NAOSH Week: ‘Workplace Deaths More Than Statistics’

WASHINGTON -- "On-the-job fatalities are not statistics," said American Society of Safety Engineers President Michael W. Thompson, CSP, at the North American Occupational Safety and Health (NAOSH) Week event held at the U.S. Capitol.

"They are our family, our friends, our co-workers – not just a number. We need to keep working to increase the dialogue worldwide on the importance of making workplaces safer for all to prevent these tragedies," he said.

Thompson opened the annual NAOSH Week national kick-off, which runs from May 4-10, events in Washington, D.C. at the U.S. Dept. of Labor and at the U.S. Capitol in the Mansfield room with his comments on the importance of increasing workplace safety for everyone.

More than 80 organizations, companies and federal agencies are joining with the 32,000 occupational safety, health and environmental professional members of the American Society of Safety Engineers during NAOSH Week and throughout the year to reach millions of people worldwide on the importance of increasing safety in the workplace aimed at saving lives and reducing injury and illness in the workplace.

Thompson addressed a crowd of ASSE members, corporate and association sponsors, federal agency supporters and children from around the U.S. and Canada who had won the ASSE "safety-on-the-job" poster contest. He noted," We – all of you and the companies and federal agencies you represent and our  members – work every day and night to make sure the millions of people who go to work every day return home safely to their families and friends.

"Yet, people are still dying from on-the-job injuries...close to 6000 people in 2006 – so we look to NAOSH Week as an opportunity for us to start or continue the dialogue on the need for more companies, employers and employees to focus on being safe at work," Thompson noted. 

He told the crowd that workplace injuries and illnesses can be prevented and we know how – that is why we are reaching out this week and every week of the year – with our knowledge, tips, safety solutions and pointing people towards the resources they can use in workplaces to prevent injuries and illnesses.

"Again, workplace accidents can be prevented --- the folks here today know that....but many others don't," Thompson continued.

"Just look at the recent crane accident fatalities – last week a man was crushed to death in Annapolis while working on a crane," Thompson said. "A few weeks ago people died in New York City on a Saturday when a crane tumbled – changing lives and a neighborhood forever. Another sad part of that story is that we communicated key crane safety information to the public and our members recently and helped the media, including one reporter in Florida. Her crane incident story appeared with the headline 'It could happen here'  You know what? It did.

"Tragically, a day after the story appeared a crane toppled in Miami killing more workers -- including an ASSE member," Thompson said. "That member's family is now setting up a scholarship in his name through the ASSE Foundation – one way they are working to face the pain of losing  a father, a husband...these are not just statistics, these are people we are losing-- family members, friends and co-workers."

From a business perspective, NAOSH Week provides an international stage from which we can illustrate how safety performance is good for business and for life.

In the U.S. alone, the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) reports that occupational injuries and illness expenditures total nearly $171 billion a year and  injury and illness costs can approach up to five percent  of an organization’s total costs. Establishing and sustaining effective safety and health systems can reduce costs by 20 percent to 40 percent.

Safety’s positive return on investment is gaining greater attention. A recent study by global investment company Goldman Sachs JBWere found that companies that don’t adequately manage occupational safety and health perform worse financially than companies that do. This suggests that investors should look at a company’s occupational safety and health policies and practices as a factor in their investment strategy. Laidlaw International Inc., for example, reduced its insurance and accident claims costs by 47 percent after implementing safety systems. Oregon SAIF Group Insurance collaborated on safety with the construction industry to return $11.7 million to member businesses.

Each year, we consider the possibilities NAOSH Week brings for creating a new reality—an incident- and injury free workplace, lower healthcare and workers’ compensation costs, a continued positive reputation and improved business opportunities—all of which are vital in today’s global marketplace.

We will continue to globally engage all stakeholders— business, labor, government and the public—to showcase safety culture and leadership, and demonstrate that safety is good for business and for life.

”It's no secret that workplace fatality rates and injuries continue to go down--- due in part to the work of safety and health professionals and the industries represented here who know the value of developing and implementing an effective workplace safety process in their companies," Thompson said. "We all need to continue to reach out."