I was recently reading an article by Frank Pennachio called “The Effects of the Economy on Workplace Safety.” He talks about the struggle between funds and workers being eliminated and a company still placing high importance on their safety programs.   It seems to me that safety is something that should never be compromised.  Compromise your workers and you compromise your company.

Imagine working in an area of a plant where 4 out of 8 employees have been laid off.  The remaining 4 employees are now doing double the work that they were doing before.  If you were one of the 4 remaining employees and you hurt your finger, would you immediately report it, or would you be afraid of having to have an incident report against you, making your job seem more dispensable?  If you were the employer would you immediately report the incident or would you be more concerned about keeping your insurance premiums down?   Also, as an employer would you spend extra money to replace an old failing machine, or would you have someone come in to ‘fix’ the machine at a much lower cost?  Would getting the machine to run for a little longer, whether it was safe or not, be more important than footing a large bill to completely replace the machine?  These are all questions that Frank Pennachio brings up in his article, and quite possible all situations that come up frequently in this economic situation.

I spoke with the plant manager of a metals company asking him if his company was downsizing or cutting costs on their safety program during this tough economical time.  He responded with one word “Never”.   Even though his company is restructuring; the company has not lost sight of what is most important and that is keeping employees safe while they are on the job.  By keeping workers safe they ensure a quality work place and a quality product.

Frank Pennachio ended his article with a quote from former U.S Secretary of Labor Elaine L Chao “Safety and health programs in the workplace are not only an employer’s legal responsibility, it also makes good business sense.  No price can be placed on the most important benefit, and that is to see that every worker returns home safely to their loved ones at the end of each work day.”

Pennachio, Frank. “The Effects of the Economy on Workplace Safety.” EHS Today March 2008: 26-27.

Filed under: Workplace Safety by Beth Faraci