August 2011

Construction workers are exposed to a number of hazards, from falling objects to chemical substances. However, as summer arrives with its scorching temperatures, workers face a risk that is not only difficult to escape, but often overlooked altogether – heat stress. The main components in preventing heat stress are recognizing the risk and taking action long before it becomes an issue.

Begin by making sure all your workers, including subcontractors, foremen, site supervisors, and hourly employees, are properly aware of the risk from the day they’re hired on. Information on the various types of heat stress, such as heat cramps, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke, should be part of your orientation process for all new hires. Be sure to educate employees on the warning signs of heat stress, such as headache; weakness; mood changes; nausea and vomiting; dizziness; queasiness; fainting; and pale, clammy skin. Encourage workers to periodically assess themselves and their co-workers for any of the signs of heat stress. You might even create a formal buddy system to encourage awareness and the addressing of any incident of heat stress. Workers should be informed how and where they should seek help for themselves or a co-worker suffering from a heat illness.

Of course, such heat stress education must continue beyond orientation. Unless periodically readdressed, workers could forget the signs or what to do in response to heat illnesses. It’s also important that workers are reminded by their supervisors on a daily basis to protect themselves from the heat, as a lot of construction workers seem to think they are impervious to the serious impact heat has on the body.

Whenever possible, it may be prudent to schedule working hours to avoid the hot peaks of the sun. For example, the work day can start early in the morning, break while the sun peaks, and resume in the afternoon. If flexible work schedules aren’t a possibility, then be sure to encourage frequent breaks and hydration. You might also provide your workers with sunscreen.

Personal protective equipment (PPE) can help your outdoor workers tolerate the heat better. For example, you might replace front-brimmed hardhats with full-brimmed hardhats; light-colored glasses with darker safety glasses; and heavy and dark clothes with clothes that have a sleeve, collar, and are of a light weight and color.

Don’t let the sun come down on you and your employees before you take action. Remember, workers being aware of the serious risks that the sun presents and how to protect themselves will be the keys to a successful heat stress prevention policy.

Some construction firms may view safety programs as just another cost center, something to cut back on during tough economic times. This belief is mistaken for two reasons. First, by helping to lower Workers Compensation costs and uninsured costs, and by helping to attract good employees, effective safety programs actually increase profits. Second, safety efforts do not have to be expensive. With some simple management adjustments, contractors can make their job sites safer without spending a great deal of money.

Perhaps the most effective low-cost way to improve safety is to involve the people who could get hurt. If managers are not tapping the intelligence and creativity of their employees when solving work problems, they are wasting valuable resources. If a supervisor orders an employee to do something, the worker may do it, but his commitment may be superficial. Conversely, if the supervisor asks for and uses the employee’s suggestions, the employee may be more likely to adopt them enthusiastically. There may be several valid reasons why an employee fails to use protective equipment, including:

• He might not know how to use it correctly.
• He might believe that the equipment doesn’t work correctly.
• He might see co-workers disregarding safety rules without consequences.
• He might be rewarded for not using it. For example, supervisors might praise workers for getting tasks done quickly, even if the workers disregard safety rules.
• He might be punished for using it. For example, obeying safety rules might slow him up so much that he has to work through breaks to finish on time.

Some of these reasons relate to supervisors’ attitudes; if supervisors give workers incentives to obey safety rules, the workers are more likely to follow them. However, some can be corrected with employee input. The employee may report that a safety harness, while effective at keeping him from falling off a roof, makes it difficult for him to move building materials around the roof. In collaboration, the worker and the supervisor may be able to think of ways to work around the problem. Because he played a role in developing the solution, the worker is more likely to apply it and may even suggest to his co-workers that they do the same.

One very effective way to increase employee acceptance of safety measures is to create a safety committee made up only of non-supervisory employees. The committee should meet at regular intervals to review injury reports and reports of incidents that almost resulted in injuries, identify the causes of these incidents, and recommend corrective measures. Members should suggest recommendations based on their own personal experiences on job sites. Managers should review all recommendations to see how they fit within existing procedures; it may be necessary to change procedures.

During meetings where the supervisor distributes assignments for the day’s work, he should ask the workers whether they have found safety issues that need attention. He should also review the procedures for safe completion of the task. For this to be effective, workers must feel free to speak up and managers must acknowledge their opinions.

