An Engaged and Digitally Enabled Workforce Saves Lives
To truly “work to zero,” businesses must focus on creating and nurturing a culture of safety, and thankfully, advanced next-generation technologies can help.
Despite the business community’s best efforts, preventable workplace injuries, illnesses and fatalities are not a thing of the past. Rather, lawmakers worldwide are passing new occupational safety and health and safety (OSH) laws to reduce harmful and tragic events. In the U.S., OSHA updated its Hazard Communications Standard and issued its final rule to improve the tracking of workplace injuries and illnesses. However, regulatory compliance does not equal workplace safety.
The majority of business leaders and industry groups understand the need to go beyond compliance and advocate for strong safety cultures. In 2023, the National Safety Council (NSC) launched its “Work to Zero” initiative, a campaign to eliminate workplace fatalities by 2050 with effective technologies and stronger stakeholder partnerships.
To truly “work to zero,” businesses must focus on creating and nurturing a culture of safety, and thankfully, advanced next-generation technologies can help.
Driving Workplace Safety — an Uphill Climb for Leaders
It’s a difficult undertaking to ensure the safety of dozens, hundreds or thousands of workers in one location, and it’s nearly impossible at scale, across multiple regions or among a diverse workforce. In 2021 alone, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 2,607,900 non-fatal injuries and illnesses in the private sector and 5,190 fatal work-related injuries. One workplace death is too much, let alone several thousand.
Private-sector business leaders in particular have several key tasks and objectives to tackle to achieve effective workplace safety protocols and drive these numbers down.
Leaders must align their companies on OSH policies and procedures especially if they have a diverse workforce of full-time, part-time and contingent workers, contractors and service providers spread across geographic locations. This can be challenging, given labor and workplace safety laws can vary by industry and geography. Businesses must comply with their home country OSH laws and regulations, plus local laws and regulations for each labor category.
Business leaders also must overcome worker resistance to follow OSH policies and best practices. While necessary,safety compliance can be tiresome and create more work for everyone involved. Likewise, policing staff can also be time-consuming, intrusive and awkward. But ignoring rules, cutting corners and failing to provide oversight can lead to tragedy.