03 May Accident Prevention – Painless & Profitable
Accident Prevention is Painless & Profitable!
Accident Prevention – Workplace accidents affect more than the person who gets hurt. They can also create significant costs for an employer through medical expenses, workers’ compensation, damaged equipment, lost productivity, schedule delays, investigation time, and replacement or overtime labor.
Every business must earn more than it spends to remain successful. Because only a portion of each dollar of revenue becomes profit, the company may need to generate many times the cost of an accident in additional sales just to recover the loss.
For example:
| ACCIDENT COSTS | 1% profit margin | 5% profit margin | 10% profit margin |
| Additional Sales | Additional Sales | Additional Sales | |
| $1,000 | $100,000 | $20,000 | $10,000 |
| $5,000 | $500,000 | $100,000 | $50,000 |
| $25,000 | $2,500,000 | $500,000 | $250,000 |
| $50,000 | $5,000,000 | $1,000,000 | $500,000 |
| $100,000 | $10,000,000 | $2,000,000 | $1,000,000 |
| $250,000 | $25,000,000 | $5,000,000 | $2,500,000 |
The numbers illustrate a simple point. At a 5% profit margin, a $5,000 accident requires $100,000 in additional sales to replace the lost profit. Preventing an accident is generally far less costly than dealing with its consequences.
Safety Benefits Everyone
Good safety practices help protect employees while also reducing unnecessary business costs. Fewer accidents can mean less downtime, fewer disruptions, less equipment damage, and more resources available for productive purposes.
But the most important cost of an accident is not measured in dollars. An injury can affect an employee’s health, family, income, and quality of life. Taking a few extra moments to perform a task safely is far better than spending days, weeks, or months recovering from an injury.
Avoid shortcuts, use required PPE, follow established procedures, correct or report unsafe conditions, and take the time necessary to do the job safely.
Accident prevention protects people, productivity, and the company. Safety really is a win-win proposition.