In the insurance industry, there’s a saying: The best kind of loss is the one that never happened. To put it another way, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. However, finding and preventing potential claims isn’t always as easy as it may sound, which is where safety & loss control and industrial hygiene experts come in. We asked one of our in-house safety inspectors to walk us through the ins and outs of industrial hygiene.
What does a typical safety inspection look like for you? What sort of things do you focus on?
It’s usually not a wholescale inspection. Usually clients are asking for a very specific thing. They might say “we have some areas in fall protection we need you to look at,” or ask me to provide trainings, policies, or safety documents. But sometimes while I’m there they’ll say something like, “Hey, I’ve noticed this. What do you think about this?” So it can turn into a mock OSHA inspection. This all is done according to what the client needs and wants.
Do you feel that most companies have a good understanding of the relationship between their workplace safety and their insurance coverage? And is there good follow-through on that?
Yes. They understand that by having a good safety program, it can help lower claims. But it depends. On the one hand, you have people who have always done it one way, so there’s not a whole lot of motivation to change, because they feel like the way they’ve always done it has kept them safe, even though It might not be in line with OSHA, or even the safest option.
On the other hand, as the years have gone on, I’ve noticed a shift towards the desire to be safer, and companies becoming more safety conscious. Companies are taking more initiative and having more training for their folks. They’re recognizing the need to be safety conscious.
Given that you perform inspections for clients in a wide range of industries, what are the most frequent safety hazards you encounter in client facilities?
Complacency. It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in. We walk through the same doors every day. We walk through the same job sites. We get in the same car and drive the same roads. People see and do the same things, and they get complacent. They miss the little things, sometimes for a long time—until someone gets hurt. And then they realize, “Wait, it’s been like that for a really long time; I just never did anything about it.” Or sometimes they’ll say, “It just didn’t click in my brain that that’s a hazard, and I should probably do something about it.”
Can you share an example of a major risk that was reduced through simple changes?
For cuts, scrapes, and lacerations, it’s hand placement and PPE. We’ll look at training, policy changes, cut-resistant PPE, and hand placement. A lot of the time, it’s just hand placement—just putting your hand in the wrong spot while you’re working.
In terms of property, it’s roof inspections, looking at fire suppression systems, making sure that your fire alarm system is working. Keeping up on routine maintenance.
How do you balance the standards of OSHA and insurance carriers with the practical needs and limitations of your clients?
OSHA doesn’t fit into a nice pretty box every single time. It doesn’t fit every single scenario, and OSHA doesn’t outline every single scenario. They have what’s called a ‘general duty’ clause that says it’s the employer’s responsibility, when they recognize the hazards, to mitigate those hazards.
There’s nothing in OSHA saying you have to put ice melt down for your roads and sidewalks. But that’s a risk every single winter. So that’s where the general duty clause comes in. The slips from ice are a hazard, and it’s the employer’s responsibility to help mitigate that hazard.
With OSHA not fitting in a box, and not always jiving with the work space, you work as safely as possible. It’s on the employer and the employee to not just say, “Well, it doesn’t fit so we’re not going to do anything about it.” It doesn’t mean you just give up on ideas on how to work safely. It means to actively find solutions to make your work environment safer.
For example, construction. You’re building a new building. OSHA requires work above 6 feet to be tied off. Well, if you’re building a building, what are you supposed to be tied off to? So there comes in the employer and employee’s responsibility to work together and work as safely as possible.
What are the biggest challenges that businesses face when implementing your suggestions or other new safety protocols?
Cost and employee acceptance. What I’ve recommended to the facility, for example fire suppression and fire alarms, is pretty spendy. Then there’s also employee involvement and employee acceptance. It’s pretty easy to write a piece of paper and sign it saying, “This is how we’re going to do XYZ.” Any manager or any person at the company can make a policy and sign it. The hardest part is getting folks to actually follow it.
Do you have any suggestions for overcoming those barriers?
With cost, it’s a capital product. I encourage businesses not to just kick it down the road saying, “We’ll do it next year.”
For employee acceptance, a lot has to do with safety culture. You can either have a positive safety culture or a negative safety culture. For example, Negative safety culture can revolve around employees not understanding or feeling the need to buy into PPE. Those employees don’t feel that they are cared for, or feel that they’re just a number and management just wants them to come do the work and then go home.
In a positive safety culture, you have managers from the top down actively involved in safety. Say you have a policy that says, “If you walk past this line you have to wear safety glasses.” If you’re seeing the person who signed that policy wear safety glasses, are you going to want to wear safety glasses? Yes. Versus, if you see the person who signed it NOT wearing their safety glasses every single time, how much are you going to want to do it for yourself?
Positive safety cultures also encompass everybody feeling like they have their role and responsibility in safety. They feel like they’ve had their voices heard. They feel like they’re important and the company cares for them, not just trying to make a quick buck. Positive safety culture is a multi-level effort.
How has workplace safety evolved in recent years, and what trends do you see shaping the future?
Companies are taking more initiative. They’re starting safety committees and being more proactive in their policymaking. People are trying to implement a positive safety culture. I wouldn’t say it’s a steep incline; I would say it’s a gradual incline up. I would say we’re getting there, rather than plateauing.
If you could give one piece of advice to businesses looking to improve their safety programs, what would it be?
Start with the basics: training. We have folks who have been in the work force for a while, yet things change and safety regulations change. We have a newer workforce coming in that’s never had this type of training before, so just focusing on hazard awareness, recognition, and control goes a long way. Training gives basic hazard awareness and gives the knowledge necessary for folks to make better decisions while working to keep themselves and others safe.
