Study Shows That Some Small Businesses
Face Big Fatality Risks
As the manager of a local plant for a regional company, Steve Danko thought his workplace was a safe environment for his 18 employees. However, after seeing the results of a recent RAND Corporation study, Steve quickly implemented policies and procedures to reduce the likelihood of worksite fatalities. That study concluded that fatal accidents were most common at small worksites with fewer than 20 workers that were operated by middle-sized businesses.
Fatality rates at these worksites were two to five times higher than similar worksites operated by either small or large businesses. Although the study shows that, within a given firm, smaller establishments are riskier than larger establishments, the research also indicates that small workplaces that are a business’s only location are among the safest places to work.
“At a smaller workplace, one person can make more of a difference, and it seems plausible that an on-site owner might feel more responsibility to try to avoid injuring workers than a hired manager would,” said John Mendeloff, the study’s lead author.
The findings provide an important exception to research that workers in small workplaces are at greater risk of fatal accidents than those in larger workplaces, according to an examination of more than 17,000 workplace deaths reported by OSHA from 1992 to 2001.
The researchers found that the smallest worksites operated by a business with multiple worksites are likely to be the riskiest. For example, among manufacturing businesses with 1,000 or more workers, the fatality rate at worksites with fewer than 20 workers was three times higher than worksites with 20 to 49 workers and eight times higher than locations with 1,000 or more workers.
Similar patterns were seen for businesses with fewer than 1,000 employees and for most other industries, including transportation, public utilities, wholesale and services, according to the study.
These results suggest that the safety records of single establishment small firms may justify lighter regulatory intervention. In addition, it might make sense for OSHA to focus more effort on middle-sized firms that have small establishments, because they represent by far the highest fatality risks.
Regardless of the size of your operation, OSHA reports that an effective safety program can save $4 to $6 for every $1 invested. It’s the right thing to do, and doing it right pays off in lower costs, increased productivity, and higher employee morale.
[Courtesy of Stevens Publishing Corporation, Dallas, TX]
