Preventing injuries is a high priority for corporations, especially in factory establishings such as Honda. That’s why the corporation offers several programs?.”including line-site process evaluations ?.”to identify potential hazards and help reduce the chance of injury.
As part of an early intervention program, Honda workforce who are feeling pain can receive a massage of the affected area during work time.
Stretching programs are another effective tool in injury prevention. According to the Best Practices in Manufacturing Web site, Dayton Parts, Inc. (DPI) in Harrisburg, Pa., conducted research that revealed approximately 80 percent of all manufacturing injuries occurred within the first two hours of each shift.
After starting a program that required production staff to stretch for 10 to 15 minutes at the beginning of their shifts, they saw a dramatic reduction in injuries.
While the DPI program costs about $75,000 a year to operate, paired with other corporation programs, it’s assisted bring the annual cost of workers’ compensation from $700,000 to $200,000 annually.6
To help prevent lengthy absences and reduce workers’ compensation claims, Honda instituted a work recovery program. Through the program, workforce who’ve had an injury can work in a adapted job?.”getting better.
Staff Members in the program spend their work days receiving physical conditioning to raise overall fitness, physical therapy to restore functionality, health education and nutrition counseling. The program is based on data that shows fewer work days are lost when an employee stays connected to the work environment.
The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, www.ohiobwc.com, provides a “10-Step Company Plan” as a guide for corporations in providing wellness programs that aim to reduce injuries. The plan includes information on safety and health programs to prevent occurrences of on-the-job accidents, including -
Worker involvement – to ensure the success of any company wellness program, staff must take part in the safety and health-management process.
This can be done through safety and health audits, accident evaluations, or by forming safety and health involvement teams, focus groups or committees.
Orientation and training plan – Conduct orientation and training sessions to educate staff members on the corporation’s safety policies.
These sessions ought to include procedures for the safe use of machinery and tools, chemical hazards and how to prevent contact or exposure, specific job/task safe practices, and hazard recognition and prevention.
Communication – Open communication keeps workforce informed and provides suggestions and feedback on the effectiveness of the organization’s health promotion program.
Through memos, bulletin boards and staff meetings, important safety and health information can be conveyed throughout the business, keeping all upper management staff and personnel knowledgeable about the corporation’s safe practices.
The company plan also outlines incentives for post-injury procedures, including -
Medical treatment and return-to-work practices – arly return-to-work strategies help injured or ill personnel return to work in a timely manner.
Companies should establish a disability management policy to help injured or ill staff members obtain quality medical treatment, making their transition back to work quick and effortless.
Timely notification of claims – Businesss should document workplace injuries immediately after they occur and promptly send that documentation to a claims handler.
Quickly providing claim information demonstrates care and concern for the injured worker, avoids delays and confusion with the claim process, and lowers the potential for abuse or needless litigation.
Record keeping – Internal documents must be kept to record work-time injuries and to assess the success of the company’s safety efforts.
Corporation audits, surveys and injury or illness reports can all be used to analyze which safety practices and policies have proven successful, and what areas of wellness need improvement.