Profiting From Safety

Why Safety Saves You Money

The cost of doing business in our competitive industry is high. In an effort to reduce costs, many firms curtail their safety programs, and lower their commitment to working safely. However safe workplace practices, not only protect the welfare of our employees, but also save you money on the bottom line. (See Section – Industry Safety Facts)

We make safety our #1 Priority. In doing so we achieve compliance with all MSHA & OSHA regulations relating to employee health and safety.

In addition to required government safety certifications, our employees must complete our own in-house safety program. This program focuses on specific hazards unique to our company’s unique field, and proper procedures for safe working needed while engaging in this highly specialized type work.

Through strict enforcement of company safety policies, including one of zero tolerance for unsafe practices, we ensure that our field teams always uphold our high standards for workplace safety.

Additionally, we work with our customers to create awareness of hazards and special procedures specific to each project. Our exceptional safety record (no major incidents in 30 years) allows us to carry up to $5 Million Liability Insurance coverage.

With these facts in mind, you can be confidant, knowing that Baghouse.com makes safety a top priority. By doing so, Baghouse.com can pass on the cost benefits to our customers. We ensure that the direct and indirect cost of workplace accidents is not unduly increased for anyone.

Industry Specific Hazards

With our decades of experience in our field, we are uniquely qualified to assess the many unique dangers that come along with our work, e.g. dust explosions, lifting/hoisting hazards, etc…*

*See the article: The Potential For Dust Explosions In Dust Collection Systems

Under the right conditions, most kinds of dusts, can become extremely hazardous becoming explosive. Even otherwise benign substances such as food products, can be at risk of combusting in a very violent, and destructive explosion, that often causes extensive damage and costs many lives.

Baghouse.com as an industry authority in this hazard, understands these dangers, knows how to prevent this kind of incidents from occurring.

“If I were asked to assess a company’s operation, and I had to do so on the basis of only one indicator, I would look at their safety performance. If they are doing well with safety, with all their programs in place and functioning, then it is highly likely that they are being successful in all of the other key areas that we use to measure success. If they are not performing well on safety, then chances are they are in trouble in other areas as well.” – CEO Fortune 500 Company

The Price Of Safety – Industry Safety Facts

Every year in the U.S. governmental agencies issue tens of millions of dollars worth of fines for unsafe work practices:

• In 2005 the largest OSHA fines ever were issued to BP for negligence that lead to an explosion at one of its refineries. The fines were in the amounts of $97.43 million and $21.36 million. Add to OSHA fines, settlements, and court action brought on by victims, and the cost of neglecting safety cost BP a total of $215 million.

• The top ten most common OSHA violations in 2005 cost offenders a total of $15,892,908 in fines. Most of these infractions regard easy to overlook safety procedures such as Ladder Safety, PPE (Personal Protective Equipment), and Machine Operating.

The Insurance Research Council estimates that over 3 million employees experience on-the-job injuries per year. While insurance covers the cost of employee health care, other expenses that are not covered by insurance, can be 4 to 5 times greater:

• Employee wages (e.g. wages to the injured employee and their replacement); Repairing damaged equipment or products; Time & resources invested in investigating the accident and filling out paperwork; Overtime by other employees and supervisors to compensate for the loss of production; Costs associated with a possible lawsuit (e.g. lawyer’s fees, settlement, bad publicity).