Pond Ingenuity Fall 2018

16 Pond | Pondco.com SAFETY AT EVERY LEVEL E mployee Health and Safety training pays significant dividends to employers in a variety of ways to include lowering their Experience Modification Rate (EMR) and OSHA Recordable Incident Rate (ORIR). The return on investing in employee safety training is represented by several metrics to include increased productivity, decreased insurance costs, strengthened client relationships, less rework, and overall improved profitability. For untrained workers, some studies have shown that employers may pay an average of 0.98% for every hour worked by each employee in workers’ compensation. In contrast, for every employee who is safety trained, the employer could pay a reduced rate of 0.78 percent, which is an initial cost savings of 20% per employee. OSHA's Office of Regulatory Analysis has stated: “…our evidence suggests that companies that implement effective safety and health can expect reductions of 20% or greater in their injury and illness rates and a return of $4 to $6 for every $1 invested...”. Pond’s proactive commitment to focus on employee health and safety training is a cornerstone to achieve an injury and illness free workplace each and every year. Office Safety Coordinator (OSC) Training Pond’s OSC efforts are the backbone of our health and safety program implementation and interdependent safety culture, which begins with new employee safety training and office operations. Their efforts are then absorbed throughout all levels of Pond operations to include field projects, which is then assumed and controlled by the Pond Site Safety and Health Officer (SSHO). Consequently, our OSCs must receive highly specialized health and safety training to speak the language, to lead teams, and ensure regulatory and client requirements are met. “If safety is ‘common sense’ then we need no trainers, training programs, safety officers, induction, or safety legislation.” -Dr. Rob Long “Rather than just thinking about yourself or your project team, you have to understand how things affect everyone you work with.” - William Mathis, OSC, Architectural Designer