Although it is important that managers take workers’ safety recommendations seriously, workers must also remember the company’s bottom line. Unreasonably expensive tools and changes will hurt workers’ credibility and do nothing to improve working conditions. Conversely, if workers make thoughtful suggestions, managers have an obligation to take them seriously. If they do not, workers will lose trust in them. By working together and communicating well, both workers and managers can achieve the ultimate goal: A profitable company where all can work in safe conditions.

Is everything possible being done to protect your company from the costly impacts of Workers Compensation claims? As an employer, you know that injuries will happen. However, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to prevent them by knowing the dynamics and some of the solutions recommended by the experts.

Minor Injury, Major Claim. It’s the small injuries that often result in big claims. Some statistics show that 80% of workplace injuries are inconsequential, meaning they just require first aid or a trip to a physician. Eight percent of such claims are sprains and strains to the neck, back and various joints. However, these types of injuries account for an estimated 80%-90% of the system’s costs. Major claims are likely to follow if the frequency of such seemingly inconsequential injuries isn’t addressed.

Falsified/Exaggerated Claims. Claims that didn’t actually occur or that occurred outside the workplace are only representative of a small fraction of claims. However, employers can implement tip lines, video surveillance, drug screenings both before employment and after accidents, and so forth to reduce false claims.

The larger problem is from exaggerated injuries. Employers can take these steps to address exaggerated claims:

• Get injured employees immediate and appropriate treatment.
• Even if duties need to be temporarily modified, get injured employees back to work as quick as possible.
• Ensure supervisors communicate with injured employees and convey their concern and support.
• Do as much as possible to reduce the disruption employees may face post-injury.
• Assess and address behavioral issues that could be driving an injured employee’s disability.

Observing Patterns. Experts have recognized that there are patterns of reoccurring claims within groups, such as among certain industries or particular groups of employees. For example, more injuries may be seen in equipment operators that don’t receive proper eye screenings. Overweight employees tend to have more injuries than those of an average weight. The healing of injuries may be longer and more difficult among diabetic employees. Overexertion, meaning doing too much; too fast; and/or too frequently, is one of the primary causes of sprain and strain injuries. This often comes from an employee demanding more of their body than it’s capable of doing. The challenge is that this is a human behavior. Studies have shown that the majority of workplace injuries are from unsafe acts, not unsafe conditions. In other words, even in the absence of workplace hazards, injuries will happen. Additionally, there are also patterns of reoccurring fraudulent and exaggerated claims, such as an employee that seems to repeatedly have accidents.

Claim Reduction. Begin at the hiring process, ensuring that potential employees are capable of doing the physical and mental demands you’ve listed in the applicable job description. It’s important to understand that injury prevention must be embraced at the leadership level to be effective. Statistics show employees are most likely to have injuries when they feel their management doesn’t care. You might also consider:

• Excellent workplace safety programs.
• Efficient communication programs that allow you, injured employees, and insurance adjusters to easily communicate.
• A post-injury protocol, specifying the immediate reporting of an injury to appropriate personnel.
• Routing injured employees to seek medical care from a provider specializing in occupational injuries.
• Staying in touch with both the injured employee and their medical provider, making sure that you communicate your concern and care to the employee as they recover and accommodate any physical restriction recommended by the provider upon their return.

Cost Mitigation. Employers can take several routes to reduce the financial impact of claims. Transitional duty programs that enable an injured employee to continue some capacity of working as they recover would be one example. Research shows that around 40% of employers don’t currently have a transitional duty program. Another example would be referencing treatment guidelines to determine typical recovery times for various injuries. This information can be used to approximate how long it should take an injured employee to be treated and recover. Employers may consider having an on-site clinic for employees to go for both acute injuries and everyday health issues. Partnering with a physical therapy network may be a consideration. Research has shown that companies affiliated with physical therapy networks see injured employees returning to full-duty work 30% faster.

Wellness, Don’t Be Afraid. Lastly, some employers are apprehensive about implementing wellness programs because they’re concerned that participation itself may cause injuries. However, the risk of such is far outweighed by the many benefits of a wellness program, including claim-related benefits like healing faster and being able to resume work sooner. Remember, the success of any program comes from it being accepted from the top down.