That’s a lot of Money!

I live in a small town… well, actually I live in a suburb of Denver, but in this suburb it feels like a small town. We have an incredible farmer’s market, for the most part very few sidewalks but wide streets to walk on. It is a small town with lots of young kids and families and lots for us to do like sled right outside our doors, ski within an hour, paddle board, hike or run a mesa. Also, in our little town we have a lot of people who start and run their own businesses.

It all sounds amazing, quaint, the dream - but we also have in my town… big OSHA fines! Let me be clear - OSHA isn’t targeting my town. What happens when you have a lot of startups and businesses, there are also a lot of businesses run by small teams. When a small team runs a business, safety and ergonomics can often be overlooked or put on the “to do” list for another day. Any business with more than 10 employees is expected to have their safety program in writing - but often this isn’t the case. So, if an OSHA inspector walks through the door - welp!! Fines!

My little town incurred over $99,782 in OSHA fines in 2022. 20 inspections were conducted resulting in 13 violations. 9 companies were issued violations - that’s a 45% chance of getting a violation if your company has an OSHA inspection! The average violation was $7,675.54! To boot, my little town also reported 1,574 days away from work due to injuries. My little town isn’t big enough to have these numbers.

To simplify the expectations of OSHA - all companies are tasked with providing a safe workplace, companies of 10+ are expected to have their safety program in writing (and actually follow their written program), and many companies of 25+ are required to submit their injury and illness data every year.

Many employers, as their company grows, don’t pay adequate attention to safety programs. They wait until their worker’s compensation provider tells them they need a safety professional on staff. But, there is another cost effective way to boost safety, comply with OSHA, and be cost effective at the same time!

Work Matters | Ergonomics and Safety can deliver a custom safety program to your company for a fraction of the cost of a salaried safety professional - significantly reducing the possibly of a fine or injury for your company. Schedule a 15 minute free consultation with us to find out if this program is right for your company! Click here to schedule