Injury and Illness Prevention Plans Save You Money

​Employees are your most valuable assets, which makes having a workplace safety program to protect them essential.

​Loss control is about employers caring for their workers' safety. Successful loss control programs are means of reducing injuries and the severity of a potential accident.

One of the best ways to reduce the costs and risks associated with workplace injuries and illnesses, is to address safety and health right along with production. Start by writing a plan and see that it is put into practice.

Your written Injury and Illness Prevention plan should identify what has to be done to promote the safety and health of your employees, and the safety of your worksite. Elements of your plan should include:

• Assignment of responsibility
• Communications
• Compliance
• Inspections 
• Investigations
• Correcting unsafe conditions
• Training

• Recordkeeping

Taking this approach to loss control helps make the workplace safer, decrease workers' compensation and overtime costs, reduce turnover rates, and minimize the risk of Occupational Safety and Health Administration fines - all of which helps improve productivity and your bottom line.

Loss control starts with an authentic commitment from management. Ensure that supervisors, managers, and employees are all on board and, together, the collaborative teams will achieve success.

Hazard assessment, evaluation, action-planning, problem-solving, implementation, recordkeeping, and documentation are the steps for a successful loss control plan.

Open communication is vital
Open communication with employees is important to facilitate a successful loss control program. Employee cooperation is connected to everyone understanding what the program is all about, why it is important to them, and how it personally affects them.

Consider different channels via which your workforce can be informed, including meetings, emails, newsletters, or text messages. Training is an important aspect of your program to ensure everyone has a good understanding of workplace safety.

Records are also an important part of your safety plans. Records that should be maintained include:

• Training
• Employee injuries
• Accident/injury investigations
• Inspection records/corrective actions
• OSHA 300 logs (where required)
• Job analysis
• Safety meetings
• Equipment and vehicle inspections
• CPR/first aid training
• DMV driving records. 

​Remember to update and maintain all your programs at least once a year and/or if there are any changes.