We hear a ton of safety myths everyday that have no basis on research or facts. These consist of things that sound great that people say to get our attention. In many instance the people spewing these fantasies may even believe them themselves. However, as safety professionals we can’t live in a fantasy world, we must use cold hard data to back our claims.
To help you from falling victim to fake claim here are 10 quick Tweetable workplace safety facts. To share these facts simply click on the link you wish to share and it will post on your Twitter account.
10. Average OSHA fine is $1,000
In 2010 the average OSHA fine was $1,028 and the average company received more than two fines per inspection.
9. Overexertion accounts for 25 percent of all workplace injuries
According to Liberty Mutual Safety Index overexertion, or injuries caused by lifting, pushing, pulling, holding and carrying, costs businesses $12.75 billion in direct annual expenses and accounts for more than 25% of the national burden. Furthermore “Fall on same level” ranks as the No. 2 cause of disabling injury that drives direct costs of $7.94 billion, or 15.8% of the total injury burden.
8. Scaffolding, Fall Protection violations number 1 OSHA citations
According to OSHA the most violated standard the past year was a dead heat between fall protection and scaffolding requirements.
7. Nearly 75 percent of illicit Drug users employed
According to OSHA of the 7.2 million illicit drug users aged 18 or older in 2005, 12.9 million (74.8 percent) were employed either full or part time. Furthermore, research indicates that between 10 and 20 percent of the nation’s workers who die on the job test positive for alcohol or other drugs.
6. Hazardous Substances cause 10 percent of skin cancers
According to the International Labour Organization Hazardous substances kill about 438,000 workers annually, and 10% of all skin cancers are estimated to be attributable to workplace exposure to hazardous substances.
5. Workplace safety programs decrease injuries by 50 percent
According the American Society of Safety Engineers a comprehensive workplace safety program can decrease the likely hood of a workplace injury by up to 50 percent.
4. 6,000 people die a day of workplace injury
According to the International Labour Organization each day, an average of 6,000 people die as a result of work-related accidents or diseases, totaling more than 2.2 million work-related deaths a year. Of these, about 350,000 deaths are from workplace accidents and more than 1.7 million are from work related diseases. In addition, commuting accidents increase the burden with another 158,000 fatal accidents.
3. code> Workplaces see $3 to $1 return on workplace safety
Ninety-five percent of business executives report that workplace safety has a positive impact on a company’s financial performance, according to the findings of The Executive Survey of Workplace Safety by the Liberty Mutual Group, the nation’s leading provider of workers compensation insurance. Of these executives, 61 percent believe their companies receive a return on investment of $3 or more for each $1 they invest in improving workplace safety.
The survey also reveals executives realize the benefits of workplace safety go beyond the company’s bottom line, with 70 percent reporting that protecting employees is a leading benefit of workplace safety.
2. Workplace injury and illness more costly than all cancers combined
In a study funded by the National Institute of Safety and Health, public health sciences professor J. Paul Leigh of the University of California, Davis, pegs the cost of work-related injury and illness in 2007 at about $250 billion. That puts the price to of workplace health and safety problems above the economic burden posed by all cancers combined.
1. Workplace fatalities down 62% and injuries down 42 %
Since OSHA was created in 1971, the workplace fatality rate among employees has decreased by 62%(1) and occupational injury and illness rates have declined by 42%(2). At the same time, US employment in the private sector and the number of workplaces has doubled, increasing from 56 million workers at 3.5 million establishments to 114 million workers at 7 million establishments.(3)
