Cost of Safety = Economic Advantages

An opinion piece in Associated Construction Publications, published a couple of days ago, expresses very well what construction safety professionals have been saying all along - The Cost of Safety Pays Big Dividends. In this market "downturn" one of the first areas many contractors look to trim is their safety budgets. This often means "the safety guy goes." We have all experienced this in our careers or have heard of it happening to one of our colleagues.

According to the ACP article, "You don't practice safety, you live it. Safety has to become ingrained in every employee starting with the head of the company and that applies to any sized operation from the largest to the smallest. If the head of the company isn't concerned about safety the attitude carries on down through the ranks to the lowest person on the totem pole.

Jobsite accidents can result in the loss of life, limb and senses. It would be fantastic if we were able to eliminate them from happening, but because we are human all we can do is work at controlling them and doing everything within our power to minimize the risk.

This factor alone should be reason enough to make management the strongest supporter of safety but adding economics into the equation makes being safe even more compelling. A history of accident-free work days is an asset when negotiating insurance packages. Companies with goods safety and security records pay fewer dollars for this very necessary expense."

Click here to read the whole article, then pass it along to someone else who you believe should read it!