A new white paper from the National Safety Council (NSC) builds on prior research and outlines how employers can calculate the benefits of safety technology in the workplace.
Making the Business Case for Safety Innovation takes a look at the benefits of eight key safety technologies, including fatigue monitoring and autonomous mobile robots, to illustrate the return on investment from using such technology to reduce workplace injuries and fatalities.
The report builds on 2020 research from NSC’s Work to Zero initiative.
Helps safety pros make their case
NSC acknowledges that financial constraints are a common barrier to investing in safety technology.
However, after nearly 5,000 people were lost to preventable workplace fatalities in 2021, the organization felt educating employers on the costs that could be saved through use of safety technologies was critical.
“This report ultimately provides environment, health and safety managers a quantifiable foundation for building a business case for safety innovation, which we know saves worker lives,” said Paul Vincent, NSC vice president of workplace practice.
The Work to Zero research found businesses that invest in safety innovation will quickly recoup their initial investments and experience greater efficiencies in production and quality due to the prevention of serious injuries and fatalities.
Investment calculator also available
Case in point, a large construction company researchers analyzed experienced year-over-year returns totaling nearly $1.8 million in the fifth year alone after implementing proximity monitoring wearables for employees working around mobile equipment.
Those savings are a result of reducing missed workdays, medical costs and wage losses.
Along with the paper, the NSC Work to Zero investment calculator was released, which allows companies to explore the value of each of these key technologies in saving lives and saving money.
