Fewer, less severe injuries lead to decrease in accident-related spending
With increased safety awareness, fewer USC employees are getting injured each year, saving the university money.
Since 2008, USC has paid an average of about $4.5 million in premiums annually, but will only pay an estimated $2.7 million this year, according to data provided by Tom Syfert, associate vice president for Environmental Health and Safety and Risk Management. Compared to last year, when the university paid about $4 million, that represents a decrease of $1.3 million.
The number of work injuries at USC have been decreasing since 2006, when there were 243 injuries; in 2011, there were just 162, following a spike of 11 injuries between 2009 and 2010.
Syfert attributed the spike to increased frequency of strains and pulls. Even though the injuries rose that year, Syfert said the premiums continued to decrease because the injuries were less severe.
As of March, there have only been 33 injuries this year.
"If people don't get injured you don't have to pay much to get them fixed, so, therefore, your rate comes down," Syfert said.
The premiums USC must pay are affected, Syfert said, by the severity and frequency of injuries as well as the number of employees at the university.
USC employees' training has increased over the past few years as well.
The number of hours that employees are trained in safety has increased from 18,400 hours in 2008 to over 32,000 hours in 2010, according to Syfert.
"We have a lot of areas where you can get hurt on campus, so what we do is a lot of the training," Syfert said.
Training includes education on proper lifting techniques, ladder safety, slips, falls and personal protective equipment. Each year, employees take a three- to four-hour training refresher to inform them of safety precautions.
Different departments also provide supplemental safety training in order to increase awareness and education on occupational safety. Syfert said the chemistry department, for example, meets monthly to discuss a safety topic in their meeting.
"If an employee gets injured, they're not of use to the department, because a lot of times if they get these injuries, they can't lift, and they're out for a week," Syfert said.
In addition to training, the number of internal safety audits through various departments such as Housing, Facilities and USC Division of Law Enforcement and Safety increased from about eight in 2008 to nearly 16 in 2010.
The audits identify areas that do not comply with standards set by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The management of the noncompliant departments must create an action plan to fix the problem, which is tracked until the problem is resolved.