A study of some of the costs and benefits related to occupational safety and health in selected Texas industries

Abstract

The primary purpose of this research was to estimate relationships between the monetary cost of occupational safety and health loss control activities and the monetary cost of work injuries. A second purpose was to estimate relationships between expenditures for the following variables and the monetary cost of work injuries: top management participation, safety and health staff, new employee orientation, safety rules, activities to maintain interest, safety meetings, safety inspections, personal protective equipment, guarding or the correction of unsafe physical conditions, physical examinations, medical supplies and staff, off-the-job safety activities, safety training, safety records and supervision or span of control. In order to test hypotheses about these relationships, information was obtained from Texas chemical, paper and wood product manufacturing firms by means of 54 on- site interviews and 86 responses to a mailed survey instrument. This sample represented eight percent of Texas firms in these classifications, and about twenty-nine percent of the employees in these firms. Qualitative evaluations provided by respondents generally indicated a strong correlation between top management interest and the work injury frequency rate as measured by the chi-square statistic. By means of a forced-choice procedure, respondents judged the following variables to most effectively reduce work injuries: top management interest, new employee orientation, guarding, safety meetings and safety inspections..