The true cost of workplace injuries to the economy

In the UK, it’s estimated that annually the cost of workplace injuries to the economy is nearly £15bn per year (2015/16). Research has also suggested that workplace injuries and illnesses in U.S. amount to a staggering $250 billion annually (2013). The proper use of specific health and safety systems can dramatically reduce a company’s expenditure on injuries. The cost of workplace injuries and illnesses can be broken down into two subsections:

1. ‘Human costs’ – impact of the individual’s quality of life, and in the case of fatal injuries, loss of life
2. ‘Financial costs’ – loss of production due to absence from work, health, rehabilitation, administration and legal costs as well as compensation

The number of injuries and work-related ill health are important drivers of the total cost of workplace injuries to the economy. It’s no surprise that a higher amount of injuries is directly correlated to a larger cost to the economy.

How to improve ROI of safety and decrease the cost of workplace injuries through using health and safety systems

It’s approximated that the cost of a single workplace fatality to society is just under £1.6m. The largest proportion of fatal injuries in the UK was due to falling from heights (28%). Over the past 5 years, just under half of all fall from height deaths were in the construction industry. Other industries that experienced a fatal injury at work due to a fall from height include agriculture, forestry and fishing.

Investing in safety equipment can help to reduce the number of injuries at heights, in-turn decreasing the costs associated with fatalities and the overall cost of workplace injuries to the economy. At Tensator, we work with customers to provide consultancy and produce bespoke health and safety systems that suit their needs. Our Pit Protection safety solution has been designed to cordon off dangerous areas and has been approved by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE). This solution is also compliant with the Work at Height Regulations and can be used to improve visual safety for those working at heights.

Some key benefits of using our Pit Protection solution include:

• Webbing retracts back into the unit, removing trip hazards and enabling easy cleaning around the post
• Small footprint that takes up less space in a busy maintenance area
• Complies to HSE criteria in motor vehicle repairs and associated industries booklet
• Compatible with surface mounted Tensabarrier units and can be connected to wall-mounted barriers on pit bridges

For more information on Pit Protection and other workplace safety solutions that we provide in order to decrease the overall cost of safety to your organisation, why not take a look at our guide? To download, please click the image below.