Today’s industries face increasingly stringent health and safety regulations on a global scale, and it is important to highlight the value of a creating a safe and productive work environment through robust health and safety management.
Not only does effective safety management reduce injuries and result in a healthier bottom line, but for investors, it is a good indication of an organization’s financial position, operational performance, and competency in managing risks and creating long-term value for shareholders.
As such, diligent investors will carefully examine an organization’s health and safety data metrics when considering whether to invest or not. Today’s organizations must have an efficient system in place to accurately collect and standardize health and safety data, and create safety performance metrics and KPIs to disclose this information to stakeholders.
What are the costs of poor health and safety management?
The consequences of poor health and safety management are far-reaching, directly impacting the number of workplace incidents, injuries, and fatalities. The financial costs of these incidents vary from industry to industry and region to region, but as safety and compliance regulations around the world become increasingly stringent, the costs associated with workplace injuries and illnesses can potentially become crippling to many organizations.
While fines for health and safety incidents can be heavy, there are also many indirect costs associated with occupational injuries or illnesses, such as:
- Lost productivity and employee morale
- Absenteeism
- Worksite shutdown for investigation
- Employee turnover, recruiting, and training
- Administrative costs and legal fees
- Damaged machinery, equipment, or tools
- Negative reputation and public image
For many companies, while it is true that implementing health and safety initiatives can be an expensive endeavor, the human and financial cost of workplace incidents should be motivation enough for improving the performance of their safety programs. Businesses that invest in the health and safety of their employees and are compliant and up to date with the latest regulations will save themselves from the heavy costs associated with workplace injuries, illnesses, and fatalities.
A comprehensive health and safety program can reduce the potential for occupational injuries and illnesses and the direct and indirect costs associated with them. Many companies have developed sophisticated injury prevention programs to reduce injuries and ill-health related to the physical environment of the workplace. The result for these employers is lower workers’ compensation costs and a healthier and more attractive bottom line for investors.
Prioritizing safety and compliance should not be viewed as a regulatory burden. In fact, proper safety management can provide significant benefits to an organization, including:
- Fewer workplace accidents, injuries, fatalities
- Lower employee absence and turnover rates
- Lower risk of legal action
- Better reputation for corporate responsibility among investors, customers, and communities
- Higher productivity, with healthier, happier and more motivated employees
- Faster and more accurate data indicators from field staff
Sample of ITRAK’s QHSE data extraction via an integrated Power BI dashboard
ITRAK and Power BI allows you to analyze your company’s safety data and discover insights, trends, and patterns. Standard reporting such as TRIF, Total Lost Time Injuries, Proactive Actions and many more can be accessed anytime, anywhere.
Investors need access to accurate, comparable, decision-useful information about safety and performance
With today’s data coming from an array of sources, digitally mature companies have the potential to glean key insights and analytics that can be used to maximize safety practices and operational efficiencies. Effective use of safety and compliance software with deep analytical capabilities, such as ITRAK, can help a company become more productive, efficient, and agile, with the meaningful real-time data and insight to make precise business decisions and reduce financial costs where it matters. The result is superior health and safety practices, which protect against safety, regulatory, and reputational risks, while securing better shareholder value through the retention and development of human capital.
By the same token, investors can leverage “big data” to weigh investment opportunities. But first, they need access to clean, accurate, and useful safety metrics. Companies with health and safety systems in place to collect and analyze safety data are in a better position to not only optimize performance, but efficiently disclose to investors critical insight into core safety, operational, and business practices.
Sample of ITRAK’s dashboards for Hazard Identification, Inspections and the associated Risk Matrix
ITRAK’s rich functionality allows your company to record, track and manage workplace hazards and assign a corresponding risk level to each hazard.
Negative or less than optimal safety metrics can highlight concerns for investors, indicating mismanagement and organizational inefficiencies. However, excellent performance and safety metrics are a good indicator of optimal workplace health and safety measures and better business performance, including increased productivity, lower costs, greater innovation and higher profitability.
The world of safety and compliance is evolving, and we’re excited to be participating in one of the rapid growth aspects of this transformation. The health and safety impact of digital and connected technologies cannot be overstated, and with the right tools in place to streamline the process of capturing and analyzing safety data, companies will become more efficient and proactive in managing their safety and compliance processes. By investing in the health and safety of their human capital, companies are creating real and sustainable value for their business and investors.
As companies around the world move towards digital transformation, we are seeing an increasing number of companies leverage the power of big data and analytics to make data-driven safety and compliance decisions. Companies are looking to integrate solutions and technologies that will give them a competitive advantage, provide critical insight into core business practices and operations, and above all, improve employee safety.
The adoption of predictive analytics and big data technologies has become a significant trend over the last year, with 53% of companies using big data, up from 17% in 2015 (Forbes, 2017).
With the ability to visualize and analyze safety, compliance, and operational data, companies can now boost operational efficiency, prevent injuries, and determine root causes of machinery failures, malfunctions, and defects in near-real time. As companies realize the potential impact of big data and predictive analysis tools on workplace health and safety, productivity, and cost reduction, we expect that this trend will continue throughout 2018, and well into the future.
