Is Safety an Expense or an Investment?

Is safety a return on your investment? PART 1

Do you think of safety as expense or do feel you are investing in you workforce?   Tough question or is it?   Often, we are asked “How much will this safety training cost? What will it cost to have these programs written? How much does it cost to conduct a jobsite audit? I didn’t budget for safety, so let’s wait until next year”. 

What we do not hear is “I had money budgeted for that accident. It’s no big deal I had that OSHA citation in my budget. No problem, I can cover that increase in my work comp premium”. Isn’t it interesting how we look at things when money is involved?  Or planning on never expecting the unexpected.  

Safety culture

Let’s analyze this another way.   Your employees, your future, your company!  

If you invest in safety, you invest in your company’s future.  A safety investment commitment and creating a strong safety culture that leads to a safe work environment, will yes, be a huge return on your investment!   You ask, how do we do this?  Where do I start?

Well it is like almost everything we do that is successful. We start at the beginning. We need to discover what is missing and create a plan.  Taking a good look at our company’s safety culture” or lack of “safety culture” is often the key element in discovering where things are going wrong.  Does your company have a commitment or a belief as to how safety will benefit everyone?  If not, that is your starting point.   Remember your culture drives your actions!  So, you need to ensure that everyone believes and is working towards the same goal.  Safety culture is a huge part of investing in safety FOR your company.  Let’s not forget that your involvement is HUGE.  You cannot just hand it off.  EVERYONE needs to be involved! From top leadership to the factory floor or jobsite, everyone plays a role in a company’s safety culture.

Is safety an expense or an investment? Check out more information on the importance of workplace safety and profitability at https://oecscomply.com/the-business-case-for-safety/