The ROI of OHS: Boost your farming operation with a strong investment in health and safety
Originally published in Milk Producer.
Whether it’s innovative technology, new equipment or quality supplies, you invest in your business knowing that the return will outweigh the initial costs. Investment is necessary for your operation to grow and be successful. Every farmer knows this.
“Investment in health and safety is no different,” says Ryan Dick, Health and Safety Consultant with WSPS. “If you aren’t currently investing in your health and safety and the health and safety of your employees, you’re leaving your business vulnerable—particularly since a serious injury could wipe out an entire season’s profit.”
“We’re an industry that must operate around seasonal and weather-dependent timelines,” says Ryan, emphasizing that certain tasks must be done in specific months, on specific days, and during specific hours. “Imagine breaking your leg at the beginning of the season and not being able to operate the drill or sprayer for several weeks. Or imagine an employee suffering a critical injury from a tractor fall during harvest,” says Ryan. “Not only will you be dealing with a medical emergency, but you will also have to figure out how to continue production after missing a critically timed task. It can be very difficult for your business to recover from something like this.”
What’s your health and safety investment?
The Institute for Work and Health, an Ontario-based organization that specializes in occupational health and safety research, studied the return on investment (ROI) for Ontario businesses when they invest in health and safety. They took the average health and safety expenditures across 17 sectors and measured them against the financial benefits gained. Their findings showed a return ranging from 24% to 114%, depending on the sector. “A 24% return is great for any investment,” Ryan points out.
The expenditures used in the study included health and safety training, supervision, personal protective equipment, professional occupational health and safety services, and capital investments related to improving health and safety. The average amount invested per employee across the 17 sectors was $1,303. For agriculture and forestry, it was slightly lower at $890 per employee.
When determining the ROI, researchers considered the tangible and intangible financial gains. The obvious costs related to an injured employee include things like medical costs, insurance premiums, lost productivity, and finding and training someone else to do the job. When your investment in health and safety prevents injuries, you save all of these costs and keep your operation running smoothly. When you factor in some of the more intangible gains, such as employee morale and job satisfaction, along with stable, quality production, it adds even more to the financial return.
Invest in your people and reap the rewards
“In a time when it’s difficult to retain employees, investing in them by providing health and safety training and providing personal protective equipment (PPE) helps to build up their knowledge, develop their skills, and keep them coming back,” says Ryan. Healthy, competent workers lead to stable, predictable operations. Ryan offers a few suggestions for where to invest this season.
- Orientation—Provide a detailed health and safety orientation for your workers, even if they are temporary. Make sure to include safe work procedures that address specific tasks.
- Training—Specialized health and safety training should be completed by anyone who will work on the farm, whether it’s you, your family members, or hired employees. Get training in working at heights, confined space, ladder safety, Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS), and heavy equipment operation. Having this knowledge could save a life.
- Personal protective equipment (PPE)—Supply workers with the PPE they need to do their job safely, such as safety boots, hearing protection, and high-visibility vests.
- Safe infrastructure—Invest in the tools and infrastructure that will make work safer for you and everyone else on the farm. Ensure procedures are adjusted to account for new equipment and that everyone is trained on its use.
“If investing in the health and safety of your people gives you at least a 24% return, it’s obvious where your dollars should go,” says Ryan. “You can’t afford not to do it.”
The information in this article is accurate as of its publication date.
