A decade-long study done by Department of Labor & Industries in Washington state links visits from the Division of Occupational Safety & Health (DOSH) to lower workers’ compensation claims and lower costs for employers. The results came from the Safety & Health Assessment & Research for Prevention program that used workers’ compensation claims data to examine the association between DOSH activities and compensable claims rates. Businesses in "non‑fixed‑site" industries, such as construction and transportation, were examined separately from those in "fixed‑site" industries. Enforcement inspections at fixed-site businesses were followed by a 4.3% greater decline in compensable claims rates than at non-visited businesses. Among non-fixed site businesses, such as construction, there was a 3.1% greater decline in compensable claims rates than at non-visited businesses. The study, completed between 1999 and 2008, shows that DOSH enforcement inspections were associated with a decline in compensable claims rates, and that employers in the study saved $3.9 million annually in workers' compensation claims.
A Blog From the American Society of Safety Engineers