Job Killer? Try Bottom Line Booster: Workplace Safety Inspections Save Money, Jobs, Limbs

[xchrom]

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/2012/05/17/job-killer-try-bottom-line-booster-workplace-safety-inspections-save-money-jobs-limbs/




Costly safety upgrades, nitpicky government inspection and resulting fines are often blamed as being bad for business. But a new study shows that when government job-safety inspectors make a surprise visit, they actually enable companies to save money—and jobs—for years to come.

Occupational safety has improved immensely over the decades, but in industries with traditionally high injury rates, such as manufacturing, lumber or food processing, work is still dangerous, putting employees at risk and leaving employers vulnerable to expensive accidents. But how much can just one safety inspection help?

Quite a bit, the new analysis suggests: Just one inspection saved companies 26 percent on workers compensation claims over five years.

Of 818 companies with more than 10 employees, the 409 that were randomly selected for inspections saved an average of $355,000 over five years in worker injury claims and compensation at each firm, compared with the other 409 similar companies that were not inspected.

[pscot]

1. That's crazytalk! Leftist propaganda!

Highly recommended.

[SDjack]

2. There are some CEOs who will never be convinced of the value of excellence in safety.

These guys never learned that lesson:

Don Blankenship, ex-CEO of Massey Energy during the Upper Big Branch Mine disaster. That mine was closed forever. Now, Blankenship is getting back into the coal mining business in Kentucky. He has establish a company, but is not yet operating a mine. No one expects him to run a safe operation.

Lord Browne and Tony Hayward, ex-CEOs of British Petroleum. Over a period of 20 years, Browne wrecked BP's corporate culture for health and safety, and then selected Hayward to succeed him in the same operating style. It was Hayward's misfortune to harvest the results of Browne's seeds of destruction. Hayward probably did not have time to undo Browne's errors, and there is no evidence that he even tried. He was the CEO during the Deep Horizon Oil Spill (Gulf of Mexico), and while most people blame him, a bigger share of blame should be assigned to Browne. (See book "Run to Failure: BP and the Making of the Deepwater Horizon Disaster" by Abrahm Lustgarten, 2012.) Has Hayward learned any positive lessons from that disaster? He is now an independent director (advisor?) for Environment and Safety, Glencore Corp. [link:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glencore_International| This company has a lot of problems that include charges of tax evasion, dealing with rogue nations, dealing in stolen oil, wanton disregard for the environment and health and safety. Hayward promises to do for Glencore what he did not do for BP: refocus the corporate culture on the EH&S. I expect him to fail because such a change in corporate culture can be made only by the CEO. At best, Hayward is an advisor, who even if he wants to do right, will be pushed aside for maximizing profits.

[xchrom]

3. It seems to be an endless war that workers

Must demand not to be killed or maimed on the job.