The telecommunications industry is a competitive one in which players change and the race for profits is a tough one with the challenge heavy environmental regulations. One of the most overlooked areas for cost savings is safety. Notwithstanding the moral and legal responsibilities that facility owners and leaders have for creating a workplace where everyone can work without injury, reducing and eliminating workplace injuries and illnesses are good for business.

According to the 2010 Liberty Mutual Workplace Safety Index, the direct cost of the most disabling workplace injuries in 2008 was $53.4 billion in direct U.S. workers' compensation costs, or over $1 billion per week. The top 5 causes of the most disabling injuries are overexertion, falls on the same level, bodily reaction (bending, reaching, standing, or tripping without a fall, for example). Each of these injuries is a common occurrence at telecommunication worksites. A root cause of these and other injuries is often the failure to recognize and control a hazard. Some hazards, such as use of scaffolding and ladders are on the top of OSHA's and telecommunication leaders' minds; other hazards may not get the same level of attention. Yet, OSHA holds leaders responsible for controlling all recognized hazards. Why is this important to the bottom line?

The National Safety Council estimated the cost of each workplace death at $1.3M, disabling injury $53K, and medically consulted (OSHA recordable) injury at $36K. These costs include wage and productivity loss, medical expenses, and administrative costs. In 2009, the industry experienced 19 fatalities and over 922,000 total recordable injury/illness cases in 2010 (source: www.bls.gov). It is not difficult to realize that safety affects the bottom line.

While employees may not have the same level of concern for the financial bottom line of the company, they are concerned about their safety and their personal bottom line. The foundation to improving everyone's bottom line through injury reduction is hazard recognition and control. In our experience in the electric utility industry across the United State, hands down, the most significant thing that leaders can do is help employees recognize and control the hazards around them. A review of safety meeting minutes and hazard reports often demonstrates that, when employees recognize and report hazards, they often do not realize their ability, and responsibility, for controlling and mitigating their exposure.

The question is then: How do we get employees at your worksite to recognize and control the hazards to which they are exposed? The answer is four-fold:

1. As leaders, commit to increasing your own awareness of the hazards that employees face in the normal course of the work. If you "came up through the ranks" in a telecommunications company, you may be well-aware of many of the hazards; however, technology, design practices, and situations may have changed. Take advantage of learning from your industry's standards and communities of practice such as the PRB Coal User Group and the Edison Electric Institute Health and Safety Committee. Additionally, expend some deliberate effort to listen to employees' comments and concerns and take a walk around the site with a fresh perspective.

2. Ensure that employees are trained about the behavioral aspects of hazard recognition and control. Our experience shows that many companies conduct only mandatory, or compliance-based, safety training. Going beyond this and helping employees understand what their personal obstacles are in seeing the hazards that can hurt or kill them is essential to creating a workforce that can take responsibility for reducing and eliminating injuries and illness.

3. Conduct a formal hazard assessment that gives every employee the opportunity to have a voice in identifying the hazards they frequently face as part of their daily work. By gaining a deeper understanding of the hazards that employees face on a daily, weekly, monthly, or annual basis, leaders can take steps to appropriately eliminate, mitigate, protect, communicate, and train employees so they can work without injury.

4. Recognize that not every employee has the same level of competency, behavioral willingness, and attitude toward safe conduct of work. All employees must be deemed qualified to do their work by their supervisors; some employees may need additional training.

Our philosophy is that safety is everyone's responsibility and that zero injuries is the only acceptable target in the workplace. To that end, take time to understand your role as a safety leader in your organization. While OSHA requires employers to provide a workplace free of recognized hazards (OSHA Act 1974, General Duty Clause), go beyond that to demonstrate your personal commitment, engage employees, analyze the worksite, and train workers to recognize and control the hazards that can harm them and others. Make the goal "nobody gets hurt" your personal goal.

About the Authors

© 2012 Potter and Associates.

Deb Potter, PhD, is a certified management consultant (CMC), and specializes in safety management for electric utilities. As the author of Zero! Responsible Safety Management by Design, she works with leaders at all levels of organizations to develop zero-injury cultures. She is the developer of the Simply Seamless Safety® Criteria for Safety Excellence assessment. She is on faculty in the School of Advanced Studies at the University of Phoenix. Deb may be contacted at deb@potterandassociates.com.

Carl Potter, is board-certified safety professional (CSP), the highest earned designation in the safety profession, and is a certified management consultant (CMC). His body of work includes the development of the Hazard Recognition and Control Workshop and authorship of seven books, including the best-seller, Who is Responsible for Safety?. He is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and corporate safety-focused events. Carl may be contacted at carl@potterandassociates.com.

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