Safety not an Expense but an Investment for your Business

Safety Doesn’t Cost: It Pays

A Look at How Investing in Workplace Safety Impacts the Bottom Line & Boosts ROI

Most businesses believe that spending on workplace safety costs too much and the ROI isn’t sufficient to make safety a top priority. However, the truth cannot be farther from that. With the right workplace safety techniques and strategies, you not only protect your employees from injuries, accidents, and fatalities but also boost your business from the financial perspective.

Here’s a look at what safety contributes to your organization in terms of ROI and Revenue.

What is the Cost of an Accident at the Workplace?

While the actual cost depends on the intensity of the incident and injury, there are some common costs associated with all workplace incidents. An accident or injury at the workplace incurs both direct and indirect expenses. Here’s a closer look at these expenses.

Direct Expenses from Accidents at Work

These are the front-line expenses that you can very well measure in rupees. These expenses detract directly from your bottom line. These include:

• Medical Expenses – These are the most extensive and expensive, especially if the injured worker requires hospitalization and further treatment. Even if your employees are covered by medical insurance, you’ll have to bear other incidental costs and deductibles like intermediate care, pharmaceuticals and more.
• Workers’ Compensation – Compensation payments generally increase after accidents. Even if you just have a single accident at work, you’re legally obligated to pay higher compensations. When compensations increase, your profitability takes a direct hit.
• Loss/Damage of Property – All workplace injuries or accidents cause some damage to property. You’ll have to end up replacing or repairing the damaged property. Even if you’re protected by property damage insurance, with accidents, you’ll have to end up paying higher premiums.
• Civil Liability Damages – This is another major direct cost of workplace accidents, especially incidents that cause serious injury or permanent disability to workers.
• Legal Expenses – This includes your lawyer fees and other miscellaneous expenses. Generally, lawyers cost an arm and a leg for handling such cases. The fees you pay for your lawyer will always be higher than the amount you spend in a preventive training program. A preventive training program includes occupational health and safety audits, training, and sourcing of the right PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) for employees.

The cost of not protecting your employees is always higher than spending on the right protective equipment.

Indirect Expenses from Workplace Accidents

These are other expenses that are caused indirectly. Unlike direct expenses, it’s difficult to pin down an exact figure on these. These expenses occur over a period of time. However, indirect expenses end up costing more in the long run than direct expenses.

Over the years, indirect expenses keep on compounding and end up eating a major chunk of your revenues. Here are some of the indirect costs that can be prevented by investing in the right workplace safety strategies:

• Downtime and/or Disruption – When a workplace accident occurs, and an employee is injured, the entire production machinery stops. This disrupts the workflow. Also, work comes to a halt not only during the time of the accident but even after as the investigation proceeds.
• Citations from Regulatory Authorities – When an accident occurs at your workplace, you may be fined by the regulatory authorities. Additionally, you’ll have to end up paying higher insurance and compensation premiums for several years down the line.
• Project Delays – The injured worker may be an important person who plays a major role in ensuring that the project completes on time and within the available budget. Furthermore, the project gets delayed indefinitely, until you find a competent replacement.
• Drop in Worker Morale – Employees get shocked and nervous when an accident occurs to a co-worker. This leads to a drop in worker morale, which impacts productivity. It doesn’t stop with this. Loss of morale increases worker turnover, and you’ll have to spend more on recruiting new hands, providing them with the right training and waiting for them to deal with the learning curve.
• Loss of Business Image – This one cannot be quantified but has a major impact on your bottom line. The negative publicity you receive from the incident not only ruins the trust of existing clients but also prevents you from winning new clients. A workplace accident undermines the confidence of investors, suppliers, clients and workers on your business. Future customers hesitate to connect with businesses that have a negative

Common Workplace Accidents that can be Prevented by Investing in Safety

Workplace safety techniques and safety audits can prevent and eliminate the vast majority of workplace accidents and injuries. Here are some of the common accidents you can avoid and the PPE needed for each:

• Slips, trips and falls – Proper footwear, gloves, the right clothing, and hard hats are sufficient to avoid the majority of slips, trips, and
• Falls from Heights – The biggest fall protection devices include barriers and guards.
• Cuts and lacerations – You can prevent cuts easily by using special gloves, protective overalls, and
• Eye Damage – Investing in the right eye-protection gear is a must. Impact resistant glasses, full-face shields, and goggles are the way to go.
• Respiratory Ailments – Long-term exposure to hazardous chemicals, fumes, and other airborne pathogens lead to respiratory ailments. Simple disposable dust masks to chemical respirators with high-grade filters prevent various ailments.
• Chemical Burns – Latex rubber gloves help to protect employees from chemical, thermal and electrical burns. Other protective equipment includes face shields, coveralls, and rubber boots.
• General Hazards – With right workplace safety measures, you protect your employees from vibration, excessive noise, and other ergonomic difficulties.

In a nutshell,

Here’s a quick Snapshot of the Benefits of Investing in Occupational Safety

• Occupational Safety Saves Money
• Occupational Safety Improves Productivity
• Occupational Safety Determines your Company’s Reputation
• Occupational Safety Creates New Opportunities

Don’t hesitate in connecting with our Workplace Safety Team, here at Safix. Our expert team members are ready to provide you with a customized strategy for boosting the safety of your workplace, thereby improving ROI and boosting Revenues. Let’s get started today.