Take a look at your supervisor on the job. They will almost always look busy dealing with daily issues and putting out fires. Because of this you may feel that the last thing he/she wants to hear from you is another problem— a safety problem. After all, doesn’t he already have enough concerns? How important can your safety concerns be? Let’s take a look.
What is a supervisor’s job? It is to get the job completed in a manner that meets specifications and at the same time controls expenses so the job can turn a profit. Usually profits are not guaranteed. Constant attention is needed to assure that those manageable expenses do not take too big a bite out of the profit potential. Many do not realize that on-the-job injuries are also unacceptable added expenses, just like excessive non-productive time or equipment breakage resulting from misuse or theft. Of all the unacceptable expenses our company has, an employee injured on the job can lead to a significant loss financially, and in both suffering and pain of the worker. The financial loss can be great, even with workers’ compensation insurance coverage in place.
It takes resources to perform any job. Money, materials, and manpower are needed. Machines are deployed to help workers do the job. Ultimately it is the employee that sets these machines in motion. Throughout our country’s history and in many places in the world today, people work without the aid of machines. But nowhere have machines been able to do a job completely. This is why you are so important. Without you the job simply won’t get done. You may say, “But if I get hurt I can be replaced.” While that may be true…at what additional cost? Employees are our most valuable asset. You are how our company produces a product. You have been trained to work efficiently and productively, allowing us to maintain continuous work. But, it took money to hire and train you. You are experienced in your job and losing you for any amount of time would impact our processes. Hiring a replacement if you are injured means unplanned additional expenses. It’s almost like doing the job twice. There is no gain, only loss. You can’t stay in business with repeated losses. By far, you and all of the company’s employees are our most valuable resource. On-the-job injuries can be expensive in ways you may not normally consider. If you get hurt productive time is lost while you are helped. Someone else from the company may need to take you to the doctor. While care is being administered at the site, co-workers may stand around and afterward mingle or talk about the incident. Workers near the incident may be too shaken up to continue working at a productive pace. All of these things cost the company production, time, and money. And all of them can be directly associated with the incident. The bottom line is this—accidents impact a person’s health, livelihood and cost money. Injuries can prevent a supervisor from doing his job and can impact the potential of profit for the company. No matter how busy a supervisor may appear, they will be as interested in addressing a safety problem as they would learning quality is slipping or a critical machine is in need of lubrication. Too many problems go uncorrected or unreported. If you can’t resolve your safety problem yourself, give your supervisor a chance to do his or her job. Speak up. All will benefit.
Remember: You are our most valuable asset!