There is no doubt that safety training reduces accidents and increases profits. The real question is how to train the people who need it without compromising efficiency, effectiveness, and profits. The answer is Weekly Safety Meetings. They allow you, your superintendent, or your foreman to conduct quick, effective, powerful safety training on-site where the employees are and the hazards are.

Safety training has to happen. OSHA, your insurance carrier, the owner, and your own commitment to the safety of your people make training mandatory. Accidents are very expensive regardless of how you tally the costs.

Safety Sayings, Slogans, and Truisms
Having a great safety saying can be valuable when you’re talking to your crew (or anyone else) about safety. A good saying can emphasize your point, and at the same time make it memorable so that it sticks your audiences’ minds. When your crew internalizes safety, good habits are formed and accident numbers go down. We’re building a collection of safety sayings. You can find the current list here: Safety Sayings and Slogans. We’d like your help in growing the list. If you have a favorite saying, please tell us about it. You can find a link to send that saying to us on the Safety Sayings page.

Supervisors and Guidelines
The importance of the supervisor's role in safety training is critical to a top-notch safety program. Read more about The Supervisor’s Role in Safety Training.

Household Hazardous Chemical Safety Resources
We’ve collected some resources to help you and your employees manage hazardous chemicals which are routinely found in homes. You can find those resources here.

Motor Vechicle Safety - New Measurement Test for Tread Depth
New tests show that the Quarter Test is a safer test of tread depth for worn tires. Learn more at The Penny Test vs the Quarter Test.

Safety Facts

1. The average back injury can cost more than $10,000 in direct costs and anywhere from $30,000 up to $100,000 in indirect costs!

• The average back injury costs employers more than $10,000 in direct costs, according to NSC statistics. Unfortunately, such direct costs are just “the tip of the iceberg.” Indirect cost multipliers for work-related injuries range from 3 to 10 times as much as direct costs. Indirect costs include costs of employees who assist injured workers, equipment repairs, lost production, administrative time, overtime costs, training costs and much more.

2. Data from Liberty Mutual Insurance shows that most business executives believe their companies get a $3 return on each $1 they invest in improving workplace safety.

• (“most” = 61%. Data taken from Liberty Mutual Workplace Safety Data Index, 2001)

3. According to NIOSH’s National Occupational Research Agenda, male construction laborers, carpenters, and truck and tractor operators are nearly twice as likely to experience a low back disorder than all other male workers.

4. Your risk for being killed by lightning in any given year is 1 in 2 million for men and one in 10 million for women.

• (Weather Guide Calendar 2003, editor, Kim Long, Accord Publishing Ltd, Denver, 2002.)

5. The total cost of worker injuries in 2003 was $156.2 billion. That’s more than the GNP of Thailand.

• (Source: National Safety Council “Injury Facts.” 2004)

6. The annual costs of cardiovascular disease to employers exceed those of any other single category of illness—$127 billion in medical expenses and lost productivity.

7. About 29 million workdays a year are lost due to cardiovascular disease-related illness. This translates into $1.5 billion in earnings lost to American business.

8. Ten times as many employees die from cardiovascular disease than from industrial accidents.

9. Absenteeism rates for smokers are approximately 50 percent higher than for nonsmokers. The number of job-related accidents among smokers is twice that among nonsmokers.

10. In terms of death rates by industries, the mining industry topped the death rates in 2001 with 31.8 fatalities per 100,000 workers, beating agricultural with 21.3 deaths per 100,000 workers and construction with 13.3 deaths per 100,000 workers and manufacturing with 3.3 deaths per 100,000 workers.

11. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 459 workers were killed while working in manufacturing jobs in 2004.

12. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 1,224 workers were killed while working in the construction field in 2004.

13. One out of four occupational injuries in 2004 was the result of a motor vehicle crash.

• (NSC magazine, January 2006)

14. In 2003, construction workers aged 35 to 44 were the most likely to be involved in a fatal accident, while workers aged 25 to 34 were the most likely to be injured.

• (extrapolated from 2005-2006 NSC Injury Facts, p. 70)

15. 11,860 construction workers sustained head injuries in 2003—that’s an average of 47 head injuries each day!

• (extrapolated from 2005-2006 NSC Injury Facts, p. 57)

16. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, many construction workers were killed by coming into contact with “floors or ground surfaces”. In other words, slips, trips, and falls caused 352 fatalities and 32,460 injuries in 2003.

• (extrapolated from 2005-2006 NSC Injury Facts, p. 70)

17. Somewhere in the nation, during the 5 minutes it takes for you to present a Safety Meeting, 1 person will be killed by accident and 220 will suffer an accidental disabling injury.

• (extrapolated from 2005-2006 NSC Injury Facts, p. 31)

18. The number of work days lost due to injury or illness in 2003 was 120,000,000. That’s like 480,000—or the population of Albuquerque, New Mexico—calling in sick for a year.

• (extrapolated from 2005-2006 NSC Injury Facts, p. 51; population information for Albuquerque in 2004)

19. In 2003, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that there were 1,880 neck injuries—or—7 workers injured per day.

• (extrapolated from 2005-2006 NSC Injury Facts)

20. In 2003, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that there were 6,440 eye injuries—or—25 workers injured per day.

• (extrapolated from 2005-2006 NSC Injury Facts)

21. In 2003, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that there were 13,330 knee injuries—or—51 workers injured per day.

• (extrapolated from 2005-2006 NSC Injury Facts)

22. In 2003, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that there were 31,560 back injuries—or—121 workers injured per day.

• (extrapolated from 2005-2006 NSC Injury Facts)

Safety Resources

Stress at work a NIOSH publication

Occupational Safety & Health Administration www.osha.gov
American Society of Safety Engineering www.asse.org
Construction Safety Council www.buildsafe.org
National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health www.cdc.gov/niosh
American National Standards Institute www.ansi.org
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers www.asme.org
Bureau of Labor Statistics www.stats.bls.gov
National Safety Council www.nsc.org

Back to Top