16
Florida Pool Pro
sm
• February 2015
be required to read and familiarize themselves with the program.
However, this goes beyond the simple development of the written safety
program. The key is in the implementation. As with everything else, it begins at
the top and owners must set the tone for managers and supervisors. Managers
and supervisors must set good examples and enforce the rules out in the field
(and be held accountable for doing so).
A “safety first” environment must be created for your company. You must
teach, preach and demand safe business practices of all of your employees
in everything they do.
Believe it or not, many employees believe it is more important to be productive
and race through the day to meet deadlines than it is to work safe. They often
believe that it is acceptable and even expected that they cut corners, take
chances, and, basically, act unsafe in order to get the job done… on time.
We know from experience that the “real” cost of injuries is not due to the
medical bills or lost wages. The major expenses come from the indirect costs
to your company which are not covered by insurance and which do not show
up as a balance sheet line item. They are lost productivity to care for the
injured worker, the juggling of duties to cover for them while out of work, the
rearranging of jobs, work sites and routes, and on and on.
OSHA believes that indirect costs can often run as high as 150 percent of
the actual monetary cost of a workers’ compensation claim. This is not really
anything new. Active safety programs that operate within a true safety culture
really work!
We see it everyday in the hundreds and hundreds of swimming pool
related businesses we work with. Safety programs work because they reduce
insurance claims, keep indirect costs down and create more productivity, and
a business with a good claims record and a proven safety culture/program is
very attractive to insurance carriers.
Next month we’ll continue to discuss ways to control you insurance destiny
by making your company more attractive to your insurance carrier.
