Something's Off: Is your Safety Policy showing the results you want?

 The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

The statement rings true for businesses that create but fail to implement or enforce a workplace safety plan. Popular as that quote may be, it is mistakenly attributed to Albert Einstein, but was actually penned in 1981 in a booklet produced by Narcotic Anonymous. That is rather fitting considering a worker safety plan starts with drug and alcohol screenings.

As you consider the truth in that quote, are you seeing results from your safety plan? Have injuries decreased? Has productivity risen? Have you seen fewer worker’s compensation claims? If the answer is, “NO!” let’s examine some possible reasons

As many as 7 million workplace injuries occur every year. Most of them are preventable.

• Is your workplace safety program adequate enough to address the risks?

• Have you successfully implemented your workplace safety program?

• Are you enforcing your workplace safety policy?

Each of the above reasons needs careful examination. Even if you have all of the above boxes checked, employees may still choose to overlook your policy.

80% of companies said they experienced workers violating safety regulations.

Why, especially when you consider the concept of self-preservation, do employees continually violate safety regulations?

• Arrogance - some workers tend to think they are too skilled to make mistakes. Of course, they may have done their job with precision every single time, but accidents are accidents because a variable that the worker has not or could not account for occurs. Your safety protocol protects employees from falling victim to such variables.
  
• Advancement - for the worker who wants to rise up in the ranks, getting the job done takes precedence over everything else. They sidestep rules and protocols to meet quotas, excel past other workers on the floor and stand out as the star employee. This adds an extra layer of risk, because not only are safety regulations not being adhered to, your employee may be committing multiple violations while rushing through a job.
  
• Apathy - employees can be indifferent to rules because they aren’t overly concerned with doing a job correctly, or worried about their own safety or the safety of others. This can be the result of personal issues, as well as low morale on your work floor or when an employee is placed in a job role not best suited for their skills.

• Annoyance - when employees fail to wear proper PPE due to discomfort or when an employee does not understand why a rule exists , they will regard their equipment or the rule as cumbersome and unnecessary for getting the job done.

There were 4,764 fatal work injuries recorded in the United States in 2020- bls.gov

Regardless of the reasons, workers who refuse to follow safety regulations can lead to injuries, illness and loss of profit. That is bad news for everyone involved.

At Workplace Safety Screenings, not only will we draft a safety plan to suit  the custom needs of your unique business,  we can help you  identify weak spots  in your current plan or in it's execution. When you put a comprehensive  plan in place and help employees understand the benefits, you are more likely to get real results that translate into better ROI  and increased profits.