When the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) passed down the final rule that would eventually require employers to electronically submit all of their employee injury and illness data, it garnered a lot of attention. We discussed the rule and its potential impact and implications in depth last year. Since then, OSHA has proposed that the original start date of July 1, 2017, be delayed until December 1, 2017. Additionally, the rule has faced legal troubles of its own. For now, OSHA says it will launch its web-based form, the Injury Tracking Application (ITA), on Aug. 1, 2017. The ITA will allow employers to electronically submit required injury and illness data from their completed 2016 OSHA Form 300A.

Regardless of what happens to the recordkeeping rule, the requirement to keep OSHA injury and illness logs will still exist.

Government regulations that address injury and illness reporting in U.S. workplaces will continue to pop up; be proposed, revised, challenged. Some will even be implemented. But no matter: these injuries are still occurring, and no matter how they are reported, they are still costing employers a lot of money. If the data collected by employers is not being analyzed, that information is being wasted. And make no mistake about it: unused data is a wasted asset.

Big data, big savings. The direct and indirect costs of these injuries represent a huge financial risk for any company. Reducing that risk starts with making the best use of the data you’re already collecting.  Here’s where to start:

• Identify the jobs that are causing the most injuries
• Track the tenure of injured workers – new hires vs. long-tenured employees, including the previously injured
• Consider which body parts are most commonly injured
• Find the most frequent mechanisms of injury (i.e. pulling, pushing, etc.)

Connect the dots. Once patterns and issues are identified, use that information to build the most effective injury prevention program you can manage.

Make it a win-win.  Keeping employees safe from injury isn’t just the right thing to do, it is good business. The benefits of a strong safety culture include reduced workers’ compensation costs, reduced workforce turnover, and increased employee productivity and morale. And that’s just for starters.

Find out how much you can save on your workers’ comp costs with our free online calculator. If you’re ready to achieve workers’ comp savings, we’re ready to help. Call or write for a free injury analysis today.