Each year, more than 4 million workers suffer serious job-related injuries or illnesses. These incidents don't just hurt workers and their families, but can hurt businesses in a variety of ways. Companies spend $1 billion per week on workers' compensation, money that could be better invested in growing small businesses and creating jobs.
In an effort to address this problem, OSHA has established the annual Safe + Sound Week, a nationwide event to raise awareness and understanding of the value of safety and health programs that include management leadership, worker participation, and a systematic approach to finding and fixing hazards in workplaces.
"Successful safety and health programs can proactively identify and manage workplace hazards before they cause injury or illness, improving sustainability and the bottom line," said OSHA Deputy Director of the Directorate of Standards & Guidance Andy Levinson. "Participating in Safe + Sound Week can help get your program started or energize an existing one."
Initiating a safety and health program doesn't have to be complicated or require outside consultants; there are some simple, do-it-yourself steps to get started. Organizations of any size or in any industry looking for an opportunity to show their commitment to safety to workers, customers, the public or supply chain partners should participate in Safe + Sound Week.
"Businesses today want to be sustainable, and part of that means taking care of workers so they can help sustain and grow the business," said Levinson. "By identifying and controlling the job-related hazards that can lead to injuries and illnesses, safety and health programs improve small- and medium-sized businesses' safety and health performance, save money and improve competitiveness.
"Participating in Safe + Sound Week is easy. To get started, select the activities you would like to do at your workplace. Some organizations might want to host a public event. Examples of potential activities and tools to help you plan and promote your events are available. After you've completed your events, you can download a certificate and web badge to recognize your organization and your workers.
"In order to participate in Safe + Sound Week, you should plan activities and events that include at least one, but preferably all three, of the core elements of a successful safety and health program: management leadership, worker participation, and finding and fixing hazards. Below are some ideas for how you can get started. Feel free to customize activities to your organization or create your own activities."
1.Management leadership. Top management commits to establishing, maintaining and continually improving the program and providing any necessary resources.
- Deliver a safety and health message.
- Establish a visible presence to promote safety and health.
- Formalize and publicize your commitment to safety and health.
- Take your commitment to safety and health beyond your organization.
2.Worker participation. Effective programs involve workers in identifying solutions. Improved worker engagement is linked to better productivity, higher job satisfaction and better worker retention.
- Show you are listening and ask for feedback.
- Empower workers with safety and health information.
- Recognize workers or teams for contributions to workplace safety.
- Partner for safety and health planning.
3.A systematic find-and-fix approach. All effective programs are centered around a proactive process of finding and fixing hazards before they can cause injury or illness.
- Spotlight hazards and controls.
- Create challenges, contests and competitions.
- Evaluate safety and health processes and systems.
- Conduct analyses to identify hazards. Organizations will be able to provide feedback about their participation in Safe + Sound Week 2018 and download materials, including a certificate of recognition and a participant web badge, following the event.
For more information, visit www. osha.gov/safeandsoundweek.
