cost of workplace injuries later.

The post Beyond Workers’ Comp: Understanding the True Cost of Workplace Injuries appeared first on SafeWork Insider.