According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, manufacturing workers have the dubious distinction of garnering the highest number of work-related illnesses and injuries, accounting for just under 60 percent of the work-related musculoskeletal injuries in the U.S. (140,600 in 2000). This occurs even though manufacturing employment continues to decline in the U.S.

OSHA estimates that approximately one-third of worker compensation claims (between $15 and $18 billion) goes to pay medical costs and lost wages. This represents only the cash outlay or visible portion (what insurance companies report) of an accident's cost. Unfortunately this "tip of the iceberg" becomes the basis for cost justification of safety programs and equipment.

In many cases, justification for safety programs relies on a simple discounted payback calculation looking at estimated savings. In some cases it includes the impact of taxes, labor costs and investment credits, but taking these factors into account only begins to scratch the surface of the issue.

Most payback models do not include non-cash costs or OSHA fines. Unscheduled production line downtime resulting from an accident represents the largest non-cash cost factor. Payback models also do not include the cost of cleanup and possible equipment repairs resulting from an accident. And what payback model includes possible OSHA fines?

Adding to the equation, a lost-time accident may also require rescheduling production and workers, and may even require companies to recruit and train a replacement worker while the injured employee recuperates. Nor do payback calculations include increased worker's compensation rates.

An accident requires time from a supervisor or manager to complete an accident report and insurance forms, and to develop new production schedules — time which otherwise could be spent on more productive work.

On a broader scale, one that no financial model considers, is the human factor — issues that go beyond productivity. Accidents affect employee morale and complicate management involvement. An accident, especially a serious accident, affects everyone in the plant, as well as the injured worker's family and friends. Repeated incidents of the same accident reverberate and amplify employee morale issues throughout the plant.

While the costs and consequences of a work-related accident are high, root causes are simple. During 1999/2000, OSHA issued 103,054 citations in 25 categories for safety standards violations totaling $35.5 million (these numbers represent 24 of 50 states).

The top five categories involve basic and direct actions to ensure worker safety. Number one on the list was 2,496 citations issued for not having a written hazard communications program. This, combined with the fifth most common citation for not providing employees with training about occupational hazards (982), demonstrate the fundamental basis for safeguarding employees – education.

The second, third, and fourth ranking OSHA safety citations involve the use "or not" of basic safety equipment and markings of hazardous machine operations and chemicals, lack of machine guarding (1,446 violations), lack of written lockout/tagout programs and procedures (1,191 violations) and failure to label hazardous containers (1,179 violations).

On April 16, 2002 OSHA announced its plan to help companies focus on worker safety. It will inspect the top 3,000 work sites that reported high injury and illness rates during 2000. Employers who reported 14 or more lost-time injuries or illnesses per 100 full-time workers will be inspected this year. Employers reporting 8 to 13 injuries and illnesses per 100 full-time workers are likely to be inspected.

Many OSHA violation categories require a nominal investment of time, effort, and money to remedy. The investment will generate a significant payoff. Simply identifying hazards, developing safe operating procedures, and instructing employees how to handle these situations will eliminate numerous potential accidents and injuries, saving costs, paperwork, and possible OSHA fines.

In one recent case, OSHA fined a company when an employee had his legs crushed in a trash compactor. The employee used his feet to push cardboard into the compactor. The machine hadn't been stopped and continued to cycle.

Identifying this risk and providing proper training would have helped to save everyone the pain and grief of having to deal with this horrible accident. Adding an appropriate safeguarding system would add extra layers of safety, reducing the likelihood of a future accident at minimal cost.

In another case, an amputation at an auto parts manufacturer in Ohio resulted in OSHA fines totaling $176,250, for numerous violations of machine guarding, lockout/tagout procedures and lack of a safety program. The fine doesn't exempt the company from investing in a worker safety program. It still must correct the violations, with a price tag now $176,250 and one seriously injured worker higher than it needed to be.

No one wants to see someone hurt, seriously or otherwise. Minimizing or even eliminating accidents requires serious management action and a safety program. Period. The first step is to perform a safety assessment, review operations and identify all hazardous areas and possible causes of injury.

A company must then evaluate each potential cause and establish a probability, frequency of occurrence and severity of the potential injury. Based on this evaluation, it then can develop appropriate levels of safety education accompanied by use of appropriate equipment guards, safety interlocks, light curtains, lockout/ tagout devices and other safety equipment for its worker safety program.

While this procedure may be unfamiliar to some, resources are available to initiate or improve such programs. Many safety equipment manufacturers provide training programs and software, literature and other materials to deliver general safety information and provide a basic structure for developing a worker safety program and strategy implementation.

Once a program has been established, the company can monitor its success by comparing the number and types of accidents through a historical analysis. It will also help identify areas where accidents occur and which areas or equipment require additional safety procedures.

A safety program requires a commitment from company management, as well as time to develop and implement – non-cash costs. Educating employees and installing necessary safety equipment takes cash. The challenge for management becomes one of determining benefits when fewer or no accidents occur.

OSHA reports that one manufacturer had 27 violations totaling $117,500 in 1999. This prompted the company to develop a safety program that cost more than a million dollars.

As a result, that company's safety program reduced injuries by 40 percent and corresponding medical costs by 60 percent. It saved the company more than the total cost of the new safety program in the first year alone. The non-cash benefits from improved productivity, product quality, employee morale, employee turnover and reduced training and reporting costs become an obvious added attraction.

If you don't have a safety program in place, it is time to develop one. If you do, it may be time to review your current program to make certain it has kept pace with the needs of your plant. After all, the cost of worker safety is truly nominal compared to the total cost of an accident.