Do you want to lower your company’s insurance premiums, boost morale, and decrease workplace injuries and claims? You can accomplish those goals and more through health & safety training. In other words, this form of training is money well-spent, and you will be sure to see the benefits of safety training in the workplace.
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Top Reasons Why Your Business Should Consider On-Site Health & Safety Training
Here are seven key benefits of on-site compliance & safety training:
#1. Saves lives
There are lower worker fatality rates in states that have mandatory OSHA training than those that do not, according to a study published in Safety Science in 2015. While that is just one isolated piece of evidence, it is compelling to better establish a connection between an increase in safety training and a decrease in deaths.
#2. Protects employee safety & health
Beyond saving lives, you can achieve these benefits throughout your team by implementing health & safety training:
- Safeguarding your employees from illnesses and injuries;
- Fostering worker alertness and knowledge so that employees feel responsible for their own safety and for that of the entire facility; and
- Revealing and resolving any worksite hazards.
#3. Avoids the expenses of injuries and illnesses
When people get hurt, the human toll is often the focus; however, health and safety issues are also expensive. Consider that every time an injury occurs, it carries a $33,000 price tag all the way back in 2002, according to the National Safety Council (NSC). Furthermore, on-the-job fatalities and injuries are equivalent to cancer in their total direct and indirect costs.
OSHA data shows that you can lower your costs for illness and injury by 20 to 40 percent with a safety and health management program. These programs, which center around occupational health & safety training, are shown to yield savings as much as 4 to 6 times their cost.
#4. Can lead to greater profits
In 1987, Paul O’Neill took over the reins of the aluminum manufacturing company Alcoa. He became CEO at a critical point: some of Alcoa’s latest product releases had been unsuccessful.
When O’Neill gave his first public talk after becoming Alcoa’s head, people wanted to know how he would spark growth. The expectation was that he would talk about reducing expenses or creating additional revenue. Instead, he spoke about worker safety.
Many investors sold their shares in Alcoa, but O’Neill quickly started proving himself and regaining support.
The worker safety efforts achieved the following:
- uncovered how poor aluminum products were resulting from the methods that were then in use at Alcoa;
- prompted a general enhancement of manufacturing processes at the company;
- led to fewer missed employee days because of injury, declining steeply to a 0.125 lost-days rate in 2012 from a rate of 1.86 in 1987; and
- helped O’Neill expand Alcoa’s net annual revenue fivefold during his time as CEO.
What O’Neill did was logical and savvy since a worker’s health & safety emphasis produces various financial gains beyond what is mentioned above:
- decreased number of illnesses and injuries;
- lowered the number of missed workdays;
- reduced expenses of workers’ compensation; and
- minimized instances of product loss and equipment damage.
As you can see, it is smart to optimize worker safety and health. Health & Safety training is at the core of an effective program.
#5. Bolsters your credibility
You can develop a reputation as a great workplace through worker safety commitments. In turn, you can improve perception both with customers and potential recruits.
#6. Empowers your management
Through occupational health & safety training, your managers can better know about workplace dangers and solutions. In turn, they are able to:
- maintain high product quality and improve productivity;
- experience comprehensive on-the-job gains since organizations that have well-managed health and safety training have strong management generally, per management experts; and
- comply with safety and health regulations from the state and the federal government.
#7. Boosts morale & loyalty
By focusing on worker health and safety, you bolster your morale and develop a stronger company culture. Compliance & safety training becomes truly integrated with your culture when it is not just conducted annually but ongoing, according to OSHA. With this degree of commitment to training, you see improvements in employee satisfaction and turnover, as well as productivity and quality. Workers are more loyal to your organization and want to do their best work for you when they believe you care about their wellness.
Getting The Right Safety Training
You want to be certain that your OSHA health & safety training will be of the greatest value to your workforce and that you will see the benefits of safety training. Have your OSHA consultant assess the potential health and safety issues of your worksite through a job hazard analysis. The analysis can then guide training.
At AOTC, our first step is to assess your business needs and work with you to finalize a customized training program. Contact us today to schedule your on-site health and safety assessment today!