Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/141668
Liability ("Risk Management 101: Get the 800-Pound Safety Gorilla Off Your Bottom Line" continued from page 59) and/or repair turn-around deadlines while keeping safety at the forefront Never underestimate the power of an unhappy customer. According to the White House Office of Consumer Affairs, news of a bad customer experience reaches twice as many ears as praise for a good one, and it is six to seven times more expensive to acquire a new customer than it is to keep a current one. Many other factors also go in to determining how workers' compensation premiums are calculated. However, these factors are out of your control (e.g., the insurance carrier's investment portfolio performance, re-insurance market premiums, rising healthcare costs, etc.). The best way to control your ex-mod and insurability status is to control your safety and health efforts and provide a strong customer service experience. Think About Leading Indicators The health and safety landscape has been going through a dramatic and "game-changing" transition in the last 10 years. Successful organizations understand that tracking incidents, learning about them and assigning corrective actions based on leading indicators has a positive effect and put companies in a better position to create more accurate, predictive models. Once an employee gets injured, it's not enough to attribute the incident to failure to follow the company's written safety program. The answer lies with identifying root causes and taking definitive steps to prevent repeat occurrences. If it is happening again and again, chances are it is not their problem; it is your organization's problem. While an accident or injury occasionally crops up without any warning, in most cases there have been early warning signs. That's why it's so useful to track near-miss incidents and fix whatever is amiss before it escalates into a bigger concern. Summary Knowing how your industry performs, in general, and what to look for in your specific work setting is a good starting place. The regulatory environment is evolving, and the likelihood of an OSHA compliance officer knocking on your door is increasing. With a better understanding of the workers' compensation experience modification rating system and how direct and indirect incident and injury costs can impact your organization, you are in a much better position to change, maintain or improve your safety, health and risk management procedures. Successful organizations are cognizant of the past (lagging indicators) and learn from it. They also focus on what could happen in the future (leading indicators). By doing both, the ship can right itself and renew its journey at full speed ahead. n Eric Glass is a Senior Environmental, Health & Safety Advisor with UL, has 18 years of risk management, loss control and safety experience. He works closely with UL Workplace Health and Safety customers and contributes to UL's mission of safe living and working environments for people by providing industrywide thought leadership on safety topics, regulations and industry-specific trends. He can be reached at eric.glass@ul.com. Advertisers' Index 4D Excavator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Ajax Tool Works. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Allied Construction Products, LLC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 A-WARD Attachments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IFC B4 Consulting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Bell Trucks of America. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 BidSpotter.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 BLS Enterprises, Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Breaker Technology, Inc. (BTI). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 Charter Software Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Coneqtec Universal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Direct Capital Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 e-Emphasys Technologies, Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36-37 EPG Insurance, Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 FRD Furukawa Rock Drill, USA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Gensco America, Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Glynn General Corporation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 HKX, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 HydrauliCircuit Technology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Infor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Leading Edge Attachments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Light Engineering. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Loftness Attachments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Lowe Manufacturing Company, Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Okada America, Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 PFW Systems Corporation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Pierce-Pacific Manufacturing Co. Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 SANY Heavy Industry Co., LTD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Sentry Insurance Company. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Solesbee's Equip. & Attachments Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Strickland MFG, LLC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Vacuworx International. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Verizon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Wacker Neuson Corporation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Werk-Brau Company, Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IBC Woods Equipment Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 XAPT Corporation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .OBC As the official magazine of Associated Equipment Distributors, this publication carries authoritative notices and articles in regard to the activities of the association. In all other respects, the association cannot be responsible for the contents thereof or the opinions of contributors. Copyright © 2013 by Associated Equipment Distributors. Construction Equipment Distribution (ISSN0010-6755) is published monthly as the official journal of Associated Equipment Distributors. Subscription rate — $39 per year for members; $79 per year for nonmembers. Office of publication: 600 W. 22nd St., 220, Oak Brook, Ill. Phone: 630-574-0650. Periodicals postage at Hinsdale, Ill. 60521 and other post offices. Additional entry, Pontiac, Ill. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Construction Equipment Distribution, 600 W. 22nd St., Suite 220, Oak Brook, Ill. 60523 July 2013 | Construction Equipment Distribution | www.cedmag.com | 71 58_Risk_Mgmt_Feature_KP.indd 71 6/27/13 2:30 PM