According to the National Safety Council (NSC), an on-the-job injury occurs every seven seconds. NSC also estimates that as many as 45 million otherwise productive days will be lost in future years due to the work-related injuries and deaths that occur in just one year. Those statistics quickly lead us to the conclusion that maintaining a safe work environment is one of the most important things an employer can do both to protect workers and the bottom line.
There is no question that the cost of an unsafe workplace is staggering. In fact, OSHA estimates that employers pay almost $1 billion per week for direct workers’ compensation costs alone. Reducing this number is possible, but not without safety programs.1