Working to
Prevent Injuries and Save Lives in Road Construction
Safety Equipment Saves Dollars
The National Safety Council reports that the cost per disabling injury in the United States in 1998 was $28,000, including lost wages, medical expenses, administrative expenses, and employer costs. What this means is that disabling injuries cost America's road construction industry more than half a billion dollars in 1998. And that does not even consider the costs of the some 250 fatal injuries among road construction workers that year, and their toll on companies and workers' families.
We have all seen people doing
construction work who are underprotected or unprotected against
potential hazards: Workers at construction sites wearing hardhats,
gloves and safety glasses, but no hearing protection in an extremely
noisy environment; workers operating concrete saws and jackhammers
wearing no eye or respiratory protection with dust and pavement
chips flying everywhere.
These workers are putting themselves and their employers
at risk. And they risk not only traumatic injury, but in
the case of hearing and respiratory protection, they risk health
problems that could affect them for the rest of their lives.
A great deal of attention has been focused on enforcing speed limits in work zones and advising the public to be alert for road workers. We also want road construction stakeholders to recognize that it is just as important to provide supervisors inspecting work sites and flaggers with the best high-visibility apparel and proper PPE as those workers who actually are doing the construction. And we will show those stakeholders that equipping workers properly with PPE is a sound business investment adding to the bottom line, not detracting from it.
Here is a simple calculation that companies can apply that tells the tale: Estimate your company's total costs for workers' compensation insurance and lost-work-time injuries. Now take a look at your company's profit margin and figure up how much more business your company would have to generate to cover the lost profit from your worker injury-related costs. Also, compare your costs for workers' compensation and lost-time injuries with the cost to equip all of your hazard-exposed workers with the right PPE. The numbers always will come out in favor of a strong safety program.
A brochure from ISEA explains the calculation in greater detail.
Altogether, road construction companies potentially could cut the cost of on-the-job injuries to workers by about half a quarter of a billion dollars -- if they equip workers properly with personal protective equipment (PPE) and make sure that they use it. And we also know that lives would be saved. Following are cost-benefit profiles on various types of PPE that prove the point. Check back again soon for new profiles.
INTERNATIONAL SAFETY EQUIPMENT
ASSOCIATION
703-525-1695
fax 703-528-2148
1901 North Moore Street
Arlington, Virginia 22209-1762
USA