Investing in Safety

The direct costs of injuries include medical expenses, wage loss and administrative expenses.

• The average direct cost for a medically consulted injury is $45,000
• Average direct cost for a workplace fatality is $1,400,000

The indirect costs of injuries include workplace disruptions, loss of productivity, worker replacement, increased insurance premiums, legal fees, OSHA penalties, negative impacts to sales, human resources, and operations.

• Average indirect cost of a medically consulted injury is $90,000
• Average indirect cost of a workplace fatality is $2,800,000

The total cost of an injury is = (Direct Costs + Indirect Costs)

• Medically consulted injury = $135,000
• Workplace Fatality = $4,200,000

Noncompliance with OSHA’s safety training standards has consequences.

• Serious, Other-Than-Serious Violations = $16,650 per violation
• Failure to Abate = $16,550 per day beyond the abatement date
• Willful or Repeat Violation = $165,514 per violation

Investing in safety training prevents injuries and their associated costs. According to OSHA, companies implementing injury and illness prevention programs that include safety training, including online training, reduce injuries by up to 35%. According to the American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP) and OSHA, for every $1 invested in safety, a company will save $4 to $6.

Additional Benefits of online safety training:

• Streamlined onboarding efforts that save instructor time.
• Online training is much cheaper than hiring consultants or third-party trainers.
• Flexible schedule that allows for minimizing operational downtime for safety training events maximizing production, especially when operating lean.
• Reduces or eliminates travel time and travel expenses due to remote accessibility.
• Ensure consistent training regardless of geographic location or employee schedule conflicts (e.g., PTO, multiple shifts).
• Efficient real-time tracking eliminates the need for manually entering training data into spreadsheets.
• Enhances productivity and saves time compared to in-person meetings.

The Safety Pays Program raises awareness of how occupational injuries and illnesses can impact a company's profitability. The program features multiple tools to help employers estimate costs from workplace injuries. The Safety Pays Tool uses data collected from thousands of workplaces to provide businesses with the opportunity to compare their workplace safety record with their industry peers. The Individual Injury Estimator focuses on how much a specific injury could cost a business. Through these tools and related resources, the Safety Pays Program demonstrates the value of implementing workplace safety and health practices that keep employees safe while lowering costs due to work-related injuries and illnesses.