The World Health Organization defines a work related illness as “any disease contracted primarily as a result of an exposure to risk factors arising from work activity.” These risk factors could be anything from a toxic chemical to a hot jobsite. Whatever the case, it is the employer’s responsibility to manage these risks and keep their employees healthy.

So, is it really possible to have zero illnesses in a year? Yes, we’ve seen it. There is no secret except simply being proactive. Here are a few lessons all employers could learn from businesses that keep their employees healthy all year long.

Determine Your Trends

A great first step in developing an illness-free worksite is looking back at past cases — not just what happened, but why. Take your OSHA 300 logs and begin analyzing the data. Here are a few questions to ask as you review past incidents:

• What do they have in common?
• What types of incidents occur most often, and what hazards are they linked to?
• Are incidents concentrated among certain activities, locations, or work with certain equipment or materials?
• Does the frequency of the incidents correlate with any specific periods of time such as busy production periods, high turnover, or non-routine operations?

Look at Effective Programs

You’ve already started this step by reading this article. Seeing how other programs are effective is a great way to implement useful strategies into your company. Below are some perfect industry models. Read through them to determine how closely your programs matchup, then ask yourself where you have room for improvement.

• OSHA’s Recommended Practices for Safety and Health Programs
• National Safety Council’s Journey to Safety Excellence
• OSHA’s Safety and Health Program Audit Tool
• CPWR’s Safety culture worksheets and rating tool

Empower Employees

Your own employees can be your greatest overlooked tool. They are the ones who know the ins and outs of their duties, so they can be the first ones to detect when something is wrong. Empower your employees with all the relevant health and safety information data relevant to their position, so that they’re just as informed as you are on risks and hazards.

Make the goal to create a workplace where workers feel comfortable coming to management with issues regarding safety. They may end up preventing a health issue and save you a fine from OSHA. 

Utilize Technology

Technology is already required by OSHA to measure certain exposures on the worksite, but new tools make it easy to go beyond standard regulating. OSHA and NIOSH recently partnered on a heat safety app that encourages employers to plan outdoor work activities based on the expected heat throughout the day. Here are other useful apps for occupational health:

• OSHA Health Safety Tool
• NIOSH Pocket Guide to Hazardous Chemicals
• Pocket First Aid
• Incident Cost Calculator
• AccuWeather

Take Advantage of Mobile Medical Surveillance

Medical Surveillance is the key to having a proactive health plan and, in most cases, it’s required by OSHA. New innovations allow for mobile units that can come directly to the worksite to perform testing. A team of highly qualified professionals can test your employees for any possible exposure or health issue. Getting results early is the key to preventing serious health damage. Worksite Medical, a mobile medical company, can perform various tests based on industry and circumstance (Click Here for Scope of Services). 

“The testing is good because it’s a preventative measure … you can catch things early,” longtime Worksite Medical customer Dave C. said. “Our [team members] are valuable. Instead of sending [them] to different places while trying to work around their schedules, we just have Worksite Medical do it all right here in one day. It’s the only company that can do all of the testing required, [and] they come right to the facility.”

Schedule an appointment for your mobile medical unit to begin your new, proactive health initiative today.