Aggregates Manager Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/883641
10 AGGREGATES MANAGER / October 2017 SPECIAL REPORT would not be aware of the possible costs. In addition, injury costs are unique in that the cost distribution is so wide — just using an average cost doesn't provide adequate information. Some injuries involve immensely high costs, and even though the risk of these injuries is low, mines need to be aware of their potential impact on their financial health. With Safety Pays in Mining, you can see what specific inju- ries, such as burns, fractures, dislocations, and sprains, might cost you — from $820 for an ankle sprain, to $22,500 for a fractured hand, to more than $45,000 for a sprained shoulder. You can enter your own figures, or use the default values based on the mining industry to show impact to profit margins. Using real cost data Safety Pays in Mining has accurate cost estimates because it uses real workers' comp costs. The web app uses direct costs, which include medical expenses and indemnity payments that were calculated from cost data for specific mining inju- ries obtained from the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation. Identifying information was removed from claims data and only injury types with more than 10 claims were included. Workers' compensation claims for miners from 2001 to 2011 were used for the cost estimates. Companies who self-insure pay direct costs out of pocket. Companies who purchase workers' comp insurance would have these direct costs paid by the insurance company. However, the cost impact for mines with insurance would largely be through increased premiums and eligibility to participate in group policies. Indirect cost estimates were also calculated in order to pro- vide a realistic injury cost estimate. These are costs to the em- ployer that are generally not covered by insurance. Such costs could include reduced productivity due to disruption of work or replacing damaged equipment, and temporary or permanent replacement of injured workers. The total cost of an injury is the sum of the direct and indirect costs. All costs were adjusted to 2015 dollars. Future versions of Safety Pays in Mining will update costs to the most recent calendar years. Using the app To use the app, you select options from drop-down menus in four sections representing (1) common injuries and activities, (2) cost of injury, (3) impact of injury cost on profits, and (4) how the company could spend the cost savings from injury preven- tion. Default values are automatically included in most fields to allow you to make general estimates, or in case the desired specifics on your company's injuries are not known. In the "Most Common Injuries and Work Activities for 2015" section (Figure 1), choose the commodity of interest, and an injury summary for that commodity is displayed for 2015. This shows what the most common injuries were and what miners were doing when injured. For example, for the commodities of stone, sand, and gravel, the most common types of injuries reported to MSHA were hand and finger lacerations and back sprains/strains. The most common mine worker activities where miners were injured were handling supplies/materials, machine maintenance and repair, and using hand tools. The section "What is the Cost of Occupational Injury?" is the app's main feature (see Figure 2). First, select one of two lists of injury types: injury by "nature" (type of damage to the body) or injury by "cause" (manner in which the injury was inflicted). Once selected, the distribution of injury costs for that type is displayed. Then, select the number of injuries of this type that have occurred or may occur. It is important to consider the expected number of injuries, because a higher number of claims results in a higher chance of a very expensive claim. A note in the app suggests percentile cost figures to use based on number of total injury claims. You can select the mean cost or one of the cost percentiles for the specific injury type. Safety Pays in Mining displays the most common injuries and work activities at the time of injury for 2015 by commodity. The "What is the Cost of Occupational Injury?" section demonstrates that the total cost of a single back injury could be over $31,000. Figure 1 Figure 